The online network known as Real Catholic TV will omit the term “Catholic” in its new name, after a dispute with the Archdiocese of Detroit about its right to use the term under canon law. Michael Voris, host of the network's feature “The Vortex,” said in a June 12 video that Real Catholic TV was changing its name to “ChurchMilitant.TV.”
Inspiration for the name came from a recent address by Pope Benedict XVI, reflecting on the value of the ancient term for the Church on earth.
During that May 22 address, the Pope said that the Latin phrase “ecclesia militans,” referring to the faithful who are striving toward salvation, “bears truth in itself” and reflects the need “to enter into battle with evil.”
Voris said the name was chosen to signify the organization’s opposition to the “indifference and lukewarmness” that he sees “both outside, and inside some quarters – many quarters – within the Church.”
Along with its new name, ChurchMilitant.TV also has a new TV studio, which Voris promised would be “a bastion, a fort, a fortress on the battlefield, from which great volleys are hurled against the ancient enemy.”
During its time as “Real Catholic TV,” the apostolate was told by the Archdiocese of Detroit that it did not have permission to describe itself as “Catholic.”
The Roman Catholic Church's current Code of Canon Law states that “no undertaking is to claim the name 'Catholic'” without authorization.
Voris, the network's senior executive producer, said in December 2011 that the Archbishop of Detroit did not have authority over Real Catholic TV.
The organization is owned and headquartered elsewhere, although its content has been produced within the Detroit archdiocese.
“The Vortex” has been criticized over its host's remarks on Judaism and the validity of modern democracy.
In April 2011, the Diocese of Scranton barred Voris from speaking in its parishes and facilities, saying his “extreme positions on other faiths” were “not appropriate.”