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| Fr. Thomas Rosica, C.S.B. |
Fr. Thomas Rosica, C.S.B., has threatened Catholic layman David Domet of the blog Vox Cantoris with legal action on charges of defamation.
Mr. Domet received a "notice of action" letter on February 17, 2015 from the law office of Fogler, Rubinoff LLP, informing him that Fr. Thomas Rosica has retained their services in relation to entries made on the blog Vox Cantoris which, in the opinion of Fr. Rosica, are "false, defamatory, or both," and that, unless Mr. Domet removes from the blog all statements regarding Fr. Rosica and issues a public apology to the same, legal action would be taken against him under the Libel and Slander Act, R.S.O. 1990, Ch. L 12. The letter can be read here.
Is the Vatican, through the person of Fr. Rosica, attempting to intimidate independent Catholic bloggers into silence in advance of the 2015 Synod? Michael Voris of Church Militant TV has asked the question, and I think it's a valid one.
Long-time readers of this blog might recall that Fr. Rosica has been mentioned on these pages as well, particularly in regard to his apparent endorsement of the view that the Holy Family (orate pro nobis) represented an "irregular" union. I wrote:
There's been a bit of chatter regarding a tweet made by Salt and Light's Fr. Thomas Rosica regarding a particularly nasty bit of writing. In Fr. Thomas Rosica's defense, it has to be said that he is not the originator of the nastiness; he's actually paraphrasing the last line of the article to which he linked: What Is a Catholic Family? by Peter Maneau, which appeared a few days ago in the Opinion Pages of the New York Times. At the same time, however, it's hard not to see the paraphrase as an open endorsement of the comparison itself. Which, with all the charity I can muster, is positively horrid.
Protecting oneself from malicious detraction is one thing. Wanting to silence faithful Catholics for openly questioning the fidelity of clerics whose words and actions betray serious deficiencies is something else entirely. And, given the vocal support lay Catholic bloggers have received from prelates such as Cardinal Raymond Burke and Bishop Athanasius Schneider for their defense of orthodoxy in the face of the "radical neo-Pagan ideology" currently threatening the moral teachings of the Church, one has to wonder whether this is little more than an attempt to do exactly that: silence the opposition to the now well-known agenda of the 2015 Synod.
Keep both Mr. Doment and Fr. Rosica in your prayers, gentle reader, even if for very different intentions.
Lots of questions - no answers. Fr. Rosica's direct superior is Fr. Lombardi. Fr. Lomabardi's direct superior is the Holy Father himself. Anyone think that either one was not aware of this 'letter of intent' to Vox Cantoris? It will be interesting to see if there is a statement of any kind from the Vatican.
ReplyDeleteThe Church has always been able to wield their heavy hand on their own, but now they are actually going after regular 'Joe Blow' faithful Catholic lay bloggers? Insanity at its best. I would hope we will hear directly from the Vatican on this issue, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
As an added thought: This seems that it may just be a referendum on traditional Catholic bloggers period. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteDear TLM,
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a shot across the bow to all faithful Catholic bloggers. Whether it is taking place with the blessing of anyone higher up the chain remains to be seen. Time will tell, I think.
In any event, I don't see Mr. Domet closing up shop without a fight. Having reviewed the law in question, it seems that, at worst, he could be facing a fine for "actual damages" - the amount of which would be entirely speculative - rather than any punitive damages. Regardless of the outcome of the legal case, however, it's clear that Fr. Rosica has shot himself squarely in the foot on this.
I feel a knot in the pit of my stomach at what may be on the Horizon. I just read headlines (not reading the entire article itself) on Pewsitter in regards to the new head of the FFI, Fr. Angelo Geiger, taking Rorate Caeli to task for their 'false reporting.' I am praying we are not beginning to witness a 'waiting for the kill' from the wolves.
ReplyDeleteAnd Fr. Volpi, the Apostolic Administrator of the FFI, has failed to uphold his part of the pro bono pacis agreement he made with the Manelli family, citing a comment from the anonymous 'Don Camillo,' and is now preparing to launch his own defamation lawsuit. A preferred tactic, it seems, of the modern clericalism.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, this could get ugly.
Please consider also to write to the following superiors of Fr. Rosica to express your concerns about this unjust situation.
ReplyDeleteHis Holiness Pope Francis
The Apostolic Palace, 00120 Vatican City, Europe
Thomas Christopher Collins
Cardinal, Archbishop
Chancery Office, 1155 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M4T 1W2, Canada
Fr George Terence Smith, CSB
Superior General
Congregation of St. Basil
95 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3C2, Canada
This is happening in Canada, don't forget. This is not a good place in which to go to court and defend the Truth.
ReplyDeleteOur Lady of Fatima, pray for us
Barbara
Does anyone know who is paying for these lawsuits ? Are the funds coming out of Church funds ? If so it should be made known to the Catholic faithful that their institutions and donations are being used in this manner and by whom. These suits should not be funded from faithful Catholic funding !
ReplyDelete