AP reports on the imminent closing of the Church Militant website following the website's settlement of a defamation lawsuit. According to AP:
A far-right, unofficial Catholic media website has agreed to pay $500,000 to a New Hampshire priest who sued for defamation over a 2019 article that it now disavows. The website also is planning to shut down soon, the priest’s attorney says.
The apology by Church Militant [full text] came after the organization agreed last week to a federal court judgment in favor of the Rev. Georges de Laire, an official with the Diocese of Manchester. This legal setback comes just months after its founder’s resignation over a breach of its morality clause.
“As part of the parties’ resolution, Church Militant has represented that it will be shutting down at the end of April,” attorney Howard Cooper of the Boston law firm Todd & Weld, which represented de Laire, said via email....
Church Militant and its sleek newscasts drew a loyal following for years with a mix of fiercely right-wing politics and radically conservative Catholicism in which many of America’s bishops were viewed with suspicion and disgust. It “is not recognized as a Church apostolate” and lacks authorization to promote itself as Catholic, according to the Archdiocese of Detroit, in whose territory it is based....
The full AP article has additional details.
UPDATE: On March 7, AP reports that in the settlement of a lawsuit the city of Baltimore has agreed to pay $275,000 toward the legal fees incurred by St. Michael's Media, the parent of Church Militant. The suit successfully prevented the city from cancelling a protest rally against Catholic Bishops. (See prior posting.)
