The Vortex

It is a fair assumption that I have little time for religious dogma but as the argument goes religious people are (often) motivated to do good things. I will be first to accept that doing right, even for the wrong reasons, is still doing right.

When it comes to the science of climate change many of the mainstream religious groups recognise how it’s effects will adversely impact the poorest peoples in the world, the biggest of this group is the Catholic Church which made a recent statement;

"We call on all people and nations to recognise the serious and potentially irreversible impacts of global warming caused by the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, and by changes in forests, wetlands, grasslands, and other land uses. We appeal to all nations to develop and implement, without delay, effective and fair policies to reduce the causes and impacts of climate change on communities and ecosystems, including mountain glaciers and their watersheds, aware that we all live in the same home. By acting now, in the spirit of common but differentiated responsibility, we accept our duty to one another and to the stewardship of a planet blessed with the gift of life. We are committed to ensuring that all inhabitants of this planet receive their daily bread, fresh air to breathe and clean water to drink as we are aware that, if we want justice and peace, we must protect the habitat that sustains us. The believers among us ask God to grant us this wish."

They should be applauded for this. But like many religious views espoused by the clergy, some of the congregation manage to directly disagree while still convincing themselves that they are still among the most faithful.

One such character I would suggest in this case is a guy called Michael Voris a presenter and more of an Internet TV network called Real Catholic TV which often features it segments on Youtube called to Vortex.

Some claims from Mr Voris’ Bio;

• Seminarian at St. Joseph’s Seminary in New York;
• News producer and reporter for Fox 2 in Detroit;
• Won four Emmys in broadcast news;
• Frequent host on Michigan Catholic Radio network;
• And has an ecclesiastical degree.

If true he sounds quite credible and not your "lunatic fringe". But I still don't know if he has official or even unofficial support from clergy.

Real Catholic TV describes itself as;

"A new and exciting Internet television network focusing on AUTHENTIC Catholic programing. It's all about spreading the faith, giving people what they deserve...the truth...and saving souls. The site will include a wide variety of programming such as daily news segments which will cover what's up in the Catholic world and the political world. There will also be daily saints and history, and then more in depth shows such as the OTHER View, a Christian Music Show, and a gardening show. So tune in a get REAL! "

And the Youtube segments in general do seem to support this but some go right off the rails in an American Right Wing Fundamentalist Wacko kind of way.

Several videos look at the problem of climate change, two of which are called;

Climate Change Hoax;

 Climate Change Scam;

  Both these go totally against the Vatican's actual position on Climate Change.

Does anyone know how officially supported Real Catholic TV is? Even if it isn't, should some official church representatives have a word about what must amount to heresy in official eyes or doesn't the church do that kind of thing any more?

UPDATE

Thanks to a poster on the BBC message boards I have some answers.


A review from what appears to be a more mainstream Catholic view is here;

 "RealCatholicTV was formed in early 2008 by lay Catholics with extensive experience in commercial broadcast television.
The website offers Catholic programming including, daily news, daily political commentary, daily features on saints and history as well as regular episodes on morality, movie reviews, entertainment, apologetics, and much more.
The site provides content through a video player that allows users to view, send, and download content regardless of their computing platform with no plug-ins required. All viewers have free access to home page content – daily news and commentary (current events and politics) from the Catholic perspective, messages directly from Catholic bishops to the faithful, program previews, and more.
The site provides a good deal of material for free, but the $10.00 a month membership charge is well worth it for the extra programming that is available.
RealCatholicTV is particularly concerned with the inroads of secularism into the Church, and users should be aware that a great many of the programs attempt to expose ecclesiastical shortcomings, with considerable criticism of Church leaders.
The site opened with the support of various bishops in the U.S., though as its programming has become increasingly critical of the Church, some bishops have withdrawn their support.
While thoroughly approving many of the fine videos made available through this site, CatholicCulture.org recommends caution for two reasons: An apparent animus against the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, contrary to the clear mind of the Church; and a tendency to over-simply complex cultural, ecclesiastical and theological problems, leading sometimes to the assertion of mere opinion as the "real Catholic" position."

 It seems that while the official church had high hopes for such a TV station, and still recommends many of the  items, it also recommends caution, especially when any videos might actually criticise its leaders. I don't find this very satisfactory because it allows people to cherry pick bits that fit with their views and in the cases cited above they are more political than moral.