Michael Coren declares that Vox Cantoris makes a "heavy mark!"

My old friend and brother Knight of Columbus, Michael Coren, is up to it again. I dare say there is some kind of obsession that causes him to come back so often and to ruminate on us. Clearly, we bloggers have more influence than perhaps we thought and we are leaving a "heavy mark."

Back when we were friends, Michael would telephone me often at home and on mobile to chat and prod me about Catholic issues leading up to and after his book, about Catholics being "right." What a maroon! If we were "right" then, we didn't suddenly become wrong. I sat in his home, had coffee and even booked him to speak at a conference and got him other gigs. I helped put money in his pocket. Sorry, for that, friends. Coren would often telephone me frequently to chat, he often speculated on which Toronto priest was "gay" and if I had any proof of it. This was a real interest for him. At more than one public event, he asked me to do some "advance" and distraction from certain people whom he did not like to receive questions from. One specifically at the University of Toronto I regret doing because the good woman has passed to her eternal reward and was right about her views and advice to me on Michael. May dear Ursula forgive me.

One day, after his departure from the faith, he did an interview on video with the CBC. In that video, the CBC flashed a Tweet with my name on it with Coren alleging that I wrote something to him. It was designed to look as if I Tweeted a certain comment. I had not. Coren took a private email which I sent to him, something I forwarded to him without changing the subject line, it clearly began with, "re:"  It was an email from that same Ursula, expressing grief over Michael's comments supporting Hillary Clinton and her stance on abortion. The subject line referred to the "pure evil" of Clinton's statement and by extension, Coren's seeming endorsement of that opinion. Because all of us, including Ursula, had known Michael and his wife from The Toronto Oratory. Ursula was grieved, as were all of us, over what was happening with our old friend. Coren took that email, as if it were a comment from me and attached my name to it, and made it look as if it were my Tweet. Yet, I do not Tweet under my name, but under, Vox Cantoris and there, on The National, was my name for all to see. I was being slandered and mocked in a very public way. A private email from me to Michael Coren was used to slander me by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, a "crown-corporation" which, as a Canadian, I theoretically own shares in. It was broadcast on The National, Canada's national evening news program on the CBC, nationwide and on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. I was accused of stating something which I did not state. That ,,Michael Coren was "pure evil."

I filed a complaint with the CBC ombudsman. The action was pretty quick. The Executive Producer of The National withdrew the video from their web page, Facebook and Twitter and after it was proved that Coren could not prove to the CBC that I said or wrote the words I was alleged to have written, the video with the false accusation of words by me, was edited out and the CBC apologised.

As a certain cleric learnt, if you're going to come after this writer, you need to get up early in the morning, and I'm up before dawn!

Michael has now paid me, and even more, my good friend at Toronto Catholic Witness, Barona, with a great compliment; and for that I thank him and am pleased to let him know that all is forgiven.

In a recent article on The Walrus, Coren declares:

"Even more blatant than Lifesite are blogs such as the Ontario-based Vox Cantoris and Toronto Catholic Witness, with less significance but still making a heavy mark."

Indeed, Michael, on this point you, along with us Catholics are "right." 

Oh and do me this favour would you? Donate one dollar for every hit this sends to your article to Courage Toronto or Campaign Life Coalition for the publicity I am sending back to you.

After all, it would only be "right."