Michael Voris alleges abuse by Notre Dame priest and university cover-up
Niwa Limbu • August 15, 2025
Michael Voris has alleged that a priest from Indiana’s University of Notre Dame made serious sexual advances towards him in the summer of 1981. He has also further alleged that the university covered up the incident to protect the cleric.
Voris made the comments on a relatively recently established YouTube account called “SoulsAndLiberty” and under the name “Gary Michael Voris”, which describes itself as “devoted Catholics working together to protect our American Constitutional, Democratic Republic”. The account features various videos covering religious and cultural themes.
Speaking on the channel in a video published on 14 August 2025, Voris alleged that during his second year at Notre Dame, “Father John”, then a hall rector, sent him a series of anonymous campus-mail notes. The first, a St Patrick’s Day card signed “Your secret pal”, appeared harmless. Subsequent letters became darker, culminating, he alleges, in explicit sexual comments.
Voris then alleges that after showing the notes to another priest, he later received a direct letter from Father John admitting to being the “secret pal” and describing him as “irresistible”. Disturbed, he burned the letter in front of a friend, Mike, whose father was the university provost.
When the matter reached Dean of Students James Romer, Voris says he was summoned to face “a team of six to eight men in suits”, later identified as university attorneys. He was accused of lying because the letter no longer existed.
In the meeting, Father John allegedly read a statement denying the allegations and revealing sins Voris had confessed to him in the sacrament of reconciliation — a violation of the seal of confession which, under canon law, is punishable by excommunication. “I lunged at him across the table,” Voris said. “I called him a pervert and disgusting.” The Dean of Students then apologised to the priest before dismissing him from the room.
Voris says he did not see the priest again until May 2009, while covering President Barack Obama’s commencement address at Notre Dame. Spotting him near the stadium, Voris approached: “Hi, Father. You remember me?” The priest at first denied it, then, Voris alleges, said: “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say. Can you forgive me?” Voris told him, “I did,” and walked away. Voris has said that the priest has subsequently died.
Voris first mentioned the abuse in 2015, speaking briefly about the incident, but at the time he did not go into detail. However, the account provided in the YouTube video is far more extensive, naming individuals, describing letters, and recounting meetings in full, offering a level of specificity absent from his earlier statements.
Michael Voris is the former president of St Michael's Media, a media outlet he founded to produce catechetical and news videos that were particularly critical of homosexuality and the American Catholic hierarchy. During Pope Francis’ pontificate, the videos became especially combative.
In November 2023, Voris resigned as president of St Michael’s Media after breaching the organisation’s “morality clause”. In a video posted to X, he referred to “very, very ugly truths from my past” and said: “I need to conquer these demons.” Later reporting alleged that he had sent unsolicited shirtless photographs to male staff members.
Church Militant also faced multiple legal battles, including a $500,000 defamation settlement in early 2024. Soon after, the organisation announced it would close permanently by April 2024.
The Catholic Herald tried to call the University of Notre Dame for comment but received no answer.
Reflecting on his alleged experience at Notre Dame, Voris said in his account: “The day before my 18th birthday, I lost my innocence. A priest had abused me. The institution tried to cover it up by attacking me. How do these men sleep at night?”