US Catholic Bishop Calls For Resignation Of Priest Who Criticized Dems and Mask Mandates

P. Gardner Goldsmith | May 26, 2021
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In another example of the striking schism between leftist members of the Catholic Church establishment and traditionalist adherents to Church tenets, a bishop has attacked and called for the resignation of a popular Wisconsin priest.

It appears as if Father James Altman’s criticism of anti-life Democrats and his opposition to mask and lockdown mandates are what drew the ire of the bishop.

BigLeaguePolitics reports:  

Fr. Altman serves as pastor of St. James the Less Catholic Church in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He announced in his Pentecost Sunday homily that Bishop William Callahan asked him to resign on Friday.

And Fr. Altman offered to the congregation what he had been told by the bishop.

’As the bishop has stated to me: I am ineffective. So for the record, dear family, Bishop (William) Callahan has asked me to resign as pastor as of this past Friday, two days ago, because I am divisive and ineffective,’ he said.

BigLeaguePolitics notes that the parishioners reacted with audible shock, and that Altman told them he is contesting Callahan’s request.

’In response, my canon lawyer asked for clarification, asked for the justification and a chance to review what was in my file that suggested I was so divisive and ineffective,’ Altman said. ‘And I say all this only because I’m no expert on canon law. But understand only that while we are contesting Bishop’s request—and we are—he could in theory appoint a parish administrator whilst I remain a pastor without duties until the appeal goes through Rome, which could take up to a year or more.’

Related: Pope Exhibits Shocking Ignorance of Economics and Logic: Claims 'Market Forces' Fail To Provide 'Social Benefits'

 

Parishioners and friends have started a fundraiser to help facilitate Father Altman’s work to contest the “request” from the bishop, and BigLeaguePolitics adds some important information about how those local, dedicated Catholics view God and the Church, and why they support Altman:

Traditionally minded Catholics and staunch conservatives laud Fr. Altman as a courageous voice and a holy priest, while leftists deride him as a false prophet who spreads hatred and misinformation.

LifeSiteNews’ Doug Mainwaring covers the breaking story as well, and offers a profound quote from Father Altman:

What really is at play here, dear family, is that other shepherds are offended because I simply state the fact that they abandoned their sheep in a time of need. If this alleged virus was allegedly a fraction as dangerous as they said it was, it was all the more reason to keep our churches open and get you the sacraments so that you stayed in a state of grace. They put your eternal souls at risk!

Finally, BigLeaguePolitics runs through a breakdown of some of the courageous stands Father Altman has taken: 

  • He has criticized Joe Biden as ‘anything but a faithful Catholic.’
  • Addressing ‘clueless baptized Catholics,’ he has said that one “cannot be a Catholic and be a Democrat, period” and added that Catholics who vote Democrat should “repent of [their] support of that party and its platform, or face the fires of hell.”
  • He has called Planned Parenthood “the most racist organization on the face of this planet.”
  • He has called the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as 'one of the most godless, communist, anti-American, left-wing radical organizations in the United States.'
  • He has blasted Black Lives Matter as Marxists and communists.
  • He has called the COVID-19 vaccine 'an experimental use of a genetic altering substance that modifies your body—your Temple of the Holy Spirit.'
  • In defiance of diocesan protocols, he had ignored capacity and social distancing restrictions and allowed his parishioners to not wear masks. Bishop Callahan maintained COVID protocols throughout his diocese despite the repeal of Wisconsin’s mask mandate in March.

And so the battle inside the Catholic Church – the battle for truth, for tradition, and for the recognition of free will – continues, reflecting what appears to be a rising tide of discontent among the traditional, principled members of the faith who have had enough of the leftist nonsense of some who have run the Church – on the whole – for decades.

 

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