Bishop William Callahan of LaCrosse, Wisconsin has removed controversial Fr James Altman as pastor of St James the Less church, restricted his public ministry and instructed him to take a 30-day retreat on account of his divisive actions and statements in recent months. Altman repeated a previous pledge to appeal his case to Rome.
Altman first achieved notoriety last year when a video of one of his sermons, in which he preached that no Catholic could be a Democrat, went viral. Callahan reportedly began a series of private discussions with Altman but the priest seemed to enjoy his new-found notoriety and gave a series of more provocative statements.
Altman openly violated public health protocols during the Covid-19 pandemic and raised moral doubts about the vaccines because the research that produced them utilised stem cell lines derived from an aborted foetus. He called liberals “Left-wing fascist Nazis” and he frequently attacked the ministry of outreach to the gay community by Fr James Martin SJ.
The priest received support from more extreme right-wing groups such as Church Militant and LifeSiteNews. In an interview with the latter site, Altman called Bishop Callahan’s action “evil” adding: “it's diabolical I can't celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass publicly.”
Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas previously expressed support for the priest, tweeting: “Fr James Altman is in trouble for speaking the truth. He inspires many to keep the faith during these dark days. Let us pray for him.” Strickland has also questioned the morality of Covid vaccines because research in creating them relied on stem cells derived from an aborted foetus, despite assurance from both the US bishops’ conference and the Vatican that it is perfectly moral to take the vaccine.
Former nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano also voiced support for Altman. Fr Altman raised $640,000 in the days immediately following his suspension via two internet crowdfunding pages, LifeFunder and GiveSendGo.
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