Posted: April 27, 2021
Update, 05-24-2021: Great news! After weeks of ongoing grassroots backlash, La Crosse Bishop William Callahan has told partisan bully and anti-vaccine priest Fr. James Altman to resign from his Wisconsin church.
Altman's dismissal follows more than 18,000 petition signatures and hundreds of phone calls to Bishop Callahan from Faithful America members. This was a bold and pastoral decision. Bishop Callahan did the right thing, and we are grateful to him. You can call the bishop's office to say thanks at (608) 788-7700.
Read more about this important victory for Christian love and public health.
[Original petition text below]
A prominent Catholic priest in La Crosse, Wisconsin, has been using his pulpit to spread deadly conspiracy theories about masks and vaccines.
On Palm Sunday, Fr. James Altman preached that COVID-19 health guidelines are "godless, Nazi-esque controls," telling parishioners, "God damns every single one of those godless moves." He also said Dr. Anthony Fauci's support for masks "is damnable in the hottest fires of hell."
On Easter, Altman packed in 300-500 parishioners, with at least 50 maskless people jammed in the first five pews -- violating his own bishop's mask and capacity protocols. The church bulletin falsely claimed that COVID-19 vaccines don't work, even repeating the debunked conspiracy theory that the shots alter genes.
Since this petition first launched, Altman has doubled down with yet more bullying and misinformation, using his next sermon and a YouTube interview to reject masks, attack bishops who implement COVID protocols, argue there is a duty to reject life-saving vaccines, and call his critics evil losers, even using sexist language against local reporters who broke the story.
Altman's reckless actions are endangering not only his parishioners, but the lives of every essential worker they meet. His bishop, William Callahan, needs to hear that Christians across the country refuse to accept such deadly behavior in Jesus's name.
Sign the petition:
Love thy neighbor.