Preaching from the pulpit, a Catholic priest told LaCrosse parishioners that Covid is a hoax. The church bulletin called vaccines an experiment with “a genetic altering substance that modifies your body — your temple of the Holy Spirit.” The hoax and anti-vaxxer assertions, by Father James Altman, were at an Easter service. The LaCrosse Tribune learned belatedly about what happened and reported it 23 days later. Altman, the Tribune said, didn’t take its reporter’s call for a response. It’s believed that at least 300 people, perhaps 500, participated in the Mass at St. James the Less Church on the North Side. A screenshot from a video shows 50 people, perhaps more, in the first five rows of pews. They’re crowded together, few with face masks. A YouTube page of Altman videos shows about 170 parishioners receiving communion — many of them by the mouth, not the hand, Few, if any, have masks.
Altman extremism
Father Altman is no stranger to controversy. Last fall he publicly condemned Democrats as “Godless hypocrites.” This month a flyer for Easter services declared it “diabolical for anyone to virtue-signal/shame/compel you to take such an experimental drug, making you nothing other than a guinea pig.” Anyone recommending inoculation is “lying to your face.” The divine answer: “God is still the best doctor, and prayer is still the best medicine.” A year ago this Palm Sunday, he called pandemic restrictions on pubic assemblies, including worships, “godless madness.” He said: “Only nine of us were allowed in here, including me. Let us reject and cast off the godless madness now and forevermore. And let us realize that we do not fear dying so much that we fear to live.”
An Altman parable
An Altman sermon posted online carries a parable-like title: “The Covid Puppy and the Masked-Up Mother.” Altman tells about a dog without socialization that barks at a visitor, and a baby who finally stops crying once his mom takes off her mask. “You’ve all heard the horror stories, all because godless vermin fed us fear and instituted godless Nazi-esque controls on all of us and on those we love,” Altman said. “Let us be clear, God damns every single one of those godless moves, whether it be in civil government or worse, in the complicity of many in the church. In fact, if hell itself has many levels, the lowest, hottest levels are the final burning place for those shepherds who were complicit in the godless restrictions.”
Fauci will burn
About the decorated epidemioolgist Tony Fauci , who pioneered AIDS drugs, Altman said, “The godlessness of what has happened over the past year, the godlessness of what Fauci is now promoting in double-masking, is damnable in the hottest fires of hell, and I’m not joking.”
Wary of leaders
Altman has condemned church and secular leaders for adhering to Covid precautions. About government he called on parishioners to “do all that we must” to make sure the government never “restricts our life of faith again.” He ended: “Their authority ends at our door.”
Diocese policy
St. James the Less states on its website that it adheres to the diocese’s Covid protocols, including the 25% occupancy restriction — 125 people for its specific church — with proper social distancing, and taped off pews. These precautions were not in place for Easter. The diocese policy excuses absences from mass.Altman, ho
Alt news contributor
Altman has made videos outside the church, including for the alt-right Minnesota media outlet Alpha News. Some have gone viral. In the videos, Altman makes far-right conspiratorial comments. Recent government stimulus checks, he said, were handed out to assure that people do the government’s “bidding.” He compares political leftists to Nazis. He declares that God “damns feminism.” About transgender causes his rhetoric is no less harsh. One viewer responded online: “We are blessed that your bishop allows you to speak truth. May God bless you both.”