After a Wisconsin priest said in a viral video that no Catholic can be a Democrat, the priest’s bishop will attempt fraternal correction, and said Wednesday the priest has inflicted a “wound” upon the Church. A Texas bishop, however, has doubled down on his support for the priest.
Fr. James Altmann, a priest of La Crosse, gained attention after an Aug. 30 video was published on YouTube, in which the priest said that “You can not be Catholic and be a Democrat. Period.”
In the ten-minute video, which has been viewed on YouTube more than 400,000 times, the priest said that he had “crunched the numbers,” and “I came up with a pretty close approximation of how many Catholics voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012. Zero.”
“There will be 60 million aborted babies standing at the gates of heaven barring your Democrat entrance,” Altman added, while criticizing the Democratic platform’s commitment to legal protection for abortion.
Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas was the first to declare explicit support for Altman’s message, saying via Twitter, “As the Bishop of Tyler I endorse Fr. Altman’s statement in this video.”
“How quick he was to jump all over his priest. Has he done so with pro-abort Catholic politicians and Communion?” wondered Nadal. “The laity are expected to be just as obedient to the teaching authority of the Church and her bishops as priests are expected to be.”
Other social media users praised Fr. Altman as a hero and expressed gratitude for him “passionately defending the Catholic faith, for daring to call out those clergy and laity alike who do not live Christ’s message.”