Editor’s note: The following is an open letter from Mary Ann Kreitzer, President of Catholic Media Coalition, to Bishop William Patrick Callahan, Bishop of La Crosse, Wisconsin, regarding his threat of “canonical penalties” to Father James Altman after the priest released a video saying “You can’t be a Catholic and a Democrat.” The letter was penned to the Bishop on September 15, 2020, Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Your Excellency:
Fr. James Altman in his Aug. 30, 2020 video ‘You cannot be Catholic & a Democrat. Period.’ SOURCE: Alpha News MN / Youtube
I am an orthodox Catholic who has spent my entire adult life fighting for babies waiting to be born: sidewalk counseling outside abortion facilities, offering a shelter home for moms in crisis, even going to jail several times for rescue attempts. As President of the Catholic Media Coalition, I speak for many likeminded Catholics who deplore the attacks on Holy Mother Church and those who defend her. Many of our members have watched and listened to the edifying sermons by Fr. James Altman and remarked on what a blessing he must be to his bishop for speaking the truth with clarity and charity about the moral obligation of Catholics, particularly our shepherds, to defend intrinsic moral issues.
So I was mystified by your public statement rebuking and threatening Fr. Altman for his impassioned defense of the faith as he warned Catholics not to endanger their souls by embracing the Democrat Party of death and perversion. Your actions brought to mind Dietrich von Hildebrand’s statement in The Devastated Vineyard: ….
