'Ladies of La Crosse Tribune': Persecution of Christians Is A Hate Crime—Whether Journalists Or Not

Father Altman under fire for COVID protocols, vaccine misinformation

"Lee Enterprises is currently the fourth largest newspaper group in the United States of America. The company acquired Howard Publications (16 daily newspapers) for $694 million in 2002 and Pulitzer, Inc. (14 daily, over 100 non-daily), for $1.5 billion in 2005. (Wikipedia) "From January 2012 to April 2017, the company's executive chairman, Mary Junck, was chairman of the Associated Press. In December 2018, Lee Enterprises announced that Mary Junck would transition from Executive Chairman to Chairman of the company. "In January 2020, Lee Enterprises announced an agreement with Berkshire Hathaway to acquire BH Media Group's publications and The Buffalo News for $140 million in cash.

Back to the hit piece on Fr. Altman and his parish

"A community member last week shared with the Tribune a photo from Easter Services at St. James the Less Catholic Church where Father James Altman presides, showing a crowded church, and a page from a church bulletin calling vaccines "an experimental use of a genetic altering substance that modifies your body — your temple of the Holy Spirit." (Tribune) "The flyer, which was posted to the church's website as of press time and reviewed by the Tribune, states it is "diabolical for anyone to virtue-signal/shame/compel you to take such an experimental drug, making you nothing other than a guinea pig," and also says those recommending inoculation are "lying to your face." "God is still the best doctor and prayer is still the best medicine," the missive closes. "According to the community member, Altman during his sermons has declared COVID-19 a "hoax," and approximately 300-500 parishioners were in attendance at his services Easter weekend. "The photo obtained and reviewed by the Tribune, which is a screenshot from a video of one of the Easter masses, shows at least 50 people in the first five rows of pews crowded together, appearing to not be wearing masks. "The Tribune also found and reviewed the video, which was posted to a YouTube page of Altman's videos. The video shows around 170 parishioners walking up to receive communion — many of them by the mouth, not the hand — as well as few, if any, masks among the crowd." "170 parishioners" is not 300-500 parishioners.

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The Tribune delivered their "community member" findings to the La Crosse County Health Department

"Contacted by the Tribune about the community member report of masking and capacity infractions at St. James the Less, the Health Department issued the following response:

"The order is not independently enforceable, but rather the health department will review complaints about entities not in compliance of the advisory.  (Tribune)  "Violations may result in enforcement if the department's investigation produces "credible, clear and convincing evidence" of noncompliance. "The department will first give the offending entity the opportunity to correct their violation, with further enforcement and a potential perusal in court if the issue goes unrectified (sic). "In addition, the Diocese of La Crosse has laid out protocols for its parishes returning to mass. Its latest public notice of protocols allows only 25% occupancy with social distancing within churches, and requires participants to wear masks. And on March 31, Bishop William Callahan re-emphasized the protocols after the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the state's mask mandate.

"Their authority ends at our door"

"The Tribune was unable to reach Altman for comment for this story, but did review a number of videos of his sermons and productions with various media entities. "In one video of a sermon in May 2020, Altman is welcoming the parish back after being closed due to COVID-19. He directed the parish to take the proper safety measures, including to enter through a specific door, follow the markings to social distance while receiving communion and to wait for ushers to seat and dismiss pews to avoid crowding. "If we do this well, we don't have to worry about any restrictions on us in the future," he said, noting that they were on camera. Another video from Palm Sunday this year, which in the description says was taken on a cell phone from what appears to be the audience, Altman's tone on the pandemic sharply differed. "A year ago this Palm Sunday, the godless madness already had taken control but only nine of us were allowed in here, including me. Let us reject and cast off the godless madness now and forevermore," Altman said. "And let us realize that we do not fear dying so much that we fear to live." "Altman condemns those in the church adhering to COVID-19 precautions, including leaders, calling it "damning," and encourages the audience to "do all that we must" to make sure the government never "restricts our life of faith again." "Their authority ends at our door," Altman said. "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, taped off pews and more. These precautions were not evident in the video of the Easter service. It also lists the detail that the requirement to attend mass is still suspended by the diocese, although Altman condemns those who willingly miss mass in his videos.

They Hate Me

"Altman has also continued to make videos for third parties, including Alpha News, the alt-right Minnesota media outlet that published his initial video that went viral. "Under one of his videos, a commenter writes, "We are blessed that your bishop allows you to speak truth. May God bless you both." "The diocese previously condemned similar messages and said it would work with Altman privately and that more action would come if it continued, although Altman's videos conveying these messages have seemed to only increased and he remains leading St. James the Less. "The Tribune requested comment from the diocese about the continued messaging in January, but received no response until this week after requesting more response."

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