Minnesota priest who says COVID-19 is a scam told to halt such preaching

[left-of-center2012]

A Twin Cities priest who had preached that COVID-19 was a man-made scam has been told by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to refrain from talking about such matters from the pulpit. The Rev. Robert Altier had delivered a 20-minute sermon Sept. 6, claiming COVID-19 was concocted in laboratories in the United States and China and that it was a “lie” that tens of thousands of people are dying from it.

At the time, the archdiocese said Altier’s sermon was “under review.” Earlier this week, Archbishop Bernard Hebda announced that he had spoken with Altier and told him such issues were not appropriate for a sermon. “The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is blessed with many fine priests,” wrote Hebda in a letter posted on the archdiocese website. “None of our priests or bishops, however, is an expert in public health, infectious disease, epidemiology or immunology. It would be a mistake to attribute any expertise in these areas to us simply on the basis of our ordination.”

Hebda said he had asked the Minnesota Department of Health to respond to Altier’s many assertions about the pandemic. The department found no credence to Altier’s litany of claims, many reflecting pandemic conspiracy theories. The local chapter of the Catholic Medical Association also “essentially shared the department’s critique,” Hebda said.

Altier had argued that the virus was made in a lab, that a 2020 global pandemic preparation exercise revealed previous knowledge of the virus, that masks caused bacterial infections and that death figures were grossly inflated. The state health department also rejected Altier’s assertion to his congregation that just 9,200 people had died from the virus.

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-priest-who-says-covid-19-is-a-scam-told-to-halt-such-preaching/572526731/

[bottomofthehill]

1. He look sane.

[NickB79]

3. Has the "Full Metal Jacket" bathroom scene nailed

7. 6. 2. Millimeter. Full. Metal. Jacket.

[Midnight Writer]

5. Exactly what jumped into my mind when I saw his picture. Good job.

[bottomofthehill]

9. Bingo

I am.........In a world.......of shit............

[Aristus]

2. Better do as they say, padre.

The Catholic Church has been known to lose on certain issues. But it always takes four hundred years. You ain't gonna live that long...

[Nevilledog]

4. Looks like all he's missing is Esmeralda and a bell tower.

[empedocles]

6. A priest friend of mine once told me that there was a surprising [to him],

number of young, very angry, priests coming into the priesthood.

[Klaralven]

7. Lots of young men have very poor vocabulary these days. Probably didn't understand "celibacy".

[KY_EnviroGuy]

8. Anyone that nuts has no business leading a flock.

He's drinking right-wing Kool-Aid and I would hate to hear his thoughts on women's rights or LGBT issues.


KY......

[left-of-center2012]

10. In the 70's a friend wanted to become a R.C. monk

He went into 'training' (?) and quit after one year, saying
there was too much politics in it for him.

He went on to get a B.S. in nursing.