Pray for this priest and his flock.
A Minnesota Catholic priest said in a homily Sunday that COVID-19 was man made and released into the public to make people sick.
“We have been lied to. We have been lied to in a huge way,” began Rev. Robert Altier of Church of St. Raphael in Crystal, Minnesota.
The priest spoke for nearly 20 minutes about the coronavirus and cited several unsubstantiated theories about the pandemic.
Altier said the virus has been engineered and its effects have been blown out of proportion.
“It’s time that we start to recognize that we are being lied to,” he claimed. “The work had begun at a lab in North Carolina, then they shipped it to China to finish the work, then it was released so that people would get sick.”
No evidence exists that suggests COVID-19 was genetically engineered, according to fact check website Snopes.com. The website said “the vast majority of scientists who have studied the virus” say COVID-19 evolved naturally.
That includes Dr. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, who said “everything about the stepwise evolution over time strongly indicates that [this virus] evolved in nature and then jumped species,” McClatchy News previously reported.
In his sermon, Altier later said he would not trust a potential COVID-19 vaccine and would only get one “if they arrest me, hold me down and force it on me.”
The archdiocese, meanwhile, released this statement in response:
From: Father Michael Tix, Vicar for Clergy and Parish Services
The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis is aware of Father Altier’s homily from last Sunday and has been in contact with him. With the assistance of experts in this area, the matter continues to be under review. Stemming from our belief in the dignity of all human life, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all people and has consistently collaborated with public health officials and government officials in the development of safety protocols for our parishes and schools. Please join with us in prayer for all those who are sick with COVID-19, those who care for them, and for individuals and families affected in any way by the pandemic. May all we do reflect the compassionate face of Christ the healer to one another.
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