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October 2, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — During the inaugural episode of The Bishop Strickland Show on LifeSiteNews, Fr. James Altman expressed gratitude to Bishop Strickland for tweeting support for him after he exposed the pro-abortion policies of the Democratic Party.

Fr. Altman, who is stationed in the Diocese of La Cross, Wisconsin, said he received “vile and despicable” feedback for his video and that he had felt “kind of alone” amidst all the attacks he was facing. But when Bishop Strickland tweeted that he stands by him, he was deeply moved.

“All the sudden, Bishop Strickland comes out with that tweet,” Altman told host Terry Barber. “When I get overwhelmed, it's like I can't breathe and your eyes start to burn and you choke up…I can't thank you enough, Bishop, because you came, you brought grace into my life at a very important time.”

Fr. Altman also said that Bishop Strickland is one of his five heroes. The other four include Cardinal Raymond Burke, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, a signatory of the Dubia submitted to Pope Francis in 2016, and Bishop Athanasius Schneider. 

Bishop Strickland responded by noting that he was motivated to support Fr. Altman because he was talking about “the very basic issue of the sanctity of life” and that “to take a human life, an innocent human life, to just simply murder it, is intrinsically evil.” 

Strickland and Altman agreed that they did nothing more than state a fundamental truth of the Catholic faith, and that all pastors are called to do so.

“The greatest charity is to warn somebody,” Strickland said. “We're obligated as pastors to tell them the truth that's been revealed by Jesus Christ…that’s our obligation to teach it…as a shepherd of souls, I promised to guard the deposit of faith.”

“We both have to answer before God as well,” he continued. “And, you know, that's in my mind when I speak out on some of these things.”

Fr. Altman echoed those remarks, calling to mind Ezekiel 3:19, which says that those who do not warn the wicked of their ways will be held accountable for them.

“If…souls are in mortal danger from an intrinsic evil and we don't even have the guts to say it's evil, much less tell a person who's involved in it, I mean..it’s one of the greatest works of mercy to admonish the sinner and instruct the ignorant!”