A U.S. priest recently called for Pope Francis to be killed and likened him to the devil, prompting a Christian organization to launch a petition seeking to have his priesthood removed

Last month, Father James Altman shared a video on X, formerly Twitter, where he is heard referring to Pope Francis by his birth name, Jorge Bergoglio, and saying, "today, we are going to consider Jesus' teaching on the great millstone as it applies to Jorge Bergoglio"

"The best thing we could do, would be to tie the great millstone around Jorge Bergoglio's neck and throw him into the deep blue Mediterranean Sea," Altman says in the video

Altman goes on to discuss how he has received criticism and pushback for saying that Pope Francis is not the pope and that "Bergoglio should get Jesus' great millstone treatment"

In another post to X, Altman shared an artificial photo of Pope Francis sitting next to what appears to be the devil. "Birds of a feather...," Altman wrote as the caption

The remarks by Altman sparked the Christian organization Faithful America to launch a petition saying that "the church urgently needs to laicize him altogether." In 2021, the St. James the Less parish in Wisconsin announced that Altman was removed as a pastor for saying, "You cannot be Catholic and be a Democrat. Period"