Gary Michael Voris: A number of very good bishops and Cardinals, including Cardinal Burke, have said that it looks like persecution is coming. What do you think of that?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes, it could be. We know the history of the Church. There have been many persecutions in recent times. Take the French Revolution, for example. After that persecution, the French Church was purified. Then there was the Mexican persecution, the Cristeros. But even before these persecutions, there were crises in the clergy, moral crises. We must not forget that.
Gary Michael Voris: Does it appear that, in periods of history, when things begin to go bad for the Church, it often begins with problems in the clergy?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes, we can see that throughout the history of the Church. Often, when there was external persecution, God permitted it to purify the Church internally. We should not be afraid. It is always a time of confession of the faith, of martyrs. As Tertullian famously said, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of new Christians. So it could also be a purification when God permits it.
Gary Michael Voris: So Catholics should always be ready for martyrdom. Sometimes it is more immediate. You sense that it is closer. You always have to be ready to die for the faith, but sometimes you have to be especially prepared. Do you think we are in one of those times now?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes, I think we have already seen persecution and martyrdom of our brothers in the Near East, in Syria and Iraq. They were martyred before our eyes, and in other parts of the world as well. It could also approach us someday. We do not know when, but even now we can suffer a spiritual martyrdom. We can be persecuted morally, not physically, and we already are persecuted morally. We must train ourselves for this, but with the grace of God. We must increase our faith every day and ask the Lord to strengthen us.
Our Lord said, Do not worry about what you will say when you are in front of the judges. He will give you the wisdom and the words. When we are confident in God and live our Christian life, if it is His will that we glorify Him through martyrdom, He will give us the strength. We must not choose martyrdom ourselves; that would be wrong.