John P. Mallon: Today in Church Chat, we are delighted to welcome the Holy Family, Mossend, the auxiliary bishop for Kazakhstan, Bishop Athanasius Schneider. Your Excellency, welcome to Scotland. Is this the first time you’ve been in the country?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes, this is the first time that I’m visiting Scotland.
John P. Mallon: How have you found the experience of being here in the past few days in Scotland?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes, it was, for me, a very beautiful experience yesterday in the parish in Glasgow, in the Immaculate Heart Parish. I had a meeting with young people, with children, with families, and with some priests. I had a beautiful experience of the devotion of the people, their love for the Catholic faith, for the truth, and for the beauty of the holy liturgy. I also saw their zeal to live the Catholic faith in the time we are now living, especially in this modern time when Christians and Catholics are becoming a minority increasingly. So we have to live as witnesses of the truth and the beauty of the Catholic faith.
John P. Mallon: We are obviously celebrating 150 years in Mossend. To mark this fitting occasion, the Eucharist is the center of parish life. We had a Eucharistic procession around the streets of Mossend. Do you think that’s the best way to show greater reverence to the Eucharist? What other ways are there to show greater reverence?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes, the Eucharist is the heart of the Church, and the Church is built up from the Eucharist. We have to increase our love, our faith, and our devotion to the Eucharist. The Eucharist is a continuation of the incarnation of our Lord. Our Lord became God visible in the Incarnation, and then in the Eucharist. As human beings, we are soul and body, so, naturally, we pay homage, adoration, and worship also in exterior forms, not only internally. God became visible, and also in the Eucharist, even though Jesus is hidden behind the veils of the Eucharistic bread, he is truly present there with all his divine majesty.
We have to show this also in exterior forms of worship, such as the procession or the solemn exposition. But we also show our faith, reverence, and love in the manner we celebrate the Holy Mass and in the way we receive our Lord in Holy Communion. Our exterior behavior has to demonstrate and witness the faith we hold in our souls. It is natural that we renew reverence before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, keep silence, and pay homage with beautiful ceremonies. He is worthy of this, our Lord, and he has a right to this because he is the King of kings and the King of our hearts.
I think a true renewal, a true Eucharistic renewal, is very necessary. In my opinion, it is the most necessary in the Church of our days. From this Eucharistic renewal, a lasting and fruitful renewal of the entire Church will come.
John P. Mallon: You saw downstairs in our lovely church that, sadly, in past times, the altar rails were removed. How do we then achieve reverence when receiving Communion worthily without an altar rail being there? What is the best option for people?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: I think in some churches around the world, some priests have found a good solution. Where there is no communion rail, one can put a kneeler. Maybe when the Communion rite begins, the altar servers can place a kneeler in the center. People can then approach, and those who desire it can easily kneel. We have to facilitate people receiving Holy Communion kneeling; otherwise, we discriminate against those who wish to kneel.
When there is no possibility to kneel, no kneeler and no communion rail, this is unjust to those who wish to kneel. I think a practical solution is to place a kneeler, which is not difficult to do. It would also be good to have a more stable solution, such as a communion rail, even a simple one. Today, we can make a wooden communion rail in a simple way, and it is not costly. Once we understand the importance of adoration and reverence, we should do this to increase our honor to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament during the reception of Holy Communion.
John P. Mallon: Many people engage online in discussions and debates, and one of the most polarizing issues seems to be Communion in the hand versus Communion on the tongue. Do you believe Communion on the tongue is the right way to receive? Why do you think there is such polarization among people on this issue?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: I think the polarization has different reasons. The first may be a human aspect: people are accustomed to receiving Communion in the hand and do not want to change. That is a very human reason. Another aspect could involve people who are, it seems to me, more aggressive against Communion on the tongue or any change in practice. Many of these people themselves had to change, maybe 30 to 40 years ago, when Communion in the hand was introduced. They had to adapt to a new form, and now they see young people, or people today, wanting to return to the traditional form of receiving Communion on the tongue and kneeling.
These people feel provoked and criticized, and they are often unable to reflect critically. Their opposition is almost emotional and unreasonable. A third factor could be ideological: some people are against changing or against Communion on the tongue because, in some cases, there is a deeper theological reason, they no longer fully believe in the Real Presence of our Lord with all His Majesty.
When one truly believes that in the little host is our Lord and God, before whom the angels prostrate themselves, one naturally desires to kneel. But if someone no longer believes in this reality and considers the host merely a symbol or bread, it is logical that they receive it standing. They will not kneel before bread, and they will take it with their fingers, like eating candy or a piece of cake, as ordinary food.
This is the deepest reason. Unfortunately, after 30, 40, or 50 years of practice of Communion in the hand, people, consciously or unconsciously, begin to lose full faith in the Real Presence of our Lord in the Holy Host. Therefore, they oppose the practice of receiving on the tongue. We see there are different factors, but we must continue to restore the surer and more reverent manner of receiving our Lord on the tongue and kneeling.
John P. Mallon: This year in Scotland is a very big year for Catholic education. We’re celebrating 100 years of Catholic schools under the state system. My cousin Brian and I have been traveling around Scotland, making a big video on the state of Catholic schools at present. What is undeniable is that they are academically very successful, and throughout the last 100 years, they have achieved phenomenal success and good work.
But something that personally troubles me is that when I interview students in Catholic schools in Scotland, they love their Religious Education. They love their education. But when it comes to RE, they always give the same answer. They say they like RE because they learn about other religions. When you ask them about their own faith, they find that they do not have a very deep knowledge of it. What is the solution to this?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: What you just said is a demonstration of a very sad phenomenon: Catholic children and young people in Catholic schools do not know their own faith sufficiently. What does it mean to be a Catholic school if children and young people do not have sufficient knowledge of their own faith? This is contradictory to the meaning of a Catholic school. To be a good Catholic, I must know my faith, and not only superficially. I must know it in a profound, sure, and integral manner.
The first task of religious education is to give students a very sound and complete knowledge of the Catechism and the fundamental truths of the Catholic faith. This is the greatest richness we have on Earth: the Catholic faith and the knowledge of it. Of course, knowledge of the faith requires living it in daily life, but if you do not know it, how can you live it? Those responsible for religious education who deprive young people of this treasure deprive them of the ability to live according to the faith because they do not know the complete truth.
Another danger is that while students may learn about other religions as a kind of general education, we must also point out the errors of these religions. They contain objective errors. We can educate students to respect and love every human being, including members of other religions, even if they are mistaken or do not believe in God. We must have respect and love for them, but we must also know that their path is not according to the will of God, because it contains errors.
The only ones who possess supernatural faith are Christians. Other religions are human inventions, not divine. When there is something true in other religions, it is a gift of God to human nature. God has given us, through creation, gifts such as intelligence and a natural respect for the sacred. Every human being is capable of knowing God by reason, and this is a gift of God.
But this is not sufficient. This knowledge is only on a human and natural level. The greatest gift of God is Jesus Christ and the faith we receive through baptism. Through this, we become children of God, participate in His divine life, and share in eternal life. Faith is only possible through baptism and the gift of faith. This is the greatest gift God can give to humanity.
We must desire that all people who are not Christians become Christians and experience this unspeakable privilege and happiness: to know God as He is, the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to participate through faith and baptism in the supernatural life. We must wish this for every human being, including Muslims. We should pray for them, speak to them about Christ, the only Savior, with respect, and kindly invite them to receive the gift of God, Jesus Christ, and the faith.
John P. Mallon: And finally, what are their plans for the rest of your stay in Scotland?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: No, today, I will go to Dundee and celebrate Mass in the traditional form, with the permission of the bishop in Dundee, and I will give a talk to the people about family and about my experience in the underground church. And so I hope that I can share some experience and give some encouragement to the people there.
John P. Mallon: Thank you very much for covering your Excellency. It’s been an absolute pleasure to have you here and show us the 150th exhibition in the church and this interview. So thank you very much, and God bless you. You
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: You are welcome, and I also thank you for your witness. You are young people, and you are engaged in the Catholic faith, and may God bless your work and what you are doing, and multiply this with a lot of spiritual fruits.
John P. Mallon: Thank you. Please. Pray for us.