Gary Michael Voris: Do you think there is too much lack of clarity inside the Church about homosexuality, which has translated into talk about same-sex marriage? Many bishops will say no to same-sex marriage, but civil unions, that’s okay. That’s not Catholic, is it?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: It’s not Catholic. Yes, I have the impression that part of the clergy and the bishops today are afraid to speak about homosexuality. I would say they are victims of a hostage situation. They are taken hostage by this new ideology, the dictatorship of gender ideology and homosexual ideology, and they are afraid. But this is not the attitude of the apostles, who were never afraid, or of the saints. Of course, we do not have to speak every day about this topic. We have to be prudent and exercise common sense. When necessary, we speak about it very clearly, of course, with politeness, but clearly.
I have the impression that every time the topic of homosexuality is presented, bishops often excuse themselves before speaking. They apologize, saying, “Please excuse me. We have a deep veneration and respect for these persons.” It is clear we must have deep respect, but respect should not be exaggerated. We must also speak. For example, there are other categories of persons and problems, such as alcoholism, which is very widespread in many families. Nobody says, “We have deep respect for alcoholics.” We have to respect the person, but drinking alcohol is not okay for these reasons.
Similarly, to commit homosexual acts or live a homosexual lifestyle is not correct. It is against reason, nature, and the will of God. This is against the explicit will of God because Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit, condemns homosexual acts with very strong words in both the Old and New Testaments. We have to be faithful to God, not to the world. We should not be afraid of being accused of being homophobic. This is nonsense. We have to return to common sense. I remember an expression of Chesterton. He said there will come a time when we must defend, fight, and wage war to protect common reason, common sense. I think we are already here for this.