Transcript:
The Simple Truth, rising up to explore the difficult topics of real life. Join us as we proclaim the good, the true, and the beautiful with the simple truth of Jesus Christ and His Holy Catholic Church through Scripture, Tradition, and the Catechism.
And now, your host, Jim Havens:
Jim Havens: It is great to be back with you on The Simple Truth, where we proclaim the life-giving reality of Jesus and His Catholic Church. We consecrate everything to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the pure, strong Heart of Saint Joseph.
It is Throwdown Thursday, where we focus on themes of spiritual warfare and the real challenges that are before us all, to better understand the battles we are in, to actively and effectively engage in fighting the good fight, to participate with the grace of God that is being lavished upon us, and to share in the victory of Christ, now and for all eternity.
Let’s also remember the quote often attributed to Saint Joan of Arc: All battles are first won or lost in the mind.
Our guest today is Bishop Athanasius Schneider. He is one of the foremost defenders of the Catholic faith in our time. He recently authored The Springtime That Never Came, published by Sophia Institute Press, sophiainstitute.com. You can also learn much more about him and his good work at the website gloriadei.io.
Your Excellency, Bishop Schneider, thank you so much for being with us today.
Bishop Schneider: Thank you.
Jim Havens: Yes, Your Excellency, we greatly appreciate you being here. As you describe in the book, you experienced having the Catholic faith passed down to you through your ancestors like a treasure, an intact inheritance from generation to generation. That’s a great blessing. Sadly, it’s one that not too many seem to experience. Tell us a little of your personal story, specifically the formation in the faith that you received as a young person in your family. What was it like?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes, it was my experience how important the transmission of the Catholic faith in the family is. It is the original place that God gave to transmit the Catholic faith, the family. Therefore, the renewal of the Church will be promoted mostly by new, good Catholic families, and so, to prepare young people for a good Catholic marriage, and that they have to accept all the children which God sends them, and to educate them in the Catholic faith, to have always in mind the final goal for which the family was created by God, to give not only new earthly children, but that they will become children of God and members of the Catholic Church, and then also citizens of heaven, ultimately.
And so, this was how it was done. We have seen this in the history of the Church, in Christianity, where we had the Christian society, the Catholic society in the Middle Ages, until the Protestant Revolution, and then the other revolution, the French Revolution. The entire society was filled with the Catholic spirit, or the Christian spirit, thanks to the transmission first of the Catholic faith in the family.
And this I could experience even in such difficult circumstances as the persecution of the faith and the Catholic Church during Soviet communism, where I lived. Therefore, we had this possibility to live our Catholic faith in the family, because in society, in the schools, it was forbidden, it was persecuted. And not only my family, but others also, they kept, transmitted, and lived the Catholic faith clandestinely in these difficult situations and times. Therefore, it is so important for our time to renew new Catholic families.
Jim Havens: Yes, Bishop Athanasius Schneider is with us. Bishop, you say later in the book that when you were sent to a boarding school in the 1970s, you saw priests without habits or cassocks for the first time. They were dressed like regular laypeople. They wore jackets, shirts with ties, and you could sense that something was not right.
You say that the youth Mass, with guitars and practically secular music, was a new experience for you at that time. You remember, when you were 13 or 14 years old, that it really bothered you. Yet you conclude: “Thanks to my background, to the years spent under communist rule, and to the experience of persecution there, I was immune to all this progressive ecclesial liberalism. Thanks be to God, this immunity has stayed with me my whole life.”
Bishop, define this progressive ecclesial liberalism for us, and how can we make ourselves immune to it?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: The progressive ecclesial liberalism is at the root of our present crisis within the life of the Church. It has been so for decades, since the Council. I would say the root of this ecclesial or clerical liberalism is that these clerics seek their own advantage, their own personal power and glory, not the glory of God, but the glory of the world. They desire approval not from God, but from public opinion, from the powerful of this world, from the mass media, and so on.
To achieve this, they are willing to pay a price; they adapt themselves to the spirit of this world and become worldly. Ultimately, this leads to loving what is in the world. As Saint John the Apostle writes in his first letter: “My children, do not love what is in the world,” the concupiscence of the eyes, of the flesh, and the glory of this world.
These are the temptations to which this clergy, this ecclesial liberalism, has yielded. The spirit of this world will never acceptthe constant truth revealed by God. The world always tries to change that truth according to its opinions, and these clerics have been doing this for decades, changing the meaning of the Church’s constant teaching.
The spirit of this world will never accept the commandments of God. It seeks to change them, to live instead according to its own will. The spirit of the world also rejects the glory of Christ, refuses to place Christ at the center of life, in the Church, and in the liturgy.
Ultimately, this liberalism is anthropocentrism being centered on man and naturalism living only on a natural level. This is a virus that has deeply penetrated the clergy over the last several decades. We must be vigilant against this virus and educate new generations of priests and families in the perennial Holy Catholic Faith.
Jim Havens: Yes, thank you for that. We’re going to hit a hard break in just a moment, but when we come back, we’ll get into that topic further, talking about that spirit, that virus that has infiltrated the Church.
Before we go, we’ve got about a minute. If I could just ask you quickly, Bishop, for those listening who are just starting to recognize what you’re talking about, can you tell them what the solid sources of the faith are, resources they can turn to, no matter what is going on in Church leadership, to grow closer to Jesus and to strive to truly live the Catholic faith?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: First, it is our Catholic faith and the good catechisms. For English-speaking people, I would recommend the Baltimore Catechism. It offers a very sure and integral exposition of the Catholic faith. You can use this to remain solid in your faith. We must be unshakable, and this is one of the means of good Catholic catechisms.
Jim Havens: Yes, thank you very much for that. When we return, we’ll have much more with Bishop Athanasius Schneider, a man of great wisdom. In my opinion, read every single word of his book, The Springtime That Never Came. You can get it by going to Sophia Institute Press at sophiainstitute.com.
There is so much in this book that we won’t have time to cover today, but we’re going to get to as much as we possibly can. It’s truly helpful content. But again, there’s no substitute for getting the book, spending time with it, and pondering the ideas and the solutions offered. Very valuable material.
Again, The Springtime That Never Came sophiainstitute.com. We’ll be right back with Bishop Athanasius Schneider. Stay tuned.
Prayer of Deliverance
Almighty God and Father, we beg Thee through the intercession and help of the Archangels, Saint Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel, for the deliverance of our brothers and sisters who are enslaved by the evil one:
From anxiety, sadness, and obsessions, we implore Thee, deliver us, O Lord.
From hatred, fornication, and envy, we implore Thee, deliver us, O Lord.
From thoughts of jealousy, rage, and death, we implore Thee, deliver us, O Lord.
From every thought of suicide and abortion, we implore Thee, deliver us, O Lord.
From every form of sinful sexuality, we implore Thee, deliver us, O Lord.
From every division in our family and every harmful friendship, we implore Thee, deliver us, O Lord.
From every sort of spell, malefice, witchcraft, and every form of the occult, we implore Thee, deliver us, O Lord.
Thou who said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you,” grant that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, we may be liberated from every demonic influence and enjoy Thy peace always, in the name of Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Jim Havens: Welcome back to The Simple Truth. Jim Havens here with our guest today, Bishop Athanasius Schneider. He is one of the foremost defenders of the Catholic faith in our time. He recently authored The Springtime That Never Came, which is what we’re talking about today. It’s published by Sophia Institute Press at sophiainstitute.com. You can also learn more about him and his good work at gloriadei.io.
In Chapter Four of the book, titled The Illusion of Progress, you speak, Bishop, of a spiritual virus that has infiltrated the Church. Quote: “We can certainly speak of a spiritual virus that has infiltrated the Church after the Council, despite the expectations and intentions of many of the Council Fathers who wished for the exact opposite, the renewal and strengthening of the Church. Let me emphasize that the Council documents include many valid and important points, but they also include some statements that have opened the door to ambiguity and relativism.”
You explain that opinions never before found in the Church started to spread, such as the idea that everyone goes to Heaven or that Hell is not eternal. Priests who spread such beliefs were subsequently appointed bishops, even cardinals.
Quote: “We can certainly speak of a grave responsibility of the Holy See for appointing bishops and cardinals from among those whose preaching was ambiguous and for whom there was no guarantee that they would faithfully teach the constant faith of the Church. Men of the middle, advocates of compromise in short, relativists, they started being promoted. It was these people who were opening the doors of the Church wider and wider to the deluge of relativism. There is no denying that it was the hierarchy from whom those destructive actions came. Let me reiterate, the responsibility for this lies with the Holy See. I am convinced that future popes will have to repent for this. I believe that a future pope will make a public confession of sins in which he will say, ‘We, Rome, the Holy See, are accountable for the disastrous regress of many local churches, for the destruction of the true Catholic life of faith, of dogmas, liturgy, and morality among so many Catholic nations, because we promoted and tolerated heretical and worldly bishops and cardinals.’” End of quote.
You also say later in the book that, right now, we are experiencing the widespread apostasy of bishops and cardinals. Tell us more about what you’re seeing.
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: It is simple; we can state these facts. It has been evident in the decades since the Council. The majority of the episcopal nominations made by the Holy See and its nuncios were of priests who were not zealous in defending and promoting the integrity of the Catholic faith, but rather so-called compromise candidates.
Compromise candidates are neither cold nor hot. They are in the middle, and such people will always yield to the attacks of this world. They will compromise the Catholic faith, the liturgy, and more. We have observed this. In those dioceses, over the last fifty or sixty years, we saw that even though these candidates were not explicit heretics or immoral individuals, they were always compromising or ambiguous.
This is not the standard of an apostolic man like the Apostles, the Church Fathers, or the great bishops of Church history. Such people should not be candidates for the episcopacy, and even more so, not for the cardinalate. But unfortunately, such candidates were very much promoted by the Holy See. We must state this. We cannot remain silent. Ultimately, this is the responsibility of the Holy See.
In the time of Pope Saint Gregory the Great, at the end of the sixth century, he was very demanding when appointing bishops. He conducted very careful research and sometimes waited a long time before making an appointment. Or he simply did not appoint anyone if he could not find a good candidate. He was that careful.
Some bishops rebuked him, asking why he was so demanding and had such high expectations. He answered, “Please go and seek, and you will find them.” He stressed that good candidates are sometimes hidden, and we must seek them or simply wait. A diocese can remain vacant for a considerable time, and the faithful will still believe. They will still have the sacraments and priests.
We lived this in the Soviet era without a bishop for decades, and with very few priests. Yet the Catholic faith was transmitted, taught, and lived in Catholic families. So, it is better to leave a diocese without a bishop for several years than to appoint a weak, compromising candidate who will spread modernism and liberalism in his diocese.
We must emphasize this again. When choosing cardinals, the Holy See must also be very careful in selecting only men with a clear position, a clear fidelity to the integrity of the Catholic faith, and a moral life. They must be men of prayer, with a true apostolic spirit.
Jim Havens: Yes, that’s very helpful. It makes a lot of sense. And of course, none of what you’re saying is against the truth of the Catholic Church. In fact, it’s very much the opposite; you are defending the truth of the Catholic Church.
This needs to be said. There is a sickness in the human element, in the human leadership of the Church. There has been an infiltration that has given us Catholic leaders who think and act contrary to the truth of the Catholic faith.
Of course, those leaders don’t want us to talk about this. Even many Catholic media outlets won’t speak clearly and straightforwardly about it. But don’t we have an obligation to speak up?
If people don’t see this and understand how to navigate it, they’ll be deceived by it. Families are being destroyed. Souls are being lost. Isn’t it an essential obligation that we must help people in our time to see the grave corruption in the human leadership of the Church?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Well, I think it is not so helpful to focus solely on exposing the sins of the clergy, especially the high clergy and episcopacy. That, in my opinion, does not build up the life of faith. It can actually discourage people, because this is the human aspect of the Church.
Instead, we must promote the spirit of faith where we live the true Catholic faith, good catechisms, solid apologetics, and good Catholic books. We must promote prayer groups, Eucharistic adoration, rosary chains, the Living Rosary, and a holy, worthy liturgy.
Then, we must implore God to give us courageous, one-hundred percent Catholic bishops, cardinals, and popes. This must be done through prayer, Eucharistic adoration, and penance. And God will hear these prayers. This, in my opinion, is a more effective, supernatural means for the renewal of the clergy and episcopate, rather than publicizing the sins of the clergy to the whole world.
Of course, we must report abuses to the proper Church authorities. We should not hide them. But it is not necessary to make all of this public worldwide. That will not ultimately bring good to the Church. So yes, we must identify abuses and report them to those in the Church who have the authority to act and correct them. But ultimately, the contribution of the lay faithful must be to form a new chain of prayers and adorations to implore God to give us good shepherds.
Jim Havens: Of course. I just think that oftentimes it’s hard to even get someone to that point. I think of someone in just an average parish these days, when they’re kind of stuck in this deception, thinking their pastor is telling them the truth in every way, when actually what he’s saying is riddled with errors. He’s telling them the wrong thing in confession, saying, “Well, that’s not really a sin,” or “Go ahead and keep using contraception,” or whatever else. Unless we help people to see what I believe you’ve done in this book very, very well, the history, the errors, the heresies, and the descent that has fomented within the Church, it’s hard.
Understanding that a lot of that is now being carried forth by many priests and bishops, we have to be honest about this. Otherwise, we’re going to have a hard time helping people break through the deception. That breakthrough is what can get them to that prayer group, help them understand they really need to put Jesus at the center, and that they actually need to pray, not just follow the worldly course that perhaps their pastor is telling them.
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Exactly. I think this is the hour of the laypeople, and it was one of the main topics of the Second Vatican Council to promote the contribution of the laypeople in the life of the Church. And this is exactly the time for it, when we are observing that the greater part of the clergy is not transmitting the purity of the Catholic faith.
So the laypeople have to start being apostles of the faith. They must give their contribution first, in their own families, and then also in their environment, in their world.
Jim Havens: Yes, this is what love compels us to do. This is authentic charity, right? This is vitally important. And I hope people are seeing this.
We’re going to be back with Bishop Athanasius Schneider. His new book is going to help you see through so much, The Springtime That Never Came. Again, you can get it at sophiainstitute.com.
When we get back, we’re going to go a lot deeper into some of this and point out some things a little more specifically. We’ll be right back. Stay tuned.
Jim Havens: Welcome back to The Simple Truth. Jim Havens here with our guest today, Bishop Athanasius Schneider. His recent book is The Springtime That Never Came, published by Sophia Institute Press at sophiainstitute.com. You can also learn more about him and his good work at gloriadei.io.
In Chapter 10 of the book, titled The Rupture of Continuity, Bishop, you say of Karl Rahner that you are convinced that in one or two hundred years, the Church will recognize that Rahner was one of the greatest and most dangerous heretics of the 20th century. Unlike others, he did not preach heresies directly but spread them in an extremely clever, cunning, indirect way.
You say Rahner can even be called the greatest Gnostic thinker in the Church in modern times, and that many priests who, after the Second Vatican Council, became bishops and cardinals, were imbued with the theories of Karl Rahner. That’s when they were infected, and they started spreading errors after assuming positions of power.
What is most important for us to know when it comes to Rahner and the ongoing effects of his poison?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Well, Rahner substantially had the spirit of Kant and Hegel, that is, the German idealism, the German philosophical rationalism, which is, at its core, a kind of Gnosis.
Gnosis was a movement about 2,000 years ago, a philosophical and partly religious group or sect, with the main idea that man himself constructs and builds up truth or reality. Therefore, they built up this fantastic religious or philosophical world, which was called Gnosis. Gnosis means “knowledge.”
Another main point of the Gnostic movement was that only knowledge ultimately is what saves you, what gives you salvation. This salvation was seen as independent of the external world, or even of your own works.
This is very dangerous. It is ultimately an expression of the independence of man from the Creator. Gnosticism is unhistorical because it rejects the historical revelation of God as a real, historical intervention of God which took place first in the Old Testament, where God revealed Himself, and then fully and ultimately in Jesus Christ, the Incarnate God. This, for Gnosticism, is unacceptable.
So, Rahner was a disciple not directly, but in the spirit of Kant and Hegel. He adopted their philosophy, which includes this agnostic mentality: to build up or construct your own ideal world, independently of the reality that God created. First, in creation itself, and then, by rejecting in principle the possibility and the actual historical fact of divine revelation.
Jim Havens: Yeah, well, that seems like an awful thing to fall into. And surely, it wrapped it in ways that were very deceptive, as you say. I just want to encourage anybody who might know a priest who is still reading Rahner or is someone who still believes in his work, that you get them this book, The Springtime That Never Came, written by Bishop Athanasius Schneider, and give it to them as a gift, maybe for Father’s Day coming up. It’s an act of truly authentic charity, love of God for His own sake, and love of neighbor out of love of God. It would be a wonderful thing to do.
And I want to ask you here, Bishop, to unpack what became the title of the book, The Springtime That Never Came. You say in the book that, as soon as the news of the council was announced, it became a symbol of the so-called “New Pentecost.” You go on to say that there was no outpouring of the Spirit, no New Pentecost, no springtime. Pope Paul VI himself said that instead of the expected springtime, winter had come.
You point out that it’s enough to compare what the Church looked like before and after the council. You say 50 years later, there can no longer be any doubts about the fruit, and that we must give new soil to the tree. We must take care that the plants grow from the root, bearing healthy and good fruit. The true renewal of the Church can be achieved only by returning to tradition. That which was proposed didn’t work.
The liturgy has been distorted. Instead of the worship of God, a form of self-adoration of man emerged. The Holy Mass has become, in many places, a show. Even if it’s celebrated according to the rubrics, it doesn’t clearly express the essentially sacrificial character of the Mass. Clearly enough, with the pontificate of Pope Francis, we have reached the height of the crisis. The greatest conformity to the world. Paganism has already invaded the life of the Church. Bishops and cardinals talk and act as if they were pagans.
Recently, an American bishop said that the greatest danger to life is not abortion but climate change, pure paganism, and absurdity. Not only do these bishops not lose their offices, but they are still apparently supported by those who have authority in the Vatican. All these are facts that speak for themselves. Therefore, stories about the springtime of the Church, or about a new outpouring of the Spirit as a New Pentecost, reveal a complete loss of contact with reality.
So there’s a lot there, and your writing is excellent. I hope reading some of it here gives the audience a taste. Again, you can get the book, The Springtime That Never Came, at SophiaInstitute.com. But one item I have to follow up on here is your reference to a recent American bishop who said that the greatest danger to life is not abortion but climate change. I believe the one you mentioned is Bishop McElroy of San Diego. He was just named a cardinal by Pope Francis. And Cardinal Cupich, who is a disaster on the liturgy among other things, was named a member of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments by Pope Francis.
What are your thoughts when you consider these recent appointments?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: One cannot help but be saddened by this. It is an evident damage to the truth, to the integrity of Catholic life within the Church, to appoint such people to high positions. This clergy, who publicly made such statements, I think it was McElroy, the bishop he said more people were dying from climate change than from abortion. This simply contradicts reality. It is cynicism. It is against the truth. It is ideology. It promotes a purely naturalistic. And this is very sad.
Also, the desacralization of the liturgy, which you mentioned, is very real. To put such people who are evidently, by proven facts, damaging and destroying the integrity of the Catholic faith and moral teaching, and the sacredness and sublimity of the holy liturgy into high positions, is incredible. It is very sad.
And those who do this in the Vatican, we have to conclude, they agree with such positions. Otherwise, they would not promote such candidates. Or they wish to change the Catholic Church into a more naturalistic organization, a Protestant organization, or an NGO-style organization.
This is already a demonstration that the Vatican administration is in the hands of people who want another church, a naturalistic organization, I repeat, not the full, integral Catholic truth. We have only to lament this, to regret such things. But even so, God will win, and the Catholic truth will win, despite these clerics who are placed into such high positions. They are to be pitied. They must give an account before the judgment of God. These cardinals, who were promoted despite their wrong theological and liturgical positions, will have to give a stricter account in the moment of their judgment before God. Because the more you receive responsibility in the Church, the stricter the account will be.
And therefore there was a saint once, a saint priest whom the pope, I think it was Philip Neri, wanted to appoint Cardinal, and he did not accept the appointment. Then he was asked why, and he answered I want to go to heaven, therefore I will not accept the appointment to be a Cardinal. So the meaning of this is that he was aware, saying that when he would receive a higher position in the church, he would have to give a more strict, severe account to God in the judgment and these poor bishops who are now promoted we have to have pity on them because they will give a very strict masculine account of all their words and deeds which damage the Catholic Church now. Therefore, this will also pass very quickly; they forget that their life tomorrow they will be before the judgment of God, and the truth will remain. At the same time, the Holy Spirit is using the little ones in the church, those who do not have high positions, to renew the church slowly. This work is going on and even these clerics promoted to high positions in the church who are ultimately destroying the purity of the church will not be able to stop this movement of the Holy Spirit who is working in the church with the good new youth, young families, seminarians, young priests and some bishops who are unfortunately not so numerous but they are promoting the true renewal of the church. This will not be defeated. The Holy Spirit is working in the church also.
One cannot only be sad about this. This is evident damage to the truth and the integrity of Catholic life within the church to appoint such people to high positions. This clergy who publicly made such statements, I think, Michael Roy, the bishop, said that more people were dying by climate change than by abortion. This is simply contradicting reality. It is cynicism. It is against reality. It is an ideology to promote simple naturalism, and this is very sad. Also, the desacralization of liturgy, which you mentioned, is also a problem, and to put such people who evidently damage and destroy the integrity of the Catholic faith and morals teaching and the sacredness and sublimity of the holy liturgy, to promote such people is incredible. It is very sad. Those who do this in the Vatican, we have to conclude that those who promote such clergy to high positions agree with such positions. Otherwise, they would not promote such candidates, or they want to change the Catholic Church to a more naturalistic organization, a Protestant organization, or an NGO organization. This is already a demonstration that the Vatican administration is in the hands of people who want another church, a naturalistic organization, I repeat, not the full integral Catholic truth. We can only lament and regret such things, but even God will win, and the Catholic truth will win despite these clerics who got such high positions. They have to be lamented, and we have to pity them because they have to give an account before the judgment of God. These cardinals, who were promoted in spite of their wrong theological and liturgical positions, have to give God a stricter account in their judgment because the more responsibility you receive in the church, the stricter the account you will give in the moment of your judgment before God.
We have to pity them because they will give a very strict masculine account of all their words and deeds, which damages the Catholic Church now. Therefore, this will also pass very quickly. They forget that tomorrow they will be before the judgment of God, and the truth will remain. At the same time, the Holy Spirit is using the little ones in the church, those who do not have high positions, to renew the church slowly. This work is ongoing and even these clerics promoted to high positions in the church who are ultimately destroying the purity of the church will not be able to stop this movement of the Holy Spirit who is working in the church with the good new youth, young families, seminarians, young priests and some bishops who are unfortunately not so numerous but who are promoting the true renewal of the church. This will not be defeated. The Holy Spirit is working in the church also.
Jim Havens: Yes, Bishop Athanasius Schneider is with us. We are talking about his book today, The Springtime That Never Came, published by Sophia Institute Press, sophia-institute.com. Plenty more to get to right here. I just want to encourage you, if you are convinced by the words of Bishop Schneider as he speaks here, just know that with God’s grace, we have control over whether a real springtime is going to take place within our own souls. That will then go on to affect things around us and so on. Whatever our vocation is, for me, it’s husband and father; I have serious, grave responsibilities to fulfill there, similar to the responsibilities a bishop would have. I need a new Pentecost in my soul. So am I going to humble myself once more, repent of my sins, go back to confession, receive the Holy Eucharist in a state of grace, and live a life of prayer? All of these things are up to us. We have to say yes. We have to keep going. This will be the springtime.
We’ll be right back. Stay tuned.
Jim Havens: Welcome back to The Simple Truth. Jim Havens here with our guest today, Bishop Athanasius Schneider. He is one of the foremost defenders of the Catholic faith in our time and the recent author of The Springtime That Never Came, published by Sophia Institute Press. Sophia-institute.com is where you can get it. You can also learn more about His Excellency and his good work by going to gloria-dei.io.
Bishop, I have to ask you about Pope Francis. People are wondering what to make of Pope Francis and his pontificate in many different ways, lots of different views. It seems to me from reading your book that you would probably not go as far as to call or accuse Pope Francis of being a heretic, but you would say that he is promoting various heresies, or maybe only go so far as to say he is tolerating heresy. How do you see it?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes, I think he is promoting de facto heresies, not in an explicit theoretical manner but de facto, as you mentioned when he approved the norms of the Buenos Aires bishops’ region for the admittance of divorced and remarried people to Holy Communion. He explicitly approved the possibility that they can be admitted to all the sacraments. Of course, first they were listed up; they had to be invited to live in continence.
And when this is not feasible but possible for them, then the door to the sacraments is open, so it is stated. The pope approved this and even commanded that this should be included in the official apostolic acts. Then the Cardinal Secretary of State said that this act of Pope Francis is part of the ordinary Magisterium. It is very dangerous. But as we know, the ordinary Magisterium of the Pope is not infallible all the time, and we have to abandon this wrong opinion which accumulated in the last centuries, even among pious people and theologians. It was an exaggerated papalism which was not healthy, a kind of exaggeration. Therefore, we have to return again to the sound Catholic understanding of the papacy transmitted by the Church Fathers. Because the pope can err in his ordinary Magisterium, and he did. Church history demonstrates this in some cases. Only when the Pope speaks explicitly ex cathedra and states this, then he has the assistance of the Holy Spirit so that he will be kept from errors. This is a negative assistance, so the Holy Spirit assures that the ex cathedra pronouncements and judgments on topics of faith and morals will not be erroneous. It is not that this is the best expression, but that it will not be erroneous. This is the meaning of the dogma of the infallibility of the Pope. So we have to restate this truth and free ourselves from the exaggerated understanding of the papal Magisterium.
This is one point. Another is that Pope Francis has promoted in several locations things, acts, and declarations that are highly ambiguous, undermining the clarity of the Catholic faith. Especially what he signed in Abu Dhabi, the declaration stating that, as God wills and binds the diversity of the sexes, male and female, the diversity of nations and peoples, so also God wants the diversity of religions and the plurality of religions. This is impossible. Such a statement is wrong. It is against divine revelation. God does not want positively or in the same manner as he wants the diversity of sexes, male and female. This is marriage. He cannot want in the same manner the diversity of religions, but it is stated in one phrase, in one breath. This is another example of the de facto promotion of pagan cult idolatry with the Pachamama figures in the Vatican, allowing them to be displayed and making an exhibition of these idols in the Basilica of St Peter and in another church close to the Vatican. It is another very grievous effect, promoting in this case the heresy of idolatry. He is not promoting in a direct manner through statements. He did not say that it is good to adore or venerate an idol like Pachamama, but he tolerated this and was present at such actions.
In a cunning way, this idol was declared not an idol but simply a historical or folkloristic symbol of the people, which has no religious connotation. This is a contradiction in itself because the Pachamama figures were given real signs of worship. You could see this. They were venerated and really worshiped with incense and bowing down and so on. Therefore, you cannot simply say this was not a religious object because it was venerated. The pope allowed this, and this is very grievous.
Therefore, we have to pray for the pope constantly and do penance for him so that he may regain clarity, strength, and courage to fulfill his duty as the successor of Peter, to strengthen the bishops and all the faithful in the integrity and clarity of the Catholic faith.
Jim Havens: Absolutely! The Springtime That Never Came, published by Sophia Institute Press. Sophia-institute.com is where you can get it. You can also learn more about His Excellency and his good work by going to gloria-dei.io.
Bishop, would you mind closing us out with a blessing?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes,
Dominus vobiscum, et cum, spiritu tuo. Et benedictio dei omnipotentis, Patris et Filii et spiritus Santi descendant, super vos et maneat semper. Amen
Jim Havens: Thank you so much, Your Excellency. I want to encourage everybody to keep Bishop Schneider in your prayers for all the good he is doing and all his faithfulness. What a blessing to the Church and to the world at this time. Let us follow his lead and be courageous. Let us hold true to the faith. Let us reject evil and strive, like our Blessed Mother, to be wide open in following her Son, our Lord Jesus, in every possible way by living our Catholic faith to the full. God bless you.