Transcript:
Bishop Schneider: The ultimate aim of Communism is to destroy the family. And now, the tool to destroy the family is evidently the current totalitarian ideology of gender, the so-called gender ideology.
John-Henry: Hello, my friends. We are coming to you from Washington, DC, for this very special episode of The John-Henry Westen Show, where we are very pleased to have with us Bishop Athanasius Schneider, all the way from Kazakhstan. He is here in the United States, visiting this blessed country, which is also blessed by his presence. You’re going to want to stay tuned for this special episode of The John-Henry Westen Show.
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And let’s begin, as we do, with the sign of the Cross.
Excellency: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
John-Henry: Bishop Schneider, thank you so very much for joining us. Welcome to the United States. We’re so glad to have you here.
Bishop Schneider: Thank you.
John-Henry: You’ve been very active, traveling and taking on serious issues in the Church today. We’re seeing things unfold in the United States and, in particular, in Africa, where there is increasing pressure on nations to accept an ideology that is being pushed with a kind of religious fervor. I just spoke with Jason Jones a little while ago, and he described the situation this way: “Mother Teresa didn’t demand, before helping the poor, that they first recite the Nicene Creed. Yet America now seems to demand that, before giving food aid to poor countries, they must accept the creed of LGBT.” I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Bishop Schneider: Yes, this is a very clear sign that we are already living under a kind of global totalitarianism with political power. This is evident. The mainstream social media platforms are all in the hands of world elites who actively and aggressively promote the gender ideology, which is, at its core, a neo-Marxist ideology. We must state this. We must unmask this.
Marx and Engels wrote that the ultimate aim of Communism is to destroy the family. And now, the tool being used to destroy the family is clearly the current totalitarian ideology of gender, the so-called gender ideology. This is, at its root… You mentioned that this has a religious character. It is atheistic, I would even say, because it is a revolt against the Creator.
So we have to state this, to warn people, and to organize a worldwide alliance of resistance of good people, of goodwill, of common sense. Even non-Christians must help us to stand up against this neo-Marxist globalist ideology.
John-Henry: Now, as a shepherd of the Church, I know it has been very difficult for you. But what is going on in the Church today needs the voice of the shepherds, the successors of the apostles, in a way it perhaps never has before, because there is such confusion.
In Scripture, we hear about this eschatologically: “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” We have a lot of confusion coming directly from Rome today. In the past, Catholics had surety from Peter and his successors. But now, there is so much confusion. We are back to times similar to those in the early Scriptures, when the disciples said, “I am a disciple of Paul,” or, “I am of Peter,” or someone else.
Yet, there was supposed to be surety in Peter. There is supposed to be. But today, we find ourselves wondering, “Am I a follower of Pope Francis, or of Father James Martin, or of Cardinal Müller, or someone else?” There is such disparity. We know there must be unity, but disparity is everywhere. What are Catholics today to make of this?
Bishop Schneider: First, of course, God gave to His Church the foundation and visible sign of unity, which is Peter, the Petrine ministry, which will always remain in the Church. This is our Catholic faith.
But God has permitted this is a mystery and an enigma that the Chair of Peter has at times in history been occupied by people who did not promote the clarity of faith. Like Pope Honorius and others, these were rare cases, thanks be to God.
But today, we see that people clerics, churchmen occupy the highest positions in the Holy See and are collaborating with the current world ideology. They are undermining the clarity of divine revelation, especially by promoting doctrinal relativism. That is, the claim that truth is changeable. This is contrary to all divine revelation.
They are transforming the Christian faith, the Catholic faith, into just one item in a supermarket of religions. They are, in some way, cowardly yielding to and collaborating with powerful elites who promote gender ideology. This must be stated clearly. We have to pray that our Holy Mother, the Church, will shine again throughout the world, and that the See of Peter will once more be the cathedral of truth. Currently, it is eclipsed, as we would say, obscured, but it remains the Chair of Peter.
We must pray for the pope that he may again regain clarity and receive all the necessary gifts of the Holy Spirit, to begin anew his true task, which is to confirm and strengthen the bishops and all the faithful in the clarity of the faith, without ambiguity, and without any sign of collaboration with the current ideology.
As for what we must do in this situation, it was a saint in the fifth century, Saint Vincent of Lérins, who gave, in his famous Commonitorium, a rule. He asked: What shall we do if a time comes when even those in authority promote novelty in doctrine? Or if such novelties spread so widely that the majority of the Church accepts them, what shall we do? He answered: We shall stick to antiquity, to what the Church always taught before the crisis.
This is a rule from the fifth century, which all generations of Christians have observed, and we must observe it in our time as well. So we know what to do. We have the old, crystal-clear catechisms. We have the crystal-clear teaching of the Magisterium, especially before the Second Vatican Council.
Let us say the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, the uniqueness of the Catholic Church, the necessity that every human society and government must obey God and Christ, and must proclaim Him as King. This is evident in divine revelation. We are called to zealously preserve the purity and dignity of the holy liturgy and Christian life.
We already know this. We have the documents, we have the catechisms. So we stick to this and pray that God may shorten this time of obfuscation and grant us again courageous, 100 percent clear Catholic popes. As the Canon of the Roman Mass says: Catholicæ et Apostolicæ Fidei Cultores, those who cultivate and defend the Catholic and Apostolic Faith. This will come again. We must have that conviction and hope. God will provide.
Therefore, we must pray fervently, with trust, confidence, and love. We must pray for the Pope, that God may illuminate him, and that the Lord may finally grant to His Church, to our Holy Mother Church, strong, courageous, and holy Catholic popes and bishops once again.
John-Henry: Just a quick note before we return, if you would like to stay up to date on LifeSite’s coverage of the latest life, family, and culture news, subscribe to one of our many newsletters by going to lifesitenews.com/subscribe. And if you’d like to help us bring our truth-telling coverage to millions around the world, please consider making a one-time or monthly donation at give.lifesitenews.com. And now, back to the video.
One of the things that the Church and her faithful are experiencing in this time of great confusion, especially on these issues, is division within our own families. Our children, siblings, aunts, uncles, and even parents are adopting these new beliefs as if they are Catholic teachings. We are now being labeled as bigots, haters, and uncharitable. I believe you may relate to this personally, having experienced your own brothers in the faith, in the episcopate, especially in Germany. We just witnessed a vote among the bishops in Germany, 38 in favor, 8 against, and 11 abstentions, for the blessing of homosexual unions. You understand this on a spiritual level. These are your brothers in the episcopate, apostles of Christ, who are going away from the faith in this way.
Can you tell us what you do for them? And maybe relate that to what parents can do for their children, or siblings for one another, when their loved ones fall away while still believing they are being faithful, often thinking they are more Catholic than we are?
Bishop Schneider: Yes, this is a phenomenon that occurred during the so-called Protestant Reformation. Heresies spread slowly, and those who yielded, often for temporal advantage, especially clergymen, accepted them. This is a betrayal of their baptismal vows, which they promised to keep pure. Bishops, in particular, promise at their episcopal consecration to zealously preserve and defend the Catholic Faith and the deposit of faith without change.
We must remind these bishops of what they promised in their consecration. Then, we must correct them, of course, fraternally, with respect and love. But fraternal correction must be made, and we must pray for them that God may illuminate them and save their souls. Because they are publicly displaying, before the whole world, a betrayal of Jesus Christ.
John-Henry: You speak about these things and confront them. You probably understand the spiritual realities more deeply than most of us. Yet, despite the gravity of it all, you remain joyful. You smile. You are hopeful, not depressed or in despair.
What is the key to that? How can we, the faithful, many of whom are suffering because of family members leaving the faith or following these strange paths, still remain joyful?
Bishop Schneider: If we were depressed at this time, we would not be true Christians and Catholics. A Catholic cannot be depressed. Why? Because we know our faith. We love our faith. We must always be holy and proudly Catholic. We already have all we need, the old catechisms, the perennial Magisterium of the Church. We can read it. We have the Holy Eucharist, our Lord Jesus Christ. We receive the graces of God. That is sufficient.
Therefore, we must be joyful every day, knowing that we live with God, in Christ. This depends on us. When we live with God in Christ, we are joyful, even in the midst of battle.
Otherwise, our faith is weak. We must deepen our Catholic faith. Remember the martyrs, they were joyful in persecution. So were the Apostles.
Now, humanly speaking, it is painful to witness these signs of apostasy, like the majority of the German bishops or the collaboration of the Holy See with the global ideology of diversity of religions, gender ideology, and so on. This is sad, but we must not allow ourselves to be intimidated by these phenomena or driven to despair.
On the contrary, we must do what we can to joyfully and with conviction proclaim the true Catholic faith where we live, in our families, our workplaces. We must do apostolate, organize chains of prayer, and make acts of reparation for these churchmen.
We must always maintain a supernatural vision. The Church is not a political party. The Church is a supernatural reality. Therefore, we have many helpers, Our Lady, who has conquered all heresies and is always present in the Church. We must invoke her more with the Holy Rosary.
We have the holy angels, the saints, and our patrons. And we must unite ourselves ever more with all those who desire to keep the Catholic faith, the holy liturgy, and the Christian life pure, so that we may promote the true renewal of our Holy Mother Church.
John-Henry: Lastly, Excellency, we currently face the situation in Ukraine, with the war there and the possibility of it spreading further. You are from that region of the world. You may have a different perspective from what we hear in America. What is your take on what is going on there, and what should we be doing?
Bishop Schneider: First, we must lament and regret this war, because the ones who are suffering are the innocent, the simple people, the children. This is very sad. We must pray and do everything we can to implore peace and an end to the war.
Politicians must do all they can to end this war. Thanks be to God, Pope Francis and the Holy See are trying to influence political leaders to sit down and make peace, to negotiate a peace treaty. There are some governments, though very few, like Hungary, thanks be to God, that are working toward peace. But the majority in the West seems to be happy with the war. Their politicians are fueling it further. This is very sad and wrong. The mass media are brainwashing the Western population into supporting the war. Instead, the mainstream media should promote a desire for peace in the population and support every effort toward achieving it.
From a Christian point of view and from me as a bishop, the first duty is to pray for peace, to help the suffering people, and to admonish the politicians to stop the war and to come together to establish peace.
John-Henry: Beautiful. Now, I can promise you, because we do so every day at LifeSite News, that many, many viewers are going to be praying for you. And if you would please impart your blessing upon all of us, we would be most grateful.
Bishop Schneider: Dominus vobiscum.
John-Henry: Et cum spiritu tuo.
Bishop Schneider: Et benedictio Dei omnipotentis, Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, descendat super vos, et maneat semper. Amen.
Bishop Schneider: Praise be Jesus Christ.
John-Henry: Now and forever.