Transcript:
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. There is no other. Jesus Christ said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.” Saint Paul says, “Whoever does not accept Jesus Christ, upon him will remain the wrath of God.” These are words of the Holy Spirit, inspired in the Holy Scripture.
John-Henry Westen: One of the things I loved was the interview you did with Mother Miriam, or Mother Miriam Live, which we air at LifeSite News every day. It was so beautiful to see the two of you together. You’re two heroes of mine. One of the things she mentioned to you was that salvation for the Jews must come through the Catholic Church. It is one of the teachings that is so rarely talked about and is often disdained in the Church today. Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus is the old formulation of it, meaning “outside the Church, there is no salvation.”
Benedict, in his book Pope Benedict, after he retired or resigned, wrote about the missionary zeal from years gone by. It was there because they believed they had to bring the faith to the pagans for salvation. But now, there seems to be, almost officially in the Church, because Pope Francis has sort of hinted and even said that the Catholic faith is not necessary for salvation, that Protestants and people of other religions can also get to Heaven.
Can you explain that for us? What does it mean, and how are we to understand it? There’s also the concept of a person, in conscience, not knowing, and how that plays out in relation.
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: The traditional expression Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, outside the Church, there is no salvation. It means, basically, outside Christ. Jesus Christ is the only salvation, because the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ. So, Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. There is no other. Jesus Christ said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.” And Saint Paul says, “Whoever does not accept Jesus Christ, upon him will remain the wrath of God.” These are words of the Holy Spirit, inspired in the Holy Scripture.
The Jews are the first who have to believe in Jesus Christ as their Redeemer, because he came first to his people. He said, “I came first to the children of the house of Israel.” Only then did the Church go to the pagans. This remains true even today. The Jews must believe and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. There is no other way. The Church must have missionary zeal, first for the Jews, because the first Church in Jerusalem was built almost entirely by Jews. This was our mother Church, and so we have to strive and pray for the true conversion of the Jews to Jesus Christ, their Savior.
The so-called diversity or plurality of religions is a heresy because there is only one way to salvation. The first commandment of God is still valid: “You shall not have other gods besides me.” We must regret that, in recent decades, the Holy See began to promote so-called interreligious meetings with almost all religions of the world, including idolaters and others.
This started, unfortunately, with the meeting in Assisi in 1986, under John Paul II. It was a catastrophe, because it gave the message de facto that the Catholic Church is only one among many religions, and Jesus Christ is just one founder among other religious figures. These kinds of meetings, which have continued, are like a religious supermarket. This is against the Gospel. It is a betrayal of the Gospel. We have to stop such meetings.
Of course, we can meet our fellow citizens and neighbors who belong to other religions, not other faiths, because there is only one true faith, the Catholic faith. We may call them religions, but they are not faiths. We can have a good neighbor who is Muslim or Hindu, and we will love him as a neighbor, be kind to him, and have conversations. But these meetings should remain on the level of daily life with individuals from other religions, not on an official, institutional level. That undermines the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and the Catholic faith.
John-Henry Westen: The last time we spoke at length, we talked about the abortion-tainted vaccines. At the time, you said this was a horror, and that no Catholic should submit to such a thing, even under pain of death. You also said we needed a pro-life movement specifically focused on that kind of purity.
Since then, a lot has happened. The vaccines have been found to be ineffective. There is evidence that authorities knew they were ineffective. Yet, the Holy See has not changed its position. It still supports abortion-tainted vaccines, even to the point of denying people employment if they refuse vaccine mandates. The Vatican itself implemented such a mandate.
What is your take on this now? Has your view changed from when we spoke over a year and a half ago? You once said that if this became global, it could be a kind of mark of the beast, or at least a foreshadowing. What do you think now, after this has been in place for so long?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: It is always difficult for someone to acknowledge their errors. It is evident now, even representatives of Pfizer publicly admitted, in the European Parliament, the ineffectiveness of their vaccines. The Holy See must recognize this. But, again, it is difficult to admit your own errors. It requires courage, humility, and love for the truth. These are clearly lacking in those currently in power in the Vatican.
We have already spoken sufficiently about the moral problem of medicine or vaccines being abortion-tainted. They are linked to the abortion industry, not only that, but also to what is now known as the fetal industry. This is horrendous and growing. Medicines and vaccines tainted or tested with cell lines from murdered children are direct products of this fetal industry.
We can, in no way and under no circumstances, accept this. We are not remote from the fetal industry, we are close to it. By accepting its products, even if tainted only remotely, we are complicit. We cannot say we are remote. We are, in fact, giving de facto approval and collaboration to the horrendous fetal industry and the entire culture of abortion. In no circumstances can we accept this. Otherwise, we fall.
John-Henry Westen: Hi everyone, this is John-Henry Westen. We hope you enjoyed this video. To see more like it, be sure to hit the subscribe button below to get all the latest content from LifeSite News.
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