By Paul Bennett at LifeSiteNews:
Bishop Athanasius Schneider has again expressed grave concern about the upcoming Synod on Synodality and strongly urged Catholics to disobey any erroneous proposals or heretical teachings emerging from the meetings.
In a wide-ranging Questions and Answers interview with Christopher P. Wendt on the Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima forum on September 13, Bishop Schneider hit out at the hidden intentions behind the current Synod on Synodality norms and the impact they will have in undermining the hierarchical structure of the Church. He was firm on the subject of doctrinal novelties the Synod might introduce.
“We have a very clear answer,” Schneider said. “We cannot obey here because these would be against the Divine revelation, against Divine commandment, and in this case, we have to follow God clearly [in] the constant teaching of the Church.”
When asked by Wendt if there is anything faithful Catholics can do beyond fasting and prayer to oppose the Synod on Synodality and minimize its expected damage to the faith and divine institution, Schneider said: “I think we have to profess publicly the Catholic Truth, those Truths which are evidently undermined by the Synod agenda which we know now in the working document where there are a lot of things which are ambiguous and others which contradict the Catholic faith. Priests and lay people should publicly profess again and again the constant traditional teaching of the Church concretely regarding the hierarchical structure.”
In June, the Vatican published the working document, otherwise known as the Instrumentrum laboris, for the Synod. The document focuses on three themes for the upcoming meeting: Communion, Mission, and Participation. The prominent message being sent by the Vatican is wider input in the decision-making process..
Schneider believes that the upcoming invented Synod resembles the doctrine of the Protestant faith and other secular faiths where clergy and lay people are given equal say. “We are not Protestants. We will not follow our own opinion,” said the bishop.
In a recent interview with Catholic Family News, Schneider elaborated on this by saying: “The method of synodality proposed by Pope Francis that includes debating with people of other faith traditions, people of no religion, and even with people characterised as ‘etc.’ will ultimately obfuscate the Faith.” He added: “It is always healthier for the life of the Church to have fewer permanent structures, since every structure creates not only bureaucracy but also clerical bureaucrats. I consider the agenda of a synod of bishops should focus on the elaboration and presentation of a detailed profession of the truths of faith relating to some of the most common doctrinal, moral, liturgical, and pastoral errors in the life of the Church of our time.” Schneider has called the formal parliamentary style “consensus-building” approach as indirectly proportional to the faith.
According to communications from the Holy See Press Office: “The Synod is not an event but a process in which the whole People of God is called to walk together toward what the Holy Spirit helps it to discern as being the Lord’s will for his Church.”
In April 2023, the General Secretariat of the Synod controversially announced that the assembly will include laypeople as voting members in synodal proceedings, thus replacing many bishops.
Schneider questioned the morality and hidden interests of the persuasive LGBT lobby in weakening the divine institution of the Church. He told Christopher Wendt: “The sixth commandment—not to commit adultery or other impure acts—is a Divine Law, and we have to proclaim this again against these cunning expressions within the document of the Synod. Welcoming LGBT people and including them and so on is basically a justification of the sin of homosexuality itself.”
Regarding what the faithful should do if such erroneous proposals or heretical teachings are issued and promoted, the Kazakhstan Bishop strongly urged Catholics to disobey the synodal church: “We have a very clear answer, we cannot obey here because these would be against the Divine revelation, against Divine commandment, and in this case, we have to follow God clearly [in] the constant teaching of the Church.”
When asked hypothetically how the faithful should respond if their local bishop allowed female deacons, Schneider warned: “I hope this will not be done. I think this is impossible that a Pope would approve a sacramental ordination of female deacons, but if in hypothesis this happened, then of course we cannot participate in such worship that is blasphemous and highly sacrilegious.”
Bishop Schneider has been an ardent critic regarding the anthropocentric, neo-Pelagian bureaucratization of the Church and has openly condemned the Synod doctrine for its “implicit pantheism.” He has previously said that the Synodality is a “trick” and “cover” to further weaken the faith of the Church and will only serve up “spiritual poisons” to the faithful.
On June 29 while celebrating the Solemnity of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul, Bishop Schneider reminded the faithful that: “We believe in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, and we hold fast to His unchanging divine truth, for which countless Catholic martyrs have shed their blood.”
In a wide-ranging Questions and Answers interview with Christopher P. Wendt on the Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima forum on September 13, Bishop Schneider hit out at the hidden intentions behind the current Synod on Synodality norms.
Pledge to pray and fast for the Triumph of the Catholic Faith at the Synod on Synodality
Catholicism Pure & Simple 