RCC bishop: Coronavirus is used as pretext to persecute Church
Bp. Athanasius Schneider. Photo: skgnews.com
On April 28, the Catholic bishop Athanasius Schneider said in a video interview with John-Henry Westen that the coronavirus is being used as a pretext to persecute the Church, reports Churchmilitant.com.
"These people can go to the stores to buy something, so the same way they can go to the church," said Bp. Athanasius Schneider.
The Catholic bishop believes that “this is discrimination of the religion, evidently, and a kind of implicit persecution of the Church".
Bp. Schneider also spoke out against many bishops' willingness to join the panic and suspend public Masses, with some bishops even banning churches from opening for private prayer.
Schneider said, "Such bishops reacted more like civil bureaucrats than shepherds. In focusing too exclusively on all the hygienic protective measures, they have lost a supernatural vision and have abandoned the primacy of the eternal good of souls."
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that according to Bishop Schneider, priests should observe precautionary measures against the coronavirus but continue to serve masses.
Read also
Georgian Church Synod to present three candidates for Patriarchal throne
Georgian hierarchs will select candidates for the Patriarchal throne, after which the Extended Council will make the final decision.
Metropolitan Tychikos' lawyers respond to media accusations
The hierarch's lawyers called the television stories targeted harassment.
EU Court: Hungary's law protecting children from LGBT violates legislation
The European Court ruled that Hungary's ban on promoting LGBT ideology among minors contradicts "EU values".
Facts of persecution against UOC included in world's human rights report
The Amnesty International report points to pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and criticism from UN experts.
Pasika activist urges believers to join Uniates if they don't want to go to OCU
Choknadiy called on UOC believers to join the Greek Catholic Church, since they refuse to join the OCU.
OCU “priest” urges SBU to punish local community head for backing UOC faithful
Volodymyr Pedko was outraged that a fallen serviceman was buried by a cleric of the canonical Church and promised to “sort things out” with the local authorities after the holidays.