Catholic bishop on papal appointees: wolves among the sheep

Roman Catholic Bishop Athanasius Schneider. Photo: check-point.kz

On July 14, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, in an interview with the “Brotherhood of Our Lady of Fatima,” said that one of the pope’s chief responsibilities is to ensure that the Church has worthy bishops.

According to the bishop, appointing candidates who promote “confusion, errors, or secular agendas,” and whose views were well known in advance, shows a lack of proper pastoral care on the part of the pope.

“It’s like placing wolves among the sheep,” Bishop Schneider emphasized. He added that the pontiff will bear responsibility for such decisions: “This is serious.”

The pontificate of Leo XIV has only just begun, but as Schneider noted, “Pope Leo has already made several appointments that raise concerns about the candidates.” In his view, “it is better for a diocese to remain without a bishop than to have a compromised or questionable candidate appointed.”

In the same interview, Bishop Athanasius Schneider also urged Leo XIV to “liberate” the Roman Rite Mass, calling the suppression of the traditional Catholic Mass an “injustice” and a form of “persecution.”

According to the bishop, while the Church hierarchy shows “tolerance” for “everyone” and everything else, only one group faces punishment and marginalization: priests and faithful of the Roman Rite.

Earlier, it was reported that a Roman Catholic hierarch believes Catholics should demand that the pope reconsider provisions that contradict Catholic teaching.

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