"Murderers of souls": RCC bishop reacts to Mass for LGBT Catholics in Rome

Bishop Athanasius Schneider on the left, on the right - gays holding hands enter St. Peter's Basilica. Photo: collage RTV

Bishop Athanasius Schneider, an auxiliary bishop of Astana (Kazakhstan), called the scandalous «LGBTQ+» pilgrimage a “desecration” of the Holy Door and a “mockery” of God and referred to the priests supporting these movements as "spiritual criminals and murderers of souls". He stated this in his interview with dianemontagna.

Viral photographs showed two male participants openly holding hands in St. Peter’s Basilica, one carrying a backpack emblazoned with the words “F*** the Rules.” Another image depicted a young man in a rainbow shirt taking a selfie of his “clawed” hand with Bernini’s Baldacchino as the backdrop.

The pilgrimage, included in the Vatican’s Jubilee 2025 General Calendar, was organized by Italy’s pro-LGBTQ+ association Tenda di Gionata [Jonathan’s Tent]; the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics, which had lobbied during the 2018 Vatican Youth Synod; and the U.S.-based Outreach, led by Fr. James Martin, SJ. The event included an evening vigil with stories from a lesbian couple about their "love story" and a Saturday Mass led by the vice-president of the Italian Episcopal Conference. More than a thousand LGBT participants were given the opportunity to pass through the Holy Doors and receive Communion.

Bishop Athanasius Schneider in his interview called the events a "brazen slap in the face to God and believers" and an "abomination of desolation" (cf. Matt. 24:15).

"My reaction was a silent cry of horror, indignation, and sorrow. All true believers in the Church—both faithful and clergy—who still uphold the validity of God’s commandments and take Him seriously, should experience this provocation as a brazen slap in the face," said the RCC hierarch.

According to the bishop, the Vatican's approval of this event signifies an actual undermining of the Church's teaching on the sinfulness of homosexual acts.

"Those priests who confirm them in their homosexual activity or in a homosexual lifestyle are spiritual criminals, murderers of souls, and God will demand a strict account from them," emphasized Schneider.

He urged Pope Leo XIV to openly acknowledge the mistake, condemn what happened, and perform an act of repentance before God, following the example of Saint John Paul II, who publicly condemned a gay parade in Rome during the Great Jubilee in 2000.

"Should Pope Leo XIV make public acts of regret and even reparation, he will lose nothing; should he fail to do so, he will forfeit something before the eyes of God—and God alone matters. From my heart I wish Pope Leo XIV the grace of God, that he may have the courage to repair this act of abomination which has sullied the holiness of the Jubilee Year," added the Kazakh archbishop.

As reported by the UOJ, the organizer of the event, James Martin, stated that on the eve of the Mass, he had an audience with Pope Leo, who promised to "continue the same course of openness and hospitality that Pope Francis pursued" towards LGBT Catholics.

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