In this episode, Bishop Athanasius Schneider joins us to talk about what's going on in the church after the recent Vatican Conclave, including the announcement of a new catechism based on the Second Vatican Council, which Pope Leo XIII called the "guiding star" of the church.
00:01:48.120The incarnated God, the incarnated God, the eternal word of God, who revealed us all divine truth.
00:01:58.560So the word of Jesus Christ, his work, the gospel, his person, his divine person, he is the guiding star.
00:02:10.980And we must return the entire church to put Jesus Christ really, concretely, visibly, in the center of all our endeavors, of all our meetings.
00:02:26.480But first, starting to put him in the center of our worship, that he is really the center in the church, in the tabernacle, the altar, his sacrifice, his cross.
00:03:10.700And this is first to say, and concretely, it's not one council cannot be the star, because what is a council?
00:03:19.140A council is only a manner, a mode, an instrument of the magisterium, which can have other instruments rather than a council.
00:03:31.760Of course, a council is the most solemn way, but it is usually the ordinary magisterium, really ordinary throughout the centuries and places, which proclaims us Christ and his truth, his unchangeable truth.
00:03:49.700Because the council, the Vatican Council itself, formulated a very important phrase, saying that the magisterium, it means the pope and the bishops or the council, is not above the word of God.
00:04:08.920It is not above the written and also the transmitted word of God.
00:04:15.760It is the holy tradition, the sacred tradition.
00:04:19.660But in the magisterium, all bishops' councils are beneath the word of God and must serve him.
00:04:31.840And their task is only to transmit this revelation of God, the depositum fedi, the truth, in a most possible clear manner, in a most faithful manner, even scrupulous manner.
00:04:55.640And so this is what the church always did and said, and therefore it is impossible to say that the magisterium is now itself the light.
00:21:47.140And there is such a cautious, almost the entire, the majority of the discussions were around the vernacular language and Latin and so on, around this.
00:25:54.340And therefore, because of this venerable age, I would propose not to change, but leave it as it, and then to proceed steps by steps to reform the Novus Ordo towards, to bring the Novus Ordo towards the traditional form, steps by steps.
00:26:20.020So, that then, after time, the so-called Novus Ordo, or the common, we could give them another name then, or the most spread, or the use, the newer use of the Mass,
00:26:40.740would be basically the same as the old one, except the use of the vernacular language, would be, I think, more present in that possibly Reformed Mass,
00:26:57.300and with slight, maybe, rubricial differences, like what some prayers could be spoken loud, except the canon, of course, and then also only one canon.
00:27:08.720And so, both forms would be basically the same as, but the difference would be the use of the vernacular language, and some small rubricial differences.
00:27:20.860So, it would be a slight variant, basically one, right, with slight adaptations, which was also, in the ancient times, some dioceses had some adaptations of the Roman rite,
00:27:38.060and so it was, this is possible. So, I think this could be done.
00:27:45.560Beautiful. What would be the elements? I've got a few elements down that I wanted to talk to you about, but in terms of this moving the Novus Ordo, as you say, that needs to be done,
00:27:56.200I think the faithful recognize it needs to be done, because those who love tradition but don't have access to it, a lot of, there's a movement in the Church of the faithful to strive to get to this place of closer to the traditional Mass.
00:28:17.320And so, some of the elements that I'd like to talk to you about, I'll name some, but I'd like you to name some as well, but one of the ones, for instance,
00:28:25.940and they're hard because they push up against modern wishes and, you know, so for a long time, for instance, they say, oh, you know, we want women to have a higher place in the Church and so on and so forth,
00:28:40.840and Pope Francis made moves that way and so on. And yet, in the Holy Scriptures, St. Paul talks very specifically saying women are to be silent in the Church.
00:28:51.840So, even among lay faithful who are women, there is a movement to say no on the, and I talked to Peter Kozneski about this, you know,
00:29:02.360why are women not supposed to be in the sanctuary? And he talked about how it's because those in the sanctuary represent Jesus, represent Christ.
00:29:11.760So, it's a difference between the sanctuary and the choir loft, let's say. But, so that's one of the elements, female readers,
00:29:18.760but that's so, you might say, countercultural today because there's such a movement in society for feminism, but also in the Church.
00:29:26.700Is that one of the elements that you would see changing? And how could one go about that, despite the cultural pressure and even pressure in the Church to be different?
00:29:35.640I think that the first, most important change for the Novus Ordo should be that all the Masses should be celebrated towards the Lord.
00:29:48.240At Deum Ad Orientem. All Masses in the Catholic Church, Novus Ordo, all.
00:29:53.620It should be an order of the Pope, compulsory, because this form is contrary to the apostolic tradition, to the meaning of prayer itself, this close circle around.
00:30:09.380He must go out from this sickness of anthropocentric worship.
00:30:16.660This, in my opinion, the deepest sickness in our time, in the world, and in the Church.
00:30:22.640The anthropocentric, with this style, we basically give a message, it is about us, it's not about God.
00:30:40.820And to give, really, the shape of a prayer and adoration, this, the same direction, and to express the essential meaning of the Mass, which is the sacrifice of the cross, which is in this form visibly manifested.
00:30:58.880And not the banquet or the communion, which is, of course, an integral part, but it flows out from the essence.
00:31:08.260It is not the essence, but flows out from the essence.
00:31:11.740And this moment of table and banquet is exactly the communion rail.
00:31:19.340This is the altar, is the table itself, but the communion rail, the moment.
00:31:25.140For the priest is, of course, the altar, also the table in this sense, but he takes the Holy Communion there.
00:31:31.500But for the people, and therefore, in some languages, communion rail is called the table of the Lord.
00:31:40.140In ancient Germany, they called it, it means I go to the altar rail.
00:31:50.940And the second, almost the same, I would say, importance is that all should receive communion in the tongue and kneeling, kneeling for those who can kneel physically, of course, but should be, because the current situation with the communion in hand is the deepest wound in the church.
00:32:11.420I say this with all my conviction, because such a horrible treatment of the holiest of holies of our Lord in the little host during communion, it is unprecedented.
00:32:26.800Such a mass desecretions which are going on.
00:32:31.940Of course, many of the people do not eat consciously, but de facto, materially, so many fragments fall down and are trampled.
00:32:43.860And then, evermore, of course, the holy hosts are stolen.
00:32:52.400And also, the entire image is such a minimalism of veneration.
00:32:58.720Such a minimum to give to this moment, which should be the maximum of reverence, of awe, of security, of attention.
00:33:15.580It is the divinity of our Lord, hidden.
00:33:18.960And the Holy Communion is treated such a banal, everyday manner, like to take common food.
00:33:29.760So, I think these two points must be introduced as first, because of their objective importance.
00:33:37.780And then, I would say, yes, what you mentioned, that the women, the ladies, should not be more, during Holy Mass, acting in the altar.
00:33:53.080First, I think it's that there should not be acolytes or altar servers or even lectors, readers of the reading of the Holy Scripture during Holy Mass.
00:34:07.800In the sanctuary, it is contrary to the apostolic tradition, to the entire tradition of the Catholic Church.
00:34:18.680It is giving a sign of introducing feminism in the core of liturgy, of the Holy Mass, at a kind of promotion of giving the women access, step by step, to the Holy Ministry.
00:34:37.740Because they say first acolyte, and then, of course, when it's acolyte, why not deacon?