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.

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