Responding to Backlash From My Interview with Bishop Schneider

I recently had the joy of sitting down (at least virtually) with Bishop Athanasius Schneider. To be fair, the overwhelming response was very positive, at least judging by the comments.

That said, a small number of people suggested that the discussion itself was divisive. I don’t accept that characterization at all, but one particular comment stuck with me and got me thinking.

Here’s the comment:

When I first read it, I found it both condescending and fallacious, though I couldn’t immediately say why.

I went about my day, but the comment kept returning to mind. Here’s what I’ve decided …

I think—and I’d love your thoughts below—it’s because it subtly treats a legitimate evaluative judgment as though it were factionalism. Saying that the Latin Mass more clearly expresses the sacrificial symbolism of the Eucharist is not the same thing as “belonging to a camp” in the way St. Paul condemns.

The irony is that in accusing others of divisiveness for holding a permitted opinion, which is for sure what this fellow is doing, he ends up creating the very division he claims to oppose.

Unity in the Church does not require uniformity of this kind of judgment, only fidelity to her authority and charity toward one another.

For that reason, I’d really encourage you to watch the conversation itself if you haven’t already. It was not a polemic, nor an attempt to rally a “side,” but, I think, a careful, charitable, and genuinely hopeful discussion about the Church, her liturgy, and our shared love for Christ and His Bride.

We spoke about His Excellency’s private meeting with Pope Leo XIV, Europe’s demographic transformation, and why so many young people are finding their way back to traditional Catholicism. Throughout, His Excellency offers a clear-eyed and unflinching analysis of the Church’s present difficulties, paired with a deep and credible hope for her future.

Enjoy!