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General Secretary of Can. Bishops Conference Minimizes New Vatican Document

Also indicates most Canadian bishops would not agree with Bishop Henry

OTTAWA, August 1, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Monsignor Peter Schonenbach, general secretary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) was interviewed yesterday on the Vatican's new document on homosexual unions by CBC Newsworld's Diane Buckner. The comments from the CCCB general secretary minimized the importance of the Vatican's document to such an extent that the interviewer was twice led to ask if they were actually binding and had to point out to the Msgr. that "the Vatican's instructions are very clear".

In fact, the document from the Vatican's Congregation on the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) requires adherence from Catholics. As one professional theologian and professor in Canada told LifeSite, "As the teaching arm of the Pope, the CDF is part of the universal magisterium and as such its doctrinal documents such as the current one demands - according to the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium - 'submission of mind and will.'"

Schonenbach immediately began his comments, interrupting the interviewer's first question, saying, "It's interesting, by the way, before you say, we hear them as the title is Considerations. They are actually ideas that have been produced by the congregation for the doctrine of faith who help bishops, not only in Canada, but throughout the world, to deal with an issue that is very important, an issue that has to be properly debated and properly looked at."

The host then asked for clarification: "So you're saying that these are not instructions or directives, but just ideas or guidelines that are more flexible?"

Responding, Schonenbach said, "The Church knows that legislators have a big job. They have to exercise prudential judgment in many, many situations. And here we are again providing good information. Catholics believe that it is a formed conscience that will truly bring about good works and we feel that these Considerations are very rich. It's a very deep document. It can't be just skimmed over. It has to be properly looked at and I think it will add to the debate that is now going on."

The theologian who spoke to LifeSite said, "the CDF document was not meant to 'add to the debate' but to settle it. As St. Augustine said: "roma locuta est, causa finita est," translated: "Rome has spoken, the case is closed.". He pointed out that the current document itself clearly states that it is meant to be a directive to Catholic poiticians, rather than merely considerations. "The present Considerations are also intended to give direction to Catholic politicians by indicating the approaches to proposed legislation in this area which would be consistent with Christian conscience," says the documents in its introduction.

Later, after additional questions and responses, the puzzled CBC interviewer trying to confirm what she understood the Msgr. was saying, asked him, "it's okay if Catholics support same-sex marriage...Is that right?"

Schonenbach was also asked about the stand of Bishop Henry of Calgary who said that the Prime Minister was jeopardizing his eternal salvation with his stance on homosexual marriage. The Msgr. responded, "Many people like Bishop Henry because he always expresses himself with colour and passion and I don't think that necessarily that the conference would simply echo those words."

The Aug. 1 Ottawa Citizen and National Post also reported that "Msgr. Schonenbach said most Canadian bishops would not agree with Bishop Henry". The August 1 National Post quoted Schonenbach as saying "Most of the bishops are very happy about the separation of church and state, but that doesn't mean that the Church should be muted: the Church is also part of the whole democratic process".

In the past, Schonenbach shocked faithful Catholics with remarks on news that a group was planning to distribute condoms at World Youth Day. Rather than defend the Church's teaching on condoms, he said, "It's a free country. They can do what they want . The church is stuck with its position on this."

Hear the six minute interview at:
http://www.cbc.ca/clips/ram-newsworld/buckner_schonenbach030731.ram

See a complete transcript of the interview at:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/aug/030801a.html

See related LifeSite coverage:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/feb/02020402.html

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