(LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Athanasius Schneider has declared regarding Catholics today that “Peter is sleeping while Judas is awake,” quoting St. Peter Canisius.
During a Thursday interview with priest and podcaster Father Daniel Maria Klimek, Schneider affirmed St. Canisius’ point that the good tend to “sleep” while the enemies of the Church “are very vigilant and very busy” in working out their evil agenda.
When asked his thoughts on the influence of the St. Gallen Mafia, a term Cardinal Godfried Danneels used to describe a group that plotted the papal election of then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, Bishop Schneider acknowledged that the group held “meetings” and made “preparations” to bring about the election of Pope Francis.
It is only logical that this “mafia” would go to these lengths, said Schneider, “because the enemy is not sleeping.” He noted that Jesus Christ Himself pointed out that “the children of this world are more prudent than the children of light” and exhorted us to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
Unlike the St. Gallen group, or politicians, for example, the strategy of Christians in doing the work of God must be inspired by the Holy Ghost, noted Schneider. He called upon Catholics to pray, make acts of reparation, and make sacrifices to “implore a divine intervention” in the Church.
“God can intervene,” he continued, pointing out that He has done so in history. “And He will do this. We don’t know when and how, but He will… And so we must organize a holy ‘mafia,’ a holy crusade of prayers and sacrifices and to implore this.”
He went on to call upon Catholics to “do penance for our own sins and for the sins of the world” and to make “acts of reparation,” “even with joy, because we love Christ and we want to demonstrate to Him our love.”
The prelate pointed out that such acts of penance and reparation help save souls and “to save a soul for all eternity is the most excellent work we can do and gives us the greatest happiness we can imagine.”
Moreover, in dealing with the world, we must not have an “inferiority complex” but must act from a place of conviction and courage, said Schneider.
“Together we are forming a big family, even an army, a spiritual army, and Our Lady is the commander of our army — She is the destroyer of all heresies,” he said.
He stressed that in interacting with the world, we must have a “missionary zeal” to guide people of other religions “to Christ, the only Savior, with patience, with love, and with respect,” in the face of the Church’s tendency today to focus on worldly issues and neglect the supernatural.
This “missionary zeal” belongs to the true mission of the Church — her supernatural mission, said Schneider.