(LifeSiteNews) – Bishop Athanasius Schneider has responded to Pope Francis’ suggestion that the Ten Commandments are not absolute, describing the Pope’s words as contradictory to Scripture and following the teaching of the heresiarch Martin Luther.
In exclusive comments to LifeSiteNews, Schneider highlighted two key problems with the Pope’s denial of the binding nature of the Decalogue. First that they contradict an encyclical of Pope John Paul II, and second that they contradict the express teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC).
The problematic affirmation was declared by the Pope in his general audience Wednesday: “Do I despise the Commandments? No. I observe them, but not as absolute, because I know that what justifies me is Jesus Christ.”
The Pope’s remarks were made in answer to a self-ascribed question on whether he lives in fear “that if I don’t do this or that I will go to hell?”
Commenting on these words, Schneider noted, in no uncertain terms, that Francis’ statement “contradicts the teaching of the Church and is very much a kind of sola fide teaching of Martin Luther.”
The auxiliary bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan, explained that the Pope’s affirmation also “contradicts the encyclical Veritatis Splendor of Pope John Paul II.”
Powerful nations of the world, including China, the UK, and Canada are discussing plans to require so-called 'vaccine passports' as a condition for travel, and possibly to restrict entry to shopping and entertainment venues.
Israel has already put in place a system to discriminate against those who choose not to take the COVID vaccine, and, in the United States, Joe Biden has signed a new executive order which could pave the way for the implementation of a 'vaccine passport' system. [See more below.]
This kind of medical dictatorship must be resisted, and therefore, we must act quickly before these authoritarian notions take root and spread!
Please SIGN and SHARE this urgent petition to SAY NO to government 'vaccine passports.' Tell your legislators to respect your freedom not to vaccinate without fear of repercussion.
People should not have to live in fear of government retribution for refusing a vaccine which is being rushed to market by Big Pharma and their fellow-travelers in NGOs, like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
It would be intolerable and immoral for the government to coerce someone, and their family, to take a COVID vaccine against their will just so they can do their weekly grocery shopping, go to a high school soccer game, travel on public transport, or visit their relatives who live in a different part of the country, or overseas.
Medical freedom must be respected in principle and also in practice.
So, it is now time that our policy-makers listen to all voices involved in this vital conversation, and start to represent those who will not tolerate being punished, restricted, or tracked for refusing an experimental vaccine.
Simply put, legislatures must begin to act as legislatures again.
Questions must be asked. Hearings and investigations must be held. And, the legislatures of each state and country must return to the business of representing the people who voted for them, assuming their rightful place as the originator of legislation.
We will no longer accept the dictates of executive branches without question. And, neither can we accept the dictates of some doctors who seem detached from reality and from science.
Please SIGN and SHARE this urgent petition which asks national political leaders (as well as state and provincial legislators in the U.S. and Canada) to pledge to respect the rights of those who refuse a COVID vaccine, and NOT introduce 'vaccine passports,' or any other system which would discriminate on the basis of taking the COVID vaccine.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
'Biden executive order directs government to evaluate ‘feasibility’ of vaccine passports' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/biden-executive-order-directs-government-to-evaluate-feasibility-of-vaccine-passports
'China lobbies WHO to develop COVID vaccine passports for all nations' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/china-lobbies-who-to-develop-covid-vaccine-passports-for-all-nations
'UK advances plans for vaccine passports to travel, enter stores' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/uk-advances-plans-for-vaccine-passports-to-travel-enter-stores
'Canada’s health minister: Gov’t ‘working on the idea of vaccine passports’' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/canadas-health-minister-govt-working-on-the-idea-of-vaccine-passports
'European Commission president plans to introduce vaccine passports' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/european-commission-president-plans-to-introduce-vaccine-passports
'Israel’s ‘Green Passport’ vaccination program has created a ‘medical Apartheid,’ distraught citizens say' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/israels-green-passport-vaccination-program-has-created-a-medical-apartheid-distraught-citizens-say
'LA schools to track every kid using Microsoft’s ‘Daily Pass’ COVID app' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/la-schools-to-track-every-kid-using-microsofts-daily-pass-covid-app
Schneider quoted Francis’ predecessor, who wrote that “[i]n the Old Testament we already find admirable witnesses of fidelity to the holy law of God even to the point of a voluntary acceptance of death. A prime example is the story of Susanna: in reply to the two unjust judges who threatened to have her condemned to death if she refused to yield to their sinful passion, she says: ‘I am hemmed in on every side. For if I do this thing, it is death for me; and if I do not, I shall not escape your hands. I choose not to do it and to fall into your hands, rather than to sin in the sight of the Lord!’ (Dan 13:22-23).”
“Susanna, preferring to ‘fall innocent’ into the hands of the judges,” the late pontiff’s words continue, “bears witness not only to her faith and trust in God but also to her obedience to the truth and to the absoluteness of the moral order.”
Schneider noted that the CCC also clearly contradicts the recent utterances of Pope Francis, teaching that Christians are always bound by the proscription of the Law. CCC entry number 2072, he emphasized, states: “The Ten Commandments are fundamentally immutable, and they oblige always and everywhere. No one can dispense from them.”
Also on Wednesday, Pope Francis released a video in which he urged people worldwide to take one of the experimental COVID-19 vaccines. Francis failed to mention the connection between the vaccines and historic abortions, but instead referred to receiving a COVID-19 jab as “an act of love.”
Francis added that assisting others to take the abortion-tainted jabs is also “an act of love. Love for oneself, love for our families and friends, and love for all peoples.”