One Page Doesn’t Ruin “The Kingdom” or Other Literature.

Last updated on: February 22, 2019 at 3:23 pm By Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC

Earlier this year, Church Militant got up in arms about Franciscan University of Steubenville including The Kingdom by Emmanuel Carrère on its reading list. Stephen Lewis, the professor in question was demoted. Two arguments support the use of books like this: they are decent literature and reading some books you disagree with helps you grow intellectually. To show those two points let me quote extensively from two sources: a Catholic review of the Book and Lewis’s defense in First Things. A... Read more

California Prepares to Make Martyrs of the Confessional

Last updated on: February 21, 2019 at 3:15 pm By Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC

A new bill was just presented in California to force priests to reveal what is said in the confessional. The result of this law would be imprisoned, and possibly martyred priests. And it probably won’t stand up in court. I will explain the law, then go over why the seal of the confessional is inviolable, including those who’ve died to protect it, along with US precedent. New California Law The LA Times reports: A California state lawmaker introduced a proposal... Read more

Open Letter to Priests and Bishops: Resign If You Need to

Last updated on: February 19, 2019 at 4:39 pm By Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC

Dear fellow clerics and religious in Christ, I know that most of you are hard-working and striving for holiness like I am. Most of us have our little sins we strive to conquer but sometimes fail. Maybe even a few among us are saints, although I doubt I am. Every day, we pray and we strive to help the people of God in our assigned ministry, be that a parish, school, seminary, chaplaincy, chancery, further studies, etc. Resign if Breaking... Read more

McCarrick Laicized: The End of the Beginning

Last updated on: February 16, 2019 at 7:03 am By Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC

Today, Mr. Theodore McCarrick is no longer a cleric: he has no right to celebrate any of the sacraments and cannot present himself as a priest or bishop. This is the end of the road for him as far as what the Church can do. The recent scandal – based on episcopal misbehavior and a wink wink attitude to sexually active clerics – began when credible and sustained accusations against him came out last June. McCarrick was removed from ministry... Read more

Amoris Laetitia: Communion for the Divorced & Remarried?

Last updated on: February 12, 2019 at 7:26 pm By Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC

Those of you who follow me, may have noted that I have taken a clear stance on Amoris Laetitia. Today, the first half of my more academic take on the topic came out. This is one of the most complete explanations of chapter VIII to date. The document does not allow Communion for the Divorced and remarried who intend to continue relations. Pope Francis does want to offer more help to those who struggle but he is still clear that... Read more

Francis: Being Pro-Life Is the Foundation of Human Rights

Last updated on: February 8, 2019 at 10:03 am By Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC

This week, Francis spoke to Italian pro-life leaders. In his speech, he spoke about being pro-life as a prerequisite for being pro-justice, pro-human-rights, etc. Here are a few excerpts and my analysis. The Pro-Life Speech Some parts are from the Vatican News article and some are original translations of the original in Italian. Voluntarily extinguishing life in its blossoming is, in every case, a betrayal of our vocation, as well as of the pact that binds generations together, which allows us to look... Read more

Dear German Bishop: Catholic Teaching on Homosexuality Can’t Change

Last updated on: February 6, 2019 at 10:08 am By Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC

Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen recently wrote an essay titled “Overcoming prejudices: The Catholic Church must change its view of homosexuality.” Although well-intentioned, this is incorrect. Let me respond in three parts: distinguishing homosexual inclination from homosexual acts, quoting the bishop, and pointing out why Church teaching cannot (and should not) change based on scripture and tradition. Distinction The Catholic Church does not condemn people for being inclined to any particular sin. We all have the inclination to sin. What sins predominate just... Read more

Sci-Fi from 1950 Foresaw Forced Euthanasia on Earth

Last updated on: February 1, 2019 at 3:58 pm By Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC

Isaac Asimov wrote a sci-fi book called Pebble in the Sky in 1950. This book foresaw a future earth where humans struggled to feed everyone, so by law at age 60 everyone is euthanized. The story revolves around an investigator coming to earth and discovering a plot to rebel against “the civilization of the galaxy spread across 200 million worlds.” As we value humans less and less in society, as we push different forms of medical death, mainly abortion and euthanasia, I was... Read more

Geocentrism Believed 2x as Much as Legal 3rd-Trimester Abortion

Last updated on: January 30, 2019 at 2:37 pm By Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC

The theory of democracy is that the government should do what the people want. A democratic government should reflect those governed. In the pro-life movement, we know that laws alone are insufficient: on top of our work to help people choose otherwise if it is legal or not; even if a ban on abortion is perfectly enforced, if popular opinion goes in the other direction, in a democracy, those laws will likely change. However, we see something completely different in the other... Read more

The Devastating Effect of Euthanasia on Dutch Culture (UPDATED)

Last updated on: March 8, 2019 at 9:16 am By Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC

The Netherlands was one of the first countries to legalize euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide. It has been legal there since 2002 so now we can see the effect it has had on Dutch culture. The Guardian did an excellent long-form piece on it called “Death on demand: has euthanasia gone too far?” I want to quote a few of the more poignant points in this 5,200-word article so you can grasp why we in other countries shouldn’t go down this path. In the Netherlands in... Read more