Bishop Schneider: FSSPX Consecrations Do Not Necessarily Constitute "Schism"
Bishop Athanasius Schneider has issued his first public statement since Leo XIV declared six FSSPX bishops excommunicated on July 2, published on Diane Montagna's Substack. Schneider had previously appealed for liturgical peace, meeting with Pope Leo XIV in December 2025 and Cardinal Parolin a little over a week before the July 1 episcopal consecration.
Bishop Schneider's central claim: in an extraordinary Church crisis, fidelity to unambiguous doctrine and traditional liturgy can outweigh obedience to ecclesiastical law.
He opens with St. Athanasius, excommunicated by Pope Liberius in 357 for refusing communion with Arian bishops the Pope himself had recognized under imperial pressure. Athanasius was later canonized as a Doctor of the Church; Liberius was never canonized. Schneider treats Écône as a modern parallel — a forced choice between canonical obedience and doctrinal integrity.
Bishop Schneider blames …More
An interesting aside:
A week before his episcopal ordination in Ecône, Bishop Schneider had an audience with Cardinal Parolin.
And, if we would like to stay tuned to His Excellency language: R. Prevost does not necessarily constitute "pope".
"There are two unhealthy developments within the Church over the past centuries that have led to a narrowed view of reality: the tendency to treat the legal aspect as quasi-absolute, i.e., legalism; and the tendency to absolutize the person of the Pope and obedience to him, i.e., papalism. Legalism, i.e., the rigid adherence to the letter of the law, and papalism, i.e., the undifferentiated and almost absolute obedience to the Pope, have come to be prioritized over the necessity for unambiguity in faith and liturgy."
"One must also not overlook the full extent of the Church’s current crisis but rather view it honestly, tracing it back to its very roots. These roots lie in certain vague and ambiguous doctrinal statements of the Second Vatican Council that, over the past sixty years, have sown confusion, such as doctrinal relativism stemming from the teaching and practice of ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, which have contributed to undermining the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and His Church as the only way to salvation. Furthermore, some doctrinal and ritual flaws of the liturgical reform with its Protestantizing tendencies have obscured the central sacrificial nature of the Mass and its Christocentric focus."
I don't think he is naive, he is simply pointing out the obvious fact that we are in the midst of a modernist heresy.
A great statement on the part of Bishop Schneider, but I'm afraid he innocently believes the Conciliar leaders of the Church, including Pope Leo XIV, are interested in suppressing Modernism and re-establishing the authentic teachings of the Catholic Church.
He is incredibly naive to not realize what the Conciliarists are actually promoting, as I don't believe he is duplicitous.