His Excellency Bishop Athanasius Schneider, an Auxiliary Bishop of Maria Santissima in Astana, conveyed that fidelity to the words of Christ makes it necessary to profess the truth about sacramental marriage. His Grace Bishop Schneider drafted the “Profession of the immutable truths about sacramental marriage” issued by three Kazakhstani bishops, in which they stated that it is not licit to admit to sacramental communion Catholics who are divorced and remarried if they are not living according to the long-standing teachings of the Church.
As reported by Catholic News Agency. His Grace Bishop Schneider remarked that “The relevant pastoral norms of several dioceses and regional and national bishops’ conferences ultimately give permission to these (divorced-remarried) Catholics to receive Holy Communion in spite of the fact that they have not the intention to stop sexual relationships with a person who is not their legitimate spouse. Such norms in practice contradict divine revelation and the infallible universal and ordinary magisterium of the absolute indissolubility of a ratified and consummated the marriage.”
The three bishops – His Excellency Bishop Schneider, along with His Grace Archbishop Tomash Peta of Maria Santissima in Astana and His Grace Archbishop Jan Pawel Lenga, His Excellency Bishop Emeritus of Karaganda – wrote that “an approval or legitimation of the violation of the sacredness of the marriage bond, even indirectly through the mentioned new sacramental discipline, seriously contradicts God’s express will and His commandment.”
