Bishop Athanasius Schneider has launched a very harsh criticism against the final report of Study Group No. 9 of the Synod on Synodality, accusing the Vatican of promoting a reinterpretation of Catholic doctrine on homosexuality and opening the door to “total moral relativism”.
In an extensive interview granted to journalist Diane Montagna, the auxiliary bishop of Astana denounced that the document published on May 5 by the Synod’s General Secretariat represents a direct attack against divine Revelation and against the constant teaching of the Church on sexual morality.
“The final report has unequivocally crossed the line between orthodoxy and heresy,” Schneider stated.
The synodal report that has reignited the controversy
The questioned document was prepared by Study Group No. 9, one of the teams created during Pope Francis’s pontificate to analyze doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues arising during the Synod on Synodality.
Among its members were Cardinal Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio, Archbishop of Lima; Archbishop Filippo Iannone; and moral theologian Maurizio Chiodi, professor at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute and known for having publicly defended that certain homosexual acts could be considered morally positive in certain circumstances.
The text was received with enthusiasm by ecclesial sectors favorable to a review of homosexual pastoral care. One of the most visible supports came from Jesuit James Martin, who immediately described it as “a great step forward”.
The controversy intensified when it came to light that one of the testimonies included in the report belonged to the man who appeared on the cover of the New York Times alongside his same-sex partner receiving a blessing from James Martin just one day after the publication of Fiducia Supplicans.
“A rebellion against the order of creation”
The Kazakh bishop argued that the report does not limit itself to proposing pastoral changes or more inclusive language, but rather attempts to introduce a fundamental doctrinal transformation regarding Catholic sexual morality.
In his statements, he directly accused the Synod Secretariat of aligning itself with the LGBT ideological agenda promoted internationally from political, cultural, and media spheres.
“The Synod Secretariat is collaborating with pressure groups in a true rebellion against God’s work of creation, against the beautiful and wise order of the two sexes, male and female,” he stated.
According to Schneider, the most serious aspect of the document is that it indirectly calls into question the permanent value of the biblical texts on homosexuality through what he defined as an “exegesis of doubt”.
The bishop particularly pointed out a passage in the report that states it is necessary to “go beyond a mere repetition” of the current doctrinal presentation and to take into account new exegetical interpretations.
In Schneider’s view, this approach implies attributing to man the capacity to redefine good and evil apart from divine Revelation.
“That method takes the place of God and presumes to proclaim what is good and what is evil. That is precisely what the serpent did in the Garden of Eden,” he warned.
Criticism of Fiducia Supplicans and the process initiated during Pope Francis’s pontificate
Schneider linked the new report to the process opened during Pope Francis’s pontificate regarding blessings for homosexual couples and other issues related to sexual morality.
In particular, he harshly criticized Fiducia Supplicans, the document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith that authorized non-liturgical blessings for couples in irregular situations, including same-sex couples.
The auxiliary bishop of Astana argued that that text already represented an attempt to progressively normalize homosexual relationships within ecclesial life.
“Fiducia Supplicans is a mockery of common sense,” he stated, arguing that the document seeks to artificially distinguish between blessing a couple and blessing the very relationship that constitutes that couple.
In his opinion, the new synodal report represents an even deeper step, no longer only on the pastoral level, but on the doctrinal level.
Schneider believes there is a gradual strategy aimed at accustoming the faithful to consider homosexual relationships morally acceptable, or at least tolerable in certain cases.
“In this way, the door is opened to total moral relativism,” he warned.
A direct warning to Pope Leo XIV
Schneider also addressed an explicit appeal to Pope Leo XIV to intervene and halt what he considers a doctrinal drift within official Vatican structures.
“The first duty of Leo XIV is to protect the Church and souls from this brazen Gnostic doctrine,” he assured.
The bishop compared the current situation to ancient doctrinal crises suffered by the Church and warned that the silence of many cardinals and bishops is allowing the spread of serious errors on Catholic morality.
According to Schneider, if the hierarchy does not act with clarity and firmness, future generations may look back on this era as a time of profound doctrinal confusion within the Church.
“It is possible that future generations will look at our time and say: ‘The whole world sighed and marveled at how the Sixth Commandment of God had been abolished,’” he stated.
The doctrinal crisis and the issue of the Society of Saint Pius X
Schneider also related this new episode to the crisis of trust existing between numerous traditional faithful and Vatican structures.
In this context, he considered that documents like the report from Group No. 9 reinforce the perception of a “state of doctrinal emergency” denounced for years by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X.
The bishop argued that it is impossible to ignore the gravity of the current situation and warned that the lack of a clear condemnation by the Holy See could lead to an even greater loss of trust among priests and faithful.
“If the Holy See does not unequivocally condemn this report, many authentically faithful Catholics will lose confidence in those who hold positions in the Vatican,” he stated.
One of the most critical voices of the current synodal process
In recent years, he has repeatedly denounced initiatives related to blessings for homosexual couples, the German Synodal Way, and various proposals for moral and disciplinary reform promoted from progressive sectors of the European Church.
His intervention on the report from Study Group No. 9 represents, to date, one of the most severe criticisms publicly formulated by a bishop against one of the documents emanating from the Vatican synodal environment.