EXCLUSIVE: Schneider - ‘the Church cannot continue into further confusion’

Bishop Schneider spoke to Per Mariam about the need for Leo XIV to address the current crisis of "confusion" in the Church, the topic of LGBT acceptance, and 'walking together'

(PerMariam) — Analyzing the first months of Leo XIV’s pontificate, Bishop Athanasius Schneider has urged the Pope to respond to the Church’s “unprecedented confusion of faith.”

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Per Mariam earlier in October, Bishop Schneider responded to questions on the state of the Catholic Church, the current push for LGBT acceptance, and the future of the ecclesial hierarchy in light of the Synod on Synodality.

“We cannot continue as a Church to go into further confusion,” he warned, petitioning Pope Leo to perform a clarifying action to “strengthen the entire Church in faith.”

Schneider also spoke about the Catholic understanding of how to “accept” individuals, expanding on Pope Leo’s comments on accepting others “who are different than we are.”

As the Church now is beginning the lengthy process of building up to the 2028 Synodal Assembly, the theme of “walking together” is much utilized, but little explained. Schneider offers his assessment of the term and how the Catholic Church journeys on an earthly pilgrimage, whilst always aiming towards heaven.

The full interview is found below. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity, due to the conversation being conducted in English, a language which is not Bp. Schneider’s native tongue.

+Schneider in Rome, October 2025. ©Michael Haynes

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Haynes — In the final days of Pope Francis’s life, and then in the early days of Pope Leo’s reign, you identified a number of issues that you saw as a needing quite speedy action. We’re now approaching nearly five months of Pope Leo’s reign, and it’s been fairly quiet. What would you say are the most pressing needs in the Church today?

Bishop Athanasius Schneider: I would say the most pressing need is that the Pope should strengthen the entire Church in faith, which is his first task, one of the main tasks of a pope which God himself gave to Peter and his successors.

It is evident to all that the life of the Church is immersed in an unprecedented confusion of faith, regarding faith, morals, and liturgy – the Church is really immersed in a kind of dust or mist of confusion.