Catholics today are being called to embrace the fullness of their faith without compromise, according to Bishop Athanasius Schneider, who urged believers to remain steadfast amid growing confusion both within society and the Church.
Speaking on August 3 at the Catholic Voice Conference at the Cobh Benedictine Convent in Ireland, Bishop Schneider reflected on the lessons he learned growing up under Communist persecution in the Soviet Union. According to LifeSiteNews and the conference address published by Catholic Voice, the bishop said those harsh years taught Catholics that fidelity to the complete faith was essential for spiritual survival.
“The greatest gift that we have is the faith, the Catholic faith… the true Catholic faith,” Bishop Schneider said during his address. “So we have to be 100 percent Catholic, not 50 percent Catholic or 80 percent, but 100 percent. This is the divine faith.”
Drawing from his own childhood experiences, the bishop explained that believers living under an atheistic regime could not afford to treat any part of the Catholic faith as optional. Instead, every doctrine, sacrament, and teaching became a source of strength in the face of persecution.
According to the bishop’s conference address, cited by LifeSiteNews, he warned that modern Catholics face different challenges but require the same unwavering commitment. Rather than yielding to cultural pressures or selectively embracing Church teaching, he encouraged the faithful to preserve the integrity of the faith handed down through the centuries.
Emphasizing Christ’s own words from the Gospel, Bishop Schneider reminded listeners that even seemingly small departures from God’s commandments matter. Quoting Scripture, he said, “Jesus said in the Gospel, ‘Even if someone will take away the smallest law… he will be considered the smallest in the Kingdom of God.'”
Throughout his message, Bishop Schneider repeatedly returned to the importance of remaining faithful to the entirety of Catholic doctrine rather than accepting only those teachings that are convenient or popular. His appeal centered not on political or cultural movements but on personal fidelity to Jesus Christ and the deposit of faith entrusted to the Church.
His remarks resonated with the conference’s broader theme of strengthening Catholics to live their faith courageously in an increasingly secular world. Recalling the witness of believers who endured Communist oppression, he suggested that today’s Catholics can likewise persevere by remaining rooted in the truth of the Gospel and the Church’s perennial teaching.
For Catholics facing uncertainty, Bishop Schneider’s message offered a straightforward challenge: treasure the gift of the Catholic faith and live it fully. As he told conference attendees, the call is not to partial discipleship, but to be “100 percent Catholic.”
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