Henryk Piec and Anna Wysocka talk to His Excellency Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of Astana.
Your Excellency was born in Kyrgyzstan and only moved to Germany in 1973. At that time, people in Germany generally no longer received Holy Communion kneeling. To our knowledge, your mother once came back from church deeply saddened… Could we go back to that moment and ask how it influenced Your Excellency?
I received my first religious formation in the underground Church — from my parents and both of my wonderful grandmothers, all of whom were deeply faithful Catholics. We must remember that Kyrgyzstan was then part of the Soviet Union, where the Catholic Church was actively persecuted, and any expression of faith was harshly suppressed. Later, we moved to Estonia, where a priest named Pawlowski served — a Polish surname, though he was from Latvia, and I don’t know whether he had Polish roots. He was a holy man who had survived a concentration camp. This priest instilled in me a deep reverence for the Eucharist. His attitude and personal example had a lasting influence on me and shaped my soul. Before we left Estonia for Germany, Father Pawlowski warned us and said: “Be careful, because in Germany there are churches where Holy Communion is given in the hand. Please, do not enter such churches. Do not go there!” We promised him that we would avoid such places completely. When I came to Germany, I was almost 18 years old. For the first time, I saw people receiving Holy Communion while standing, in a line, holding the Host in their hands — almost like in a company cafeteria. My mother, my siblings, and I were all shocked! We were so shaken that we could barely receive Holy Communion.
Did Your Excellency try to kneel?
Of course. When we arrived in Germany, in almost all Catholic churches Communion was given only in the hand. In our small town, there were three churches. After the first experience, my mother said we would never go back to that church — because of the promise we had made to Father Pawlowski. We tried the second church, but the situation was the same. Only one church (the last one) remained. I remember very clearly how, after returning from the Holy Mass, my mother looked at us — her four children — and began to cry. She said, “Ah, my children, I just cannot understand how people can treat our Lord this way?” Her tears remained in my heart forever.
Also In Poland people commonly receive Holy Communion standing, and sometimes in the hand, although the latter is less widespread.
As for Poland, Communion in the hand was officially approved by the Polish Bishops’ Conference in 2004 — just one year before the death of John Paul II. To introduce Communion in the hand, a two-thirds majority of bishops is required, and then the pope must give his approval. The Polish Bishops’ Conference passed the motion, and John Paul II (unfortunately) approved it.
After reading this interview, some faithful — and even priests — may say this is just Your Excellency’s private opinion. They might also argue that His Excellency was raised in a different culture and cannot fully understand the changing times, and that your views don’t fit with the present era.
That may be their view. However, the truth may be quite the opposite. In fact, I may have more experience than all those who say such things — not only because of my age but also because I have lived and served in various cultures and many countries. I was raised in the underground Church in Kyrgyzstan. Later I lived in Estonia and Germany, and then I served for seven years in Brazil — a completely different culture, where I encountered liberation theology — a Marxist ideology that attempts to distort the teachings of the Catholic Church. I lived in Rome for ten years. I was appointed by the Holy See as apostolic visitor for the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, which led me to various countries where the Society is active. I was later also appointed as an apostolic visitor of a community in Africa, where I likewise spent many years. As you can see, I have personal, direct experience of many cultures, regions, and expressions of Catholic life — in Europe, Latin America, Africa…
What conclusions has Your Excellency drawn from all these places?
Everywhere I saw the same pattern: the ongoing Protestantization of the Holy Mass and the loss of reverence toward the Most Holy Eucharist. It is a global phenomenon — I would even say we are dealing with a spiritual virus that seeks to diminish the sanctity of the liturgy and undermine belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
And yet—what is truly uplifting— in every country people spontaneously desire to kneel before the Lord Jesus and receive Him on the tongue. Perhaps this is imprinted in our Catholic DNA, and despite the enormous pressure—both external and internal—Catholics still have the awareness that they must bend the knee before the King of kings. So this is not a matter of culture; it is something deeper, a sensus fidei—a supernatural, intuitive sense possessed by the entire People of God, allowing them to collectively recognize the truths of the faith—still alive in the soul of every Catholic. The faith is the same in every culture and in every era. It is true that times change—but that does not mean holy things must change!
