English (United States) 
Divine Service from CA Schneider - Germany, June 2024
I am sometimes told or even reproached: As Chief Apostle, you should be very concrete and deal with problems in concrete terms; say very specifically what we should do in this, in that, and in such a situation. What is the position of the Church in this matter?
But we can’t do that, and we don’t want to do that. We can’t do it because society today is very fragmented. I would like to make that clear now. Imagine that I, as the Chief Apostle, say something about money, about the environment or environmental protection or some social issue. What happens? Everyone immediately interprets: Aha, the Chief Apostle Schneider from France is on this side! And all those who are on the other side immediately close their ears… Our society is so polarized. If you say something, the other half, which sees it differently, no longer listens. They no longer listen. They no longer accept the message, and then there is a danger that the whole preaching of the gospel will no longer be accepted because they don’t agree with this [person’s] opinions. That is the situation today, it is a fatal thing. It is important to us as apostles that we preach the gospel.
So we can’t give specific advice on who to vote for, what to do, how to spend your money, how to behave on this or that issue - for example, with immigrants, with strangers, with the environment. As soon as we say something about it, we lose half of the audience, who say: “No, they’re on that side, and that’s not my side” - and the message is lost. We want to be responsible Christians. We want to grow into the image of Jesus Christ, and this is not about rules to follow, but about our own convictions. The inner being should grow, the new creature should develop within us.
“What are my convictions? I choose unity!”
The task of the apostolate is to say: This is the gospel. It is now your self-responsibility, your personal responsibility to check whether your ideas, your attitude, actions and words are in line with the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is the gospel. Now it is up to you to make sure whether it fits the gospel or not. That is your responsibility. We are supposed to be responsible Christians, we have to decide for ourselves… You have the gift of the Holy Spirit, you have it precisely so that you can test yourself, check yourself: “What I say, what I mean, what I do - does it actually fit in with the gospel?” And if you listen to the Holy Spirit He will tell you. So that is our own responsibility. Why am I saying this? I say it because it is time for us to remember that Jesus Christ sent us into this world to be His witnesses.