Kazakhstan bishop to speak at Concerned Catholics fundraiser

Calling on all Catholics. The Bishop of Kazakhstan, Athanasius Schneider, will visit here this weekend as the special guest speaker at a pair of fundraising events organized by the Concerned Catholics of Guam group. President David Sablan says Bishop Schneider will speak on strengthening the Catholic faith on Guam, which has been rocked by the clergy sex abuse scandal.


"What better person to have keynote those two events than Bishop Schneider who is a very conservative, very focused bishop on the traditions and authority in the magisterium of the church," he said. "And so he follows exactly how the church is formed and all the teachings of Christ. And so he's very strong in that and he's considered in my opinion a defender of the faith."

Bishop Schneider was invited by Archbishop Michael Byrnes to attend his symbolic vestment ceremony Sunday known as the "Pallium" which commemorates Byrnes' appointment as the head of Guam's Catholics.
Sablan says his group also took the opportunity to ask Bishop Schneider to help raise much-needed money to support local seminarians.

"We need good priests," he said. We have many of them that have passed away. Some that have been unfortunately and sadly removed from their ministry because of these clergy sex abuse. And there have been some as well that have retired. And so talking to Father Mike Crisostomo who is the vicar to the clergy, and Father Richard Kidd who is the vocations director for the Archdiocese, we're kinda working in tandem and working together to increase the vocations to the priesthood."

The fundraising dinner is scheduled for Saturday, and the brunch is on Sunday, both at the Sheraton Laguna Resort. Tickets are available at the Padre Pio gift shop.