AUGUSTA, Maine (LifeSiteNews) — Comic and actor Rob Schneider told his followers on Twitter/X that he recently converted to Catholicism.
In a post on his 60th birthday, Schneider, who has publicly and vehemently opposed draconian COVID-19 lockdowns and mask mandates over the past several years, said he has come to realize more deeply the fragility of human life and the necessity of learning to forgive as Christ forgives.
The husband and father of three daughters said he’s “a new convert to Catholicism” and that he’s come to a “humbling knowledge that there is indeed a time limit for all things and that God’s design though perfect is precious far beyond its brevity.”
“If you are reading this now, then you too have time! Use it wisely, use it unwisely too! But USE it. Be IN it,” Schneider said. “Be aware that you are part of ALL of it and that the separateness you sometimes feel is an illusion.”
I want thank ALL of the lovely people for their kind birthday wishes for me today on my 60th birthday.
I am the luckiest man in the world.
I have a wonderful partner in life, my beautiful wife Patricia and three lovely daughters; Elle, Miranda and Madeline.
Today, I am reminded … pic.twitter.com/DcNq5dZBwu— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) October 31, 2023
Schneider, who spoke out against the “unprecedented coercion” by the U.S. government against Americans to comply with dictatorial COVID edicts, offered his “unconditional forgiveness and amnesty” to the “people who shut down schools and indeed the world and who coerced others to do things against their will which hurt many people deeply.”
He acknowledged feeling “so angry” against proponents of the COVID agenda and apologized for his “lack of Christ’s forgiveness to my fellow man.”
The comedian, whose father was Jewish and his mother Catholic, said he was “humbled by the example of my mother Pilar and how she was able to forgive the WW2 occupiers of her Philippines who killed both her brothers.”
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“[H]ow can I stay mad at the famous singer who would not let others into his Broadway show unless they had an experiential jab”? said Schneider, who was a Saturday Night Live cast member from 1990 to 1994, appearing in comedic sketches with the likes of Adam Sandler, Dana Carvey, and Chris Farley. “I will never forget how kind he was to me and my friends when he was the musical guest on SNL.”
“How can I continue to hold a grudge against the actor who shamed people like me but has been such a great example for other actors to never give up and keep fighting for their dreams”? He continued. “How can I still be mad at the lovely actress that said she could no longer be friends with people like me who didn’t ‘get’ it, knowing how incredibly kind she is with every child she meets.”
Though Schneider’s expression of his Catholic beliefs are somewhat muddled in the post (he also quoted writer Alan Watts, a popularizer of Buddhist philosophy), and made a vague reference to love being “endemic to the universe itself,” his message conveyed his earnest search for truth and meaning.
Schneider explained that “it is forgiveness itself that is the gift that we give ourselves because it frees us as The Christ intends for all of us to be free.”
“His gift of ultimate and unlimited forgiveness is indeed the gift for all humanity,” the comedian explained.
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Schneider acknowledged that not everyone believes in God, but assured even unbelievers that God has not given up on them.
“For the atheists, God loves you too,” he said.
The comedian explained that atheists make a “mistake” when they “think the universe is a stupid thing that just bumps into things and expands ignorantly and without reason or intelligence. And that somehow we human beings, with our intelligence, is just some kind of ‘freak’ universal accident.”
“May God bless you and your families now and forever,” Schneider said.