Bishop Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary bishop of Astana, has identified Freemasonry as a principal source of the crisis that has afflicted the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council, describing its infiltration as a “demonic” tactic aimed at corrupting doctrine, worship and the centrality of Christ. In a wide-ranging interview released on May 22, 2026, with Adrian Milag, the bishop, who endured Soviet communist persecution as a child, spoke with notable frankness about the dangers of relativism, naturalism and man-centred liturgy.