# Migration is being used to weaken Europe’s Christian identity

**By:** Thomas Colsy  
**Published:** 2026-04-22T14:57:00.000Z  
**Source:** [The Catholic Herald](https://thecatholicherald.com/article/bishop-schneider-warns-migration-is-being-used-to-weaken-europes-christian-identity)

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The senior bishop said Catholics should respond to threats to Europe’s Christian heritage with a movement to “save Europe”

A senior Catholic bishop in an April interview has warned that mass migration into Europe is being used as a political instrument to weaken the continent’s Christian identity, describing the trend as an “orchestrated” effort that risks reshaping the cultural and religious foundations of European society. He furthermore stated it was important that a “movement” be “launched to save Europe”.
The comments were made by Bishop Athanasius Schneider, a prominent senior cleric who has met with Pope Leo XIV and is known for his sympathy to Catholic traditionalism alongside his forthright interventions on doctrinal and cultural questions, during an interview with the German weekly Junge Freiheit. His remarks come as migration, integration and religious identity remain central issues in political debate across the continent.