The Catholic Church in the European Union
Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union
On 12 December 2015, at the end of the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-21) that was held in Paris, 197 Parties adopted the «Paris Agreement» (PA). Entered into force on 4 November 2016, the agreement is now signed by 170 parties. Its main goal is to keep the rise of the average … Continue reading
In view of the Synod on the Pan-Amazon region convoked by Pope Francis for October 2019, COMECE will host a high-level delegation from the Amazon region on Thursday 20 September 2018. The delegation of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM) is due to be led by its President, H.Em. Cardinal Claudio Hummes (Brazil) and its Vice-President, H.Em. Cardinal Pedro Barreto Jimeno (Peru), and will include representatives … Continue reading
Statistics show that more than 70% of the global population suffers from restrictions on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). COMECE urges the EU to intensify its external action to promote the fundamental right of freedom of religion and full citizenship for all members of the communities where freedom of religious minorities are restricted. The European Parliament analysed the issue of Freedom of Religion or … Continue reading
COMECE contributed to the public consultation on Digital Ethics launched by the European Data Protection Supervisor in order to understand how new technologies are shaping our life and which elements are needed to regulate new technological developments. Engaged to the social teaching of the Church, in its contribution COMECE underlined the unlimited equal value of each human life and pointed out the need for a … Continue reading
Seven years after the EU Commission adopted the EU framework for National Roma Inclusion Strategies up to 2020, recent statistics show that Roma people’s inclusion in European societies is still a challenge that deserves to be faced. COMECE is committed to promote their full integration into societies, respecting their culture in diversity and meeting their specific needs, including education, employment, housing, healthcare and citizenship. As … Continue reading
COMECE took part in the workshop “Equal beginnings, but then? A global responsibility” organised in the Vatican on 25-26 June by the Pontifical Academy for Life within the context of its annual assembly. On the theological bases given by an analysis of the content-related developments from the encyclicals “Evangelium Vitae” and “Laudato Si”, participants from all over the world engaged into a dialogue to shed … Continue reading
A delegation of Austrian and European Church representatives met in Vienna on 23 July 2018 with Karoline Edtstadler, Secretary of State for Home Affairs of the Austrian government, to exchange views on the priorities of the Austrian Presidency of the EU Council. Regular meetings of churches with the rotating EU Presidency have been taking place for more than 20 years. They are an expression of … Continue reading
The Global Compact for Safely, Orderly and Regular Migration was finalised on 13 July and shall be formally adopted during the Intergovernmental Conference that will be held in Marrakesh, Morocco, on 10-11 December 2018. As Fr. Fabio Baggio C.S, Under-Secretary of the Holy See’s Migration & Refugees Section, explained during the recent COMECE-organised meeting, the UN Global Compact on Migration is a non-binding intergovernmental negotiated … Continue reading
A roundtable debate on “New Defence Technologies” took place at COMECE on June 19th, 2018, to discuss the current developments in this field and reflect on related legal, security and ethical questions. The meeting, organised in the context of the recent proposal of the European Commission on the future European Defence Fund, gathered representatives of the EU, the military, academia and the Church. The 15 … Continue reading
