Category Archives: Press

International Religious Freedom, Press

NEWS

EP gives new impetus to Freedom of Religion outside the EU

The European Parliament adopted on 15 January 2019 the resolution on the EU guidelines and the mandate of the EU Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion outside the European Union. COMECE welcomes the adoption of this resolution as it enhances the community dimension of the fundamental right to religious freedom, including the recognition of legal personality to communities in the framework of International Law (Art. … Continue reading »

Press

NEWS

Strengthening synergies between COMECE and its member Bishops’ Conferences

The General Secretaries of the Bishops’ Conferences of the EU gathered at COMECE on 17 January 2019 in order to exchange views on key questions for the Catholic Church in the European Union and to enhance their synergy in addressing the many challenges European citizens are called to face in 2019. The meeting, organised for the second consecutive year by COMECE, was an occasion of … Continue reading »

Migration & Asylum, Press

Press Release

COMECE Standing Committee calls EU Member States to take their responsibilities towards migrants in distress at sea

COMECE welcomes the solution reached today among some EU member states, with the intervention of the EU, that have accepted to receive some migrants who were for days stranded at sea, rescued and brought to a Maltese harbour. The deep concern expressed by the Bishops’ Conference from Malta with regards to the situation of these migrants is shared by COMECE: we can’t remain “deaf to … Continue reading »

Press

NEWS

Pope Francis: “politics must be at the service of peace”

On the occasion of the 52nd World Day of Peace, Pope Francis highlighted the need for politics to be at the service of peace and urged all persons of goodwill to contribute to help build the common home “grounded in law and in frank and fair relations between individuals”. Pope Francis stated that political responsibility belongs to every citizen, in particular to those who have … Continue reading »

Justice & Fundamental Rights, Press

Press Release

70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Statement of the President of the COMECE Legal Affairs Commission

On the date marking the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Mgr. Theodorus C.M. Hoogenboom, President of the COMECE Legal Affairs Commission, recalls its legal and political significance for the Church. In this context, during the year 2018, COMECE organised and participated in various high-level events on the topic of Fundamental Rights, including: – Criminalisation of circumcision: putting the fundamental rights’ system … Continue reading »

Justice & Fundamental Rights, Policy Areas, Press

NEWS

COMECE recalls core human rights principles in major EP Dialogue Seminar

“The hierarchisation of human rights is a grave obstacle to their promotion and protection”, reaffirmed COMECE during the Article 17 TFEU Dialogue Seminar on “Religion and Human Rights within the EU: A Shared Responsibility”, held at the European Parliament on 4 December with representatives of churches and religious communities. The event took place on the occasion of the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of … Continue reading »

Migration & Asylum, Press

Press Release

COMECE President’s Statement recalling the support of the Catholic Church to the UN Global Compact on Migration

“You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:34). Following Pope Francis, the Catholic Church in Europe reaffirms “our shared responsibility to welcome, to protect, to promote and to integrate”, migrants and refugees in our societies. … Continue reading »

Policy Areas, Press, Social & Economic Affairs

NEWS

Conference “Shaping the Future of Work”. Towards a decent, sustainable and participative world of work

During the COMECE-organised interreligious conference “Shaping the Future of Work” held at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on 27 November, Mgr. Antoine Hérouard, President of the COMECE Social Affairs Commission, officially presented the reflection on the changes in the labour world, encouraging the EU to shape the digital and ecological transformations Result of a one-year long process of consultation and dialogue started in … Continue reading »

Migration & Asylum, Press

NEWS

COMECE Working Group on Migration: preventive trafficking and protecting refugees

The COMECE Working Group on Migration and Asylum discussed the current EU challenges in the fight against trafficking in human being and in the protection of refugees. Held on 22 November, the working group gathered experts from Bishops’ conferences together with representatives of Catholic organizations and EU officials. The participants examined the post-2016 framework in the fight against the trafficking in human beings, calling the … Continue reading »

International Religious Freedom, Policy Areas, Press

NEWS

COMECE: “freedom of religion is a cornerstone of human rights”

COMECE reaffirmed the fundamental right to Freedom of Religion (FoRB) during a meeting at the EU Parliament on 5 November, highlighting the problem of religious illiteracy and the need to reinforce the EU mechanism for its protection. Organised by MEP Andrzej Grzyb (EPP), the event gathered Mairead McGuinness, Vicepresident of the EU Parliament, Jan Figel, EU Special Envoy on FoRB, and representatives of Churches, religious … Continue reading »