The Catholic Church in the European Union
Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union
COMECE received H.E. Macram Max Gassis, Bishop emeritus of the Diocese El Obeid in Sudan. The Bishop came to Brussels to draw attention to the suffering of the Nuba people. He called on the EU to contribute to a peaceful and just settlement of the ongoing conflict. In concrete terms, Mgr Gassis demanded the cessation of aerial bombings, the opening of relief corridors and that … Continue reading
In the Middle East, many women and men belonging to religious minorities, in particular Christians, are expelled from their homeland and become asylum seekers or are internally displaced. They have a right to return to their homes. This was the main message delivered by COMECE at the United Nations Global Summit on “Religion, Peace and Security” in Geneva on 23 – 25 November. COMECE Legal … Continue reading
COMECE participated to the second edition of the “Fundamental Rights Colloquium”, organised on a yearly basis by the European Commission. The topic was “Media Pluralism and Democracy”. The COMECE Secretariat had contributed to the relevant consultation with a detailed submission. COMECE supports the view that media cannot be analysed under the reductive lenses of commercial and market perspectives, being they closely and vitally linked with … Continue reading
Transformative changes in the labour market as well as growing economic and social divergence in the EU call for concerted actions at the European level. COMECE therefore supports the proposed initiative of the European Pillar of Social Rights and submitted its contribution to the EU consultation. The document that was elaborated by the COMECE Social Affairs Commission together with the COMECE Secretariat focuses on Divergence … Continue reading
COMECE participated in the launch of a Resolution for a better work-life-balance and synchronized free time in the age of digitalisation. The pledge was launched by the European Sunday Alliance on the occasion of the Conference Work-Life-Balance 4.0 – Challenges in a time of digitalisation. The Resolution is aimed at activating civil society and politicians to use the opportunities for a better work-life-balance and to … Continue reading
COMECE participated in a Round Table at the EU Parliament on “Expectations and challenges to Iraqi National Reconciliation” organised by the Community of Sant’Egidio. Mgr Louis Sako, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldean, asked the EU to support creation of reconciliation mechanisms and to prepare the post DAESH reconstruction through a roadmap involving all relevant actors.
On the eve of the European Sunday Alliance Conference on ‘Work-Life Balance 4.0 – Challenges in a Time of Digitalisation’, COMECE general secretary Olivier Poquillon met Christian workers representatives for a consultation.
COMECE participated in the 2nd European Congress for the Protection of Persecuted Christians in Krakow. The objective of this conference was to pinpoint the directions of legal and political action which should be taken to curb this cruel phenomenon. The Event under the Patronage of the President of Poland was organised by MEP Ryszard Legutko in cooperation with, among others, Aid to the Church in … Continue reading
Commenting on the New Dublin IV Proposal, COMECE and other members of the Christian Group on Migration and Asylum call upon the EU Commission to further develop an asylum system which should be designed and implemented matching and integrating the applicant’s and the Member States’ preferences, needs and potentials in the allocation process.
“The EU and its institutions, all member countries, namely, all civil society of the “European common home” as a whole, need to reflect on the cultural and political progress of the Continent, the goals it intends to achieve and most importantly the basic values called to inspire the common journey.” Media Full interview of Mgr Ambrosio in SIR