Team

Friederike Ladenburger

Adviser for Ethics, Research & Health

Adviser for Ethics, Research & Health Secretary of the COMECE Commission on Ethics E-mail contact Tel.: +32 (0) 2 235 05 18 Friederike was born in Freiburg and grew up in Münster (Germany). She has been working at the COMECE Secretariat since 2017. She studied Law at the Albert–Ludwigs University Freiburg and completed her legal clerkship at the District Court of Freiburg. She also worked as … Continue reading »

Team

José Luis Bazán

Adviser for Migration, Asylum & International Religious Freedom

Legal Adviser for Migration & Asylum and for International Religious Freedom Secretary of the COMECE Commission on Migration and Asylum Email contact Tel.: +32 (0) 2 235 05 16 José Luis is originally from Spain and has been working at the COMECE Secretariat since 2010. He holds a degree in Law (1989) and a Ph.D. in International Law (1995) from the University of Navarre, (Spain) with the thesis “The protection of … Continue reading »

Team

Alessandro Calcagno

Assistant General Secretary - Adviser for Fundamental Rights

Legal advisor for Fundamental Rights and Article 17 TFEU issues
Secretary of the COMECE Commission on Legal Affairs

Team

Fr. Manuel Enrique Barrios Prieto

General Secretary 

General Secretary E-mail contact Contact his Personal Assistant Tel.: +32 (0) 2 235 05 12 Fr Manuel was born in Madrid (Spain) in November 1962 and was ordained priest in Rome in 1988. He studied philosophy and theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University obtaining the degree of Doctor in Theology with a thesis on theological anthropology based on the works of the Anglican theologian John Macquarrie. … Continue reading »

International Religious Freedom

Online event on exposing sexual exploitation of women that targets vulnerable religious communities

Jihadist terrorism has shifted the focus of its operations to sub-Saharan and Indian Africa, and to the regions of Asia bordering the equator, while continuing its presence in the Middle East. This phenomenon has also a dimension that affects women as a group exposed to sexual violence, exploitation, and enslavement. In many cases, these women belong to vulnerable religious communities. This is not just exploitation … Continue reading »

Press

Press Release

COMECE mourns the death of Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union Mgr Aldo Giordano

Archbishop Aldo Giordano, the Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union, died on Thursday 2 December 2021 in Leuven, Belgium, after being hospitalized due to COVID-19 infection. COMECE President Cardinal Hollerich: “Mgr. Giordano left a lasting mark on all of us”. “On learning with sorrow of the death of our brother Monsignor Aldo Giordano, on behalf of the Bishops of the European Union, I wish to … Continue reading »

Press

Invitation

Our hope for Europe: Conference on the Future of Europe

“Our hope for Europe: Conference on the Future of Europe” will be held on 7 December 2021, 19:00 – 21:00 (CET) at the Chapel for Europe, Brussels. The event is jointly organised by COMECE, the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and Chapel for Europe. The event is part of the churches’ contribution to the ongoing Conference on the Future of Europe and the discussions will … Continue reading »

Justice & Fundamental Rights, Policy Areas, Press

Press Release

COMECE reacts on European Commission ‘inclusive language’ guidelines: “Respecting diversity cannot lead to suppressing religion from public discourse”.

COMECE welcomes the withdrawal of the European Commission’s internal guidelines on inclusive communication on Tuesday 30 November 2021. The draft text contained several terminological recommendations to the staff of this EU institution on how to have more inclusive internal and external communication. While respecting the right of the European Commission to model its written and verbal communication, and appreciating the importance of equality and non-discrimination, COMECE cannot help being concerned about the impression that an anti-religious bias characterised some passages of the draft document. The draft guidelines, for … Continue reading »

Education & Culture, Policy Areas, Press

Invitation

Returning (to) cultural heritage

The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) invites you to join the webinar “Returning (to) cultural heritage”, aiming to discuss the role of cultural and religious heritage in the EU-Africa partnership. The event will take place online on Wednesday 1 December 2021 at 14:00 (CET). The event will be an occasion to reflect jointly with policy-makers, Church representatives and practitioners from … Continue reading »