EU Bishops’ president says Europe “called to build a future for the whole world”, deplores migrant pushbacks on Greece’s external borders: “Surely policies must change”
Ecumenical delegation urges German Presidency of EU Council to solidarity, speed in recovery plan: “A delay would negatively affect the most vulnerable members of our societies”
“Europe, find yourself! Rediscover your most deeply-rooted ideals. Be yourself!”, Francis writes in letter to “weary and listless” continent “possessed of little hope”
COMECE Working Group on Ethics calls on EU, member states to ensure “affordability, sustainability and security” of medical and pharmaceutical supplies
“This new encyclical is a call for a new way of living human relations: not only on paper, not only by words, but with our daily actions”, says COMECE secretary general Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto
“We accuse ourselves for not standing to our beliefs more courageously, for not praying more faithfully, for not believing more joyously, and for not loving more ardently”, reads the Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt
The Archbishop of Luxembourg and president of the EU Bishops warns nationalistic responses to COVID have “the explosive power to smash the EU”
“It’s very important to us to save our heritage and keep it safe for future generations”, says Chaldean prelate Najeeb Michaeel of Mosul
“It is a violation of human rights to force people to be in a concentration camp”, denounces Marie Doutrepont, who has witnessed first-hand the “shame of Europe” on Lesbos
Church leaders from across the island of Ireland have appealed to the UK and the European Union to “act with urgency and generosity to end the economic and social uncertainty” over Brexit and to secure the best foundations for their evolving relationship.
On September 23rd, the European Commission presented the new Pact on Migration and Asylum, composed of 12 documents, including several legislative proposals, which will now be negotiated by the European Parliament and EU Member States.
In view of their recent Plenary Assembly, the Presidents of the National European Bishops’ Conferences prepared for the meeting by completing a questionnaire on “The Church during the COVID-19 pandemic” with information from their respective Bishops’ Conferences.
“Any closure to others in order to defend ourselves, any individual interests, to the point of profiting from misfortune, is against personal dignity, against the community: ultimately, it is against human rights”, the bishops of the Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) have warned in a message after a plenary assembly.
“Let’s welcome migrants with humanity, fraternity and solidarity. Let’s give them a place at our table”, said Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, President of COMECE, on the eve of the 106th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which will be celebrated on Sunday 27 September 2020.
German Catholic Workers have thrown their support behind a Europe-wide push for an unconditional basic income.
Caritas Europa has voiced disappointment in the EU Pact on Asylum and Migration unveiled Wednesday at European Union headquarters in Brussels.
A dozen global and regional religious organizations released an advocacy statement on the situation of migrants and refugees in Europe that defines their calling as Christians to “welcome the stranger,” and urges the creation of a world in which “we become human together.”
The Orthodox Archbishop of Athens has ripped the EU for its “repressive” refugee policies, and said that “welcoming the stranger is an integral part of Christian heritage”.
The Holy See has warned that law enforcement and security measures alone are not enough to combat radicalisation and terrorism.
Fires at the Moria reception centre for asylum seekers on the Greek island of Lesbos have left thousands of people without shelter.
Tension is high on the Greek island of Lesbos with thousands of migrants sleeping rough after last week’s refugee centre fires and local residents worried about coronavirus fears and social strife.
In the Angelus on Sunday, and in the wake of this week’s tragic fires in the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, Pope Francis pleaded for “a humane and dignified welcome” for refugees in Europe.
Cardinal Konrad Krajewski is leading the Church outrage over the Moria refugee camp fires, denouncing that “inhumane” EU migrant policy is “killing” new arrivals to the continent.
Approximately 13,000 migrants fled the overcrowded Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos as giant fires ripped through it on Tuesday night and again on Wednesday.
Pope Francis has warned that “no one can remain indifferent” to migrant “tragedies” the day after a tragic fire in a refugee camp on Lesbos.
Two cardinals and an archbishop have said that “Europe should be ashamed” after a devastating fire in a Greek island migrant camp.
In a message published today to the Forum of the European House-Ambrosetti, an encounter of politicians, representatives of European institutions and business leaders taking place in northern Italy this Friday and Saturday, Pope Francis urged an “ecological retooling” of the economy to counter what he called the “inhumane” pace of production and consumption today.
Luis Ritto was from 2006 to 2011 the ambassador of the European Union to the Holy See. Today, he is the professor emeritus of the International School for Protocol and Diplomacy (ISPD) in Brussels, Belgium.
In a message for the Season of Creation from September 1 to October 4, the presidents of the Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC), Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco and the Reverend Christian Krieger respectively, have stressed the need for a “just and sustainable balance” in society, the economy and ecology.
The director of the Jesuit Refugee Service Italy has denounced that migrants are “discarded” and “forgotten” because they are not consumers.