COMECE outlines a vision for Europe’s future against populism and wars

By Davide Dionisi

“Today’s audience was particularly cordial, direct, and open regarding the issues discussed. The underlying note was a strong harmony between our work and what the Pope teaches and bears witness to through his magisterium, his positions, and his initiatives.”

These were the words of Bishop Mariano Crociata, the President of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), during a press conference held in Sala Marconi of the Vatican Radio headquarters following the audience that the presidency of COMECE had with Pope Leo XIV this morning.

Weakening of the EU’s mission

“The European Union,” Bishop Crociata stated, “was born as a project of peace, and peace lies at its roots and in its identity. It is therefore called to foster dialogue among countries and international institutions, while at the same time promoting multilateralism, as the Pope explicitly recalled.”

At the same time, the President of COMECE noted that the EU’s mission, in a world marked by strong polarization, “is weakened by the lack of unity, also as a result of populism.”

Promoting values

For Bishop Crociata, “the words of the Gospel and the Church’s social teaching, applied to the issues that concern us today,” remain fundamental.

This, the COMECE President insisted, is the central point, and “on this we cannot retreat out of fear, convenience, or worse, because of possible political preferences. Our task goes beyond divisions, majorities, and minorities: it is to promote values at the service of humanity and of today’s Europe.”

Bishop Crociata also emphasized that the Bishops presented to the Pope the proposal to organize, in the autumn of 2027, a new edition of “Rethinking Europe.”

Pope Leo meets with the Presidency of COMECE   (@VATICAN MEDIA)

This would mark exactly ten years after the first edition, which brought together around 300 participants at the Vatican, including political representatives of the European Union and its member states, academics, and representatives of the Churches.

“The event,” he explained, “is intended to be a particularly important moment of reflection and dialogue regarding the challenges that Europe and the world as a whole are facing.”

Dialogue and peaceful coexistence

Archbishop Antoine Hérouard of Dijon, First Vice-President of COMECE, spoke of an idea of Europe “founded on unity and peace.”

“Creating the conditions to foster dialogue and peaceful coexistence," he underscored, "is a responsibility that goes beyond laws and institutions."

On this point, the Archbishop insisted, Europe is expected and looked to by many other countries and continents, "especially at a historical moment marked by wars in Europe and the Middle East."

He noted that this is a reality that, as a Church, we are called to live and bear witness to. "We are not political actors and we do not pursue political results," he stated, "but we recognize that certain principles are in harmony with the European project.”

Immigrants and populism

Bishop Czeslaw Kozon of Copenhagen, Vice-President of the EU Bishops, focused on the condition of immigrants, and lamented that “unfortunately immigrants are often turned into scapegoats, into the enemies of society."

"The issue of immigration has existed for several decades and is well known," he recognized, "but what appears relatively new," he said, "is the way populism uses it, transforming it into an alleged threat to many societies.”

Bishop Kozon reminded that “the Catholic Church, especially in Northern European countries, is largely composed—in some cases predominantly—of immigrants, welcomed not only for humanitarian reasons, but also as a living part of the Church.”

Their presence, the prelate expressed, “is perceived as an enrichment: in situations where some parishes risked disappearing, the arrival of immigrants brought new life.

"For this reason, as a Church in Northern countries," he said, "we have at least two reasons to stand with migrants: on the one hand humanitarian reasons, and on the other genuinely ecclesial reasons.”