• On the occasion of the 2019 COMECE Spring Assembly, on Thursday 14 March 2019, EU Bishops received  Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission. Together they urged all citizens to engage into the European political debate and vote with responsibility to protect and promote the common good.

    The dialogue with the President of the European Commission was an opportunity for Bishops to exchange on the main achievements and remaining priorities of Juncker’s Presidency.

    In his contribution, President Juncker stated: “I am a fervent advocate of the social doctrine of the Church. It is one of the most noble teachings of our Church. All of this is part of a doctrine that Europe does not apply often enough. I would like us to rediscover the values and guiding principles of the social teaching of the Church”.

    European Bishops reaffirmed the Church’s commitment to address the challenges that our continent and our people have to face: digitalisation and technological development, demography, global warming and migration.

    They highlighted the need to combine efforts of all people of good will to better serving the common good, placing the human person at the heart of EU public policies.

    Days before a possible Brexit and two months ahead of the EU 2019 parliament elections, Bishops recalled EU citizens’ responsibility to exercise their right and fulfil their duty to vote, giving a new impulse to the European construction. The electoral results will condition the political decisions impacting on our day to day lives during the next 5 years.

    Bishops expressed the need to promote a European context of dialogue in order to discover opportunities behind challenges, proposing effective solutions for the wellbeing of all those living in the European Union.

    The meeting between the EU Bishops and President Juncker is a concrete expression of the open, transparent and regular dialogue between EU institutions and Churches in accordance with Article 17 TFEU.

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