Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union

Last updated

Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community
Commissio Episcopatuum Communitatis Europaeae
AbbreviationCOMECE
PredecessorEuropean Catholic Pastoral Information Service
Established3 March 1980;43 years ago (1980-03-03)
Type Association without lucrative purpose
PurposeRepresent episcopal conferences of EU member states at EU institutions
Headquarters Brussels, Belgium
Region served
European Union
Membership
Bishops delegated by episcopal conferences of EU member states
President
Bishop Mariano Crociata
Main organ
Secretariat
Website comece.eu
[1] [2]

The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union, [3] formerly the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community, (Latin : Commissio Episcopatuum Communitatis Europaeae; COMECE) is the association of Catholic Church episcopal conferences in member states of the European Union (EU) which officially represents those episcopal conferences at EU institutions. [1] [4] COMECE holds two meetings of the Plenary Assembly each year, which set out the main lines of its work. The Apostolic Nuncio to the European Communities participates in these meetings. A seminal issue of the European integration process provides the core theme of each meeting. [5]

Contents

COMECE bishops are delegated by Catholic episcopal conferences in EU member states and has a permanent Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium. [1] [6] It was established in 1980 and replaced the European Catholic Pastoral Information Service (SIPECA, 1976–1980). Discussions during the 1970s about creating an episcopal conferences' liaison organization to the European Community led to the decision, on the eve of the 1979 European Parliament election, to establish COMECE. [2]

Objectives

The objectives of COMECE are to:

COMECE issues news bulletins and reports in the following "policy areas": [8] Ecology, Energy & Agriculture; Ethics, Research & Health; EU External Affairs; Education & Culture; Justice, Fundamental Rights & Article 17 TFEU; Migration & Asylum; International Religious Freedom; Social & Economic Affairs; and Youth Policies.

Organisation

COMECE's is managed by a standing committee of five, the president, currently Bishop Mariano Crociata of Latina, Italy, first vice president Archbishop Antoine Hérouard of Dijon, France, and three vice presidents: Bishops Nuno Brás da Silva Martins of Funchal, Portugal, Rimantas Norvila of Vilkaviškis, Lithuania, and Czeslaw Kozon of Copenhagen, Denmark. [9] The official who runs the office on a day-to-day basis is the General Secretary, currently Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto. The General Secretary is appointed for a three-year term renewable term.

Its standing committees include: Commission on Social Affairs; Legal Affairs Commission; Commission on EU External Relations; Working Group on Migration and Asylum; Working Group on Ethics; Working Group on Education and Culture.

COMECE is funded by the episcopal conferences in EU member states. [1] Its secretariat is currently made of 10 people. [1]

Leadership

Presidents [10]
General Secretaries [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Roman Curia comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Roman Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use of in the exercise of his supreme pastoral office and universal mission in the world. It is at the service of the Pope, successor of Peter, and of the Bishops, successors of the Apostles, according to the modalities that are proper to the nature of each one, fulfilling their function with an evangelical spirit, working for the good and at the service of communion, unity and edification of the Universal Church and attending to the demands of the world in which the Church is called to fulfill its mission.

The Secretariat of State is the oldest dicastery in the Roman Curia, the central papal governing bureaucracy of the Catholic Church. It is headed by the Cardinal Secretary of State and performs all the political and diplomatic functions of the Holy See. The Secretariat is divided into three sections: the Section for General Affairs, the Section for Relations with States, and, since 2017, the Section for Diplomatic Staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishops' Conference of Scotland</span> Assembly of Catholic bishops

The Bishops' Conference of Scotland (BCOS), under the trust of the Catholic National Endowment Trust, and based in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, is an episcopal conference for archbishops and bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. The conference is primarily made up of the presiding bishops of Scotland's eight dioceses as well as bishops who have retired.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in Europe</span>

The Catholic Church in Europe is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See in Rome, including represented Eastern Catholic missions. Demographically, Catholics are the largest religious group in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Episcopal Conference of Italy</span> Assembly of Catholic bishops in Italy

The Italian Episcopal Conference or CEI is the episcopal conference of the Italian bishops of the Catholic Church, the official assembly of the bishops in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chapel of the Resurrection, Brussels</span>

The Chapel of the Resurrection or Chapel for Europe is a Roman Catholic church with an ecumenical vocation located in the heart of the Brussels' European Quarter, next to the former Convent Van Maerlant. A precursor of this church, which dated back to the 15th century, was situated in the city centre, but demolished in the course of urban development in 1907. Instead, a replica, externally true to the original, was built at its present location. In 2001, after substantial renovation, the church received its present name and took on its present ecumenical character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Czeslaw Kozon</span>

Czeslaw Kozon is a Danish prelate of the Catholic Church who has been bishop of the Diocese of Copenhagen since 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noël Treanor</span>

Noël Treanor is an Irish prelate of the Catholic Church who was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union with the personal title of archbishop on 26 November 2022. He was Bishop of Down and Connor in Ireland from 2008 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Episcopal Conference of Croatia</span> Assembly of Catholic bishops in southeast Europe

The Croatian Bishops' Conference (HBK) is an episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in Croatia. The Conference was founded on May 15, 1993 after Croatia regained its independence after the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, which consequentially led to the abolition of the Bishops' Conference of Yugoslavia. HBK is composed of all active and retired bishops; currently 32.

The Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe is a conference of the presidents of the 33 Roman Catholic episcopal conferences of Europe, the Archbishop of Luxembourg, the Archbishop of Monaco, Maronite Catholic Archeparch of Cyprus, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Chişinău, the Ruthenian Catholic Eparch of Mukacheve, and the Apostolic Administrator of Estonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jozef De Kesel</span> Belgian Roman Catholic bishop

Jozef De Kesel is a Belgian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels from 2015 to 2023, where he had been auxiliary bishop from 2002 to 2010. He served as Bishop of Bruges from 2010 to 2015 and has been a cardinal since 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Czech Bishops' Conference</span> Catholic governing body

The Czech Bishops' Conference (CBC) is the standing episcopal conference of the Catholic bishops of the Czech Republic. Based in Prague, the CBC represents the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic. It was founded in early 1993, the date of independence for the Czech Republic, as the successor to the Czechoslovak Bishops' Conference. Members of the Bishops' Conference according to canon 447 CIC: in conjunction perform pastoral duties in favor of the Christians in their territory, to achieve the greater good which the Church gives to people according to law, especially apostolic actions suitably adapted to the time and place. The Episcopal Church of the conference is a legal entity run by the Apostolic See, its character and activities are governed by the 1983 Code of Canon Law, specifically canons 447-459. Members of the Czech Bishops' Conference are diocesan bishops of Latin Church and Eastern Catholic Churches, and position them on an equal footing with auxiliary bishops and other titular bishops both within or outside for the Czech Republic and perform specific tasks under a mandate from the Holy See or the Czech Bishops' Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romanian Episcopal Conference</span> Assembly of Catholic bishops

The Romanian Episcopal Conference is the permanent assembly of Catholic bishops in Romania. The bishops' conference has its headquarters in Bucharest, is a member of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) and sends a representative to the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE).

Maltese Episcopal Conference is the official Catholic bishops' meeting in the Republic of Malta. Its president, as of 2016 is Charles J. Scicluna, the Archbishop of Malta. The Conference of Bishops of Malta is a member of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences and the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithuanian Bishops' Conference</span> Assembly of Catholic bishops

Lithuanian Bishops' Conference is the official meeting of Catholic bishops in Lithuania. It has its seat in Vilnius. The Episcopal Conference is a member of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) and the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE).

The Holy Synod of Catholic Bishops of Greece is the Episcopal Conference in Greece. It is a member of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences and sends a representative to the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Episcopal Conference of Venezuela</span> Assembly of Catholic bishops

The Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV) is a permanent institution. Its stated aim is, according to Second Vatican Council, associated with the Bishops of the Republic to exercise together, as an expression of collegial spirit, certain pastoral functions on the faithful of their territory and to promote according to the rule of law, the greater good which the Catholic Church offers humankind, especially through forms and programs of the apostolate fittingly adapted to the circumstances of time and place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Claude Hollerich</span>

Jean-Claude Hollerich, S.J. is a Luxembourger prelate of the Catholic Church, who has served as the Archbishop of Luxembourg since 2011. He was the president of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) from March 2018 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesuit European Social Centre</span>

Jesuit European Social Centre (JESC), formerly known as Catholic Office of Information and Initiative for Europe (OCIPE) is a research and documentation center on ethics and European integration founded in 1956.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Secretariat of COMECE (Commission of the Episcopates of the European Community)". ec.europa.eu. European Commission. Joint Transparency Register Secretariat. 12 April 2016. Transparency Register id: 47350036909-69. Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Our history". comece.eu. Brussels, BE: Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  3. ↑ COMECE, the Catholic Church in the European Union, Who we are Archived 1 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine , accessed 27 June 2021
  4. ↑ Turner, Frank (2013). "The Roman Catholic Church and the European institutions: dialogue and advocacy at the European Union". In Leuştean, Lucian N. (ed.). Representing religion in the European Union: does God matter?. Routledge studies in religion and politics. London [u.a.]: Routledge. pp. 77, 82–83. ISBN   9780415685047.
  5. ↑ comece.eu. "Structure". The Catholic Church in the European Union Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union. Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE). Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  6. ↑ "Who we are". comece.eu. Brussels, BE: Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Our mission". comece.eu. Brussels, BE: Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community. Archived from the original on 4 May 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  8. ↑ comece.eu. "Policy Areas". The Catholic Church in the European Union Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union. Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE). Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  9. ↑ "Monsignor Mariano Crociata è il nuovo presidente della Comece". Vatican News (in Italian). 22 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  10. 1 2 "History". COMECE. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  11. 1 2 "Monsignor Crociata è il nuovo presidente della Comece". Avvenire (in Italian). 22 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  12. ↑ "Tribute to former COMECE General Secretary". COMECE. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  13. ↑ "Rinunce e Nomine, 28.02.2008" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.