COMECE adviser José Luis Bazán during the conference on interreligious dialogue. Brussels, 25 February 2026. (Photo: EPP Group)
The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) participated in the conference ‘Interreligious Dialogue on the Universal Values of Europe’, held at the European Parliament, Brussels, on Wednesday, 25 February 2026, by the EPP Working Group on Intercultural and Religious Dialogue and the European Muslim Leaders Council (EULEMA).
The event featured contributions, among others, from EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner (responsible for Internal Affairs and Migration, as well as the EC responsible for Article 17 TFEU), MEP Antonella Sberna (Vice-President of the European Parliament and EP responsible for Article 17 TFEU), MEPs Željana Zovko and Vangelis Meimarakis (both Co-Chairs of the EPP Working Group on Intercultural and Religious Dialogue), as well as representatives of Churches and religious communities, including Imam Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini (President of EULEMA)
COMECE was represented by José Luis Bazán, its asdviser for Migration, Asylum and Religious Freedom outside of the European. Within the conference, he contributed to the panel ‘Reflections on Human Fraternity, Ramadan and Lent in Europe’.
At a time marked by both Lent and Ramadan and, echoing the message of H.E. Mgr. Indunil J.K. Kodithuwakku for the period of Ramadan and ‘Id al-Fitr, COMECE adviser Bazán highlighted in his address that “Fasting and self-restraint improves our spiritual clarity through our approach to the divine, that brings us closer to our fellow human beings, as we see that they not only have the same dignity as creatures made at the image of God, but that there is a vital and indelible bond which, from a Christian perspective, means that every human being is part of our own family. In this way, we can say that the closer we are to God, the closer we are to man”.