COVID-19 Coronavirus: COMECE-CEC joint statement. “This is the time to show our commitment to European values”

“We gratefully welcome the many individual and collective initiatives that are reinventing new forms of solidarity and new ways of sharing beyond the necessary social distancing”, Card. Jean-Claude Hollerich, President of COMECE (Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union), and Rev. Christian Krieger, President of CEC (Conference of European Churches), said in a joint statement issued today. “We gratefully commend the numerous policy actions of mutual support and encourage the political decision-makers in the European Union and its Member States to continue acting in a determined, transparent, empathic and democratic way”. “We pray for wisdom and strength among leaders at both national and European level”. This is the time for all of us to demonstrate our joint commitment to the European project and to common European values of solidarity and unity, instead of capitulating to fear and nationalism”. Concrete expressions of “this our shared European responsibility could, for example, be burden-sharing in the care for the sick, a facilitated exchange of medical materials, creative measures alleviating social, economic and financial shocks, as well as reinforced international cooperation and humanitarian assistance to support weaker health systems in needy regions of the world”. Finally, “the Lenten journey towards Easter is in the substance of Christian faith. Let us regard this time of trial also as a time of grace and hope. Let us remain united and make our closeness felt to all, especially those in need”.
Valentina Bombelli