European Union to convene religious leaders for debate on moral values and human rights

Brussels, Belgium, May 21, 2006 / 22:00 pm

The European Union has convened religious leaders of various faiths for a gathering on May 30 in Brussels to debate moral values and other issues such as freedom, democracy, tolerance and human rights.

Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, president of the European Commission, and Wolfgang Schuessel, chancellor of Austria and current president of the EU, will host the meeting.  Other issues to be discussed include the role of religious communities in diffusing conflicts and what different religious groups can expect from European institutions.

Representatives of Buddhism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity will be in attendance.  Cardinal Jose da Cruz Policarpo of Lisbon, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn of Vienna and Bishop Adrianus Van Luyn of Rotterdam, who is president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, will represent the Catholic Church.