Ján Figeľ

Month: July 2020

  • Europe and the challenge of religious freedom

    The European Union’s Special Envoy for promoting the Freedom of Religions and Belief outside of Europe will soon be appointed. Maragaritis Schinas, vice-president of the European Commission, announced the Office’s re-establishment in a tweet on July 8.

    The announcement brought to a close what had been at times a very lively debate.

    The president of the European Commission originally decided not to appoint somebody in the role of advisor to her in the capacity of special envoy “at this time”.

    Then, after protests from many organizations, the Commission reversed itself. The position is still vacant, so everything is still up in the air and anything could happen: Why, then, is it so important to have a special envoy for religious freedom in Europe?

    The special envoy’s Office was established in 2016, right after Pope Francis had been awarded the Charlemagne Prize. Jan Figel became the Special Envoy. During his mandate, Jan Figel traveled worldwide, opened bridges of dialogue, and had a crucial role in the liberation of Asia Bibi, the Pakistani woman who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy and then acquitted.

    Many backed the re-establishment of the position. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg and president of the Committee of the Bishops of the European Union (COMECE), noted that “in some countries, the religious oppression reached the level of a genocide” and for this reason “the European Union must continue to campaign for religious freedom, with a special envoy.”

    This semester, Germany is president of the Council of the European Union. So 135 German members of Parliament asked the government to use the position to press the EU to restore the Office.

    Austrian members of Parliament signed a joint resolution with the same goal, and Jewish, Orthodox, and Muslim labels protested against the cancellation of the position.

    It was then expected that the new European Commission was going to renew the mandate. It did not happen at first. In June, the Commission sent a letter to the International Religious Freedom Roundtable, a convenor of NGOs and individuals from any faith that works for religious freedom.

    In the letter, the Commission confirmed that they would advance religious liberty according to the 2013 EU guidelines, which recognize the human right to freedom of religion and belief and understand that right under European law to mean that everyone is free to believe, not to believe, change their beliefs, publicly witness their beliefs and share their beliefs with others.

    In the letter, the Commission also said that violations were going to be monitored by the EU delegation. The delegation and Eamon Gilmore, special representative for human rights, were supposed to report on the violations.

    After that, and all the protests, the Commission changed its mind and announced that the Special Envoy position for religious freedom was going to stay. Everything, by the way, is still suspended. We yet do not know who will be the next special envoy, and under which mandate.

    There is another issue. The special envoy takes care of religious freedom outside of the EU, but religious liberty is at risk within the EU borders. There are many pieces of evidence that religious freedom is subtly dwindling in Europe.

    Religious freedom inside the EU border is guaranteed under the EU charter of fundamental rights which is policed by the EU fundamental rights agency in Vienna. In addition, all the member states of the EU are constrained by fundamental democratic principles for which the commission can hold them to account if their laws don’t correspond.

    And yet, there are cases that show that show that religious freedom is at stake.

    The most recent cases came from Finland and Sweden.

    Päivi Räsänen, a member of Finnish Parliament and former minister, faces four investigations after tweeting a Bible passage questioning that the Evangelical Church in Finland sponsored the Pride 2019.

    Ellinor Grimmark and Linda Steen, two Swedish midwives, appealed to the European Court for Human Rights because they found unemployed and could not apply for any job since they refused to help to perform abortions. The appeal was, however, declared inadmissible.

    These are not the only cases, and it is not a new situation. It is worth remembering that the Holy See personally took the floor in 2013. Following the discussion of two cases at the European Court for Human Rights, the Holy See sent a note and widely explained why the religions are not “lawless areas” but instead “spaces of freedom.”

    The two cases that brought about the Holy See’s note are Sindicatul’ Pastoral cel bun’ versus Romania and Fernandez Martinez versus Spain. Both of them provide food for thought even today.

    The first case was about a labor union formed in 2008 by the clergy in an Orthodox Church diocese to defend their “professional, economic, social, and cultural interests” in their dealings with the church.

    When the Romanian government registered the new union, the church sued, pointing out that her canons do not allow for unions and arguing that registration violated the principle of church autonomy.

    A Romanian court agreed with the Church, and the union challenged the court’s judgment in the European Court for Human Rights. The union argued that the decision not to register violated Article 11 of the European Convention, which grants a right to freedom of association.

    In 2012, the chamber reasoned that, under Article 11, a state might limit freedom of association only if it shows “a pressing social need,” defined in terms of a “threat to a democratic society,” This did not happen in Romania. So the chamber faulted the Romanian court, and Romania appealed to the Grand Chamber – the final EU judicial appeal venue.

    The second case regarded Fernandez Martinez, a Spanish instructor of religion. In Spain, public schools offer classes in Catholicism, taught by instructors approved by the local bishop. Fernandez Martinez did not get his bishop’s approval. A laicized priest, Fernandez Martinez, took a public stand against mandatory priestly celibacy. When the school dismissed the instructor, he brought suit under the European Convention. His dismissal – he argued – violated his right to privacy, family life, and expression.

    A section of the European Court ruled against him, because in withdrawing approval – the section stated – the bishop had acted “in accordance with the principle of religious autonomy”; the instructor had been dismissed for purely religious reasons, and it would be inappropriate for a secular court to intrude.

    These two cases – the “Vatican foreign minister”, then-Archbishop Dominique Mamberti noted – “call into question the Church’s freedom to function according to her own rules and not be subject to civil rules other than those necessary to ensure that the common good and just public order are respected.”

    One should say that this is a vexata quaestio (an already widely discussed issue), with significance far beyond Europe.

    Europe, however, is living in a particularly worrisome situation. The Observatoire de la Christianophobie in France and the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christian in Europe report an increasing number of cases that are food for thought.

    Religions became even more vulnerable after the coronavirus outbreak. Many provisions of various governments to counter the spread of the infection also jeopardized freedom of worship. It was an emergency, and everybody understands that, but at the same time, it is always essential to re-establish a principle, in order not to set a precedent.

    While watching over the religious freedom in other countries, it would be good that Europe had some more proper monitoring of the situation within its borders.

    As the Holy See keeps saying, religious freedom is “the freedom of all the freedoms,” a litmus test for the state of liberty in each country. The appointment of an EU special envoy for religious freedom will be a welcome thing, therefore. It is yet to be seen, however, what will be the precise mandate and the powers of the Office. It would be good to expand its scope to address the violations of religious freedom within the EU, as well.

    * Catholic News Agency columns are opinion and do not necessarily express the perspective of the agency.

    https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/column/europe-and-the-challenge-of-religious-freedom-4200

  • EU politicians and religious leaders demand reinstatement of religious envoy

    The previous religious envoy was influential in securing the release of the Pakistani Christian, Asia Bibi, from a death sentence in 2019.

    Calls are growing for the European Union to reinstate its Special Envoy on Religious Freedom, after the post was abolished by the new Brussels Commission under Ursula Von Der Leyen.

    “In some countries, religious oppression has now reached the level of genocide,” said Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, president of COMECE, which represents the EU’s Catholic Bishops Conferences. “Vulnerable religious minorities and groups are at risk, and the EU must continue campaigning for religious freedom, with its own representative included.”

    The cardinal made the comments to German’s Deutsche Welle agency on Sunday, as 135 German parliamentarians from various parties urged their country to use its new tenure of the EU’s rotating presidency to press for restoration of the post, and as conservative members of the European Parliament tabled similar demands in a letter to Von Der Leyen.

    Austrian MPs also called on their government in a joint resolution last week to ensure the EU Commission’s decision was reversed. Meanwhile, the EU move was also criticised by Orthodox and Muslim leaders, as well as by the president of the Conference of European Rabbis, Pinchas Goldschmidt, who told Deutsche Welle it had “sent the wrong signal” when religious minorities were being “increasingly targeted by extremists and the free exercise of religion is being undermined”.

    The Slovak Jan Figel was appointed Special Envoy under a 2016 European Parliament resolution to work alongside the EU’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development, and was believed influential in the subsequent opening of religious rights offices by governments in Britain, Denmark and Germany, as well as in securing release of the Pakistani Christian, Asia Bibi, from a death sentence for alleged blasphemy in 2019. However, supporters complained he had been denied office space and funds in Brussels, and that his one-year renewable mandate had been too brief to formulate any long-term plan.

    In an early June letter to the International Religious Freedom Roundtable, the EU Commission said it was committed under 2013 guidelines to advancing religious freedom, but added that violations would now be “monitored and raised regularly by EU delegations”, as well as by Eamon Gilmore, Special Representative for Human Rights.

    However, in their appeal, the German parliamentarians said they “greatly regretted” Figel’s dismissal and called on their country to use its EU presidency from 1 July to ensure his “previously successful work” continued. “As a pioneer of universal human rights, to which the EU is committed globally, the Commission must not look away”, the Bundestag members said. “At a time when persecution of religious minorities of all faiths is increasing, we need a strong European voice.”

    The chairman of the German bishops’ World Church Commission, Archbishop Ludwig Schick of Bamberg, said he would also write to the EU Commission, demanding the Special Envoy’s reappointment, as well as to MEPs urging them to campaign accordingly.

    In a letter last week to Catholic bishops in Nigeria, Cardinal Hollerich said COMECE would demand “intensified EU assistance and cooperation” with authorities and institutions in the African country, including its churches, to stop violence and persecution against local Christians.

    https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/13129/eu-politicians-and-religious-leaders-demand-reinstatement-of-religious-envoy-

  • Eurokomisia čelí kritike za zrušenie pozície vyslanca EÚ pre náboženskú slobodu

    Rozhodnutie Európskej komisie pod vedením Ursuly von der Leyenovej pranierujú politici aj náboženskí predstavitelia.

    Európska komisia (EK) sa rozhodla nepredĺžiť mandát osobitného vyslanca EÚ pre podporu slobody náboženstva alebo viery mimo EÚ, ktorým bol Slovák Ján Figeľ.

    Svoje rozhodnutie zdôvodňuje v liste adresovanom International Religious Freedom Roundtable (Okrúhly stôl pre medzinárodnú náboženskú slobodu), ktorý zverejnila na svojej webovej stránke právnická organizácia Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

    „V tejto fáze sa komisárka Urpilainenová (zodpovedná za medzinárodné partnerstvo EÚ, pozn. red.) rozhodla, že na tento účel neustanoví osobitného vyslanca, a Komisia diskutuje o tom, ako najlepšie pokračovať v podpore uvedených cieľov,“ uviedla v liste Chiara Adamová, vedúca oddelenia EK pre rodovú rovnosť, ľudské práva a demokratickú správu vecí verejných.

    Zároveň uznala, že „na celom svete sa útočí na slobodu náboženského vyznania a presvedčenia“, preto je EÚ „odhodlaná podporovať túto základnú slobodu vo svojej zahraničnej činnosti vrátane zahraničných nástrojov“. Spomenula napríklad Európsky nástroj pre demokraciu a ľudské práva, ktorý financoval od roku 2007 projekty vo výške 30 miliónov eur.

    Ozývajú sa poslanci, biskupi aj rabín

    Rozhodnutie EK neobnoviť platnosť mandátu skritizovali politici z rôznych krajín. Rakúsky parlamentný výbor pre zahraničnú politiku minulý týždeň jednomyseľne schválil návrh uznesenia Rakúskej ľudovej strany a Zelených, ktorým vyzval federálnu vládu, aby „sa na európskej úrovni a v príslušných orgánoch snažila zabezpečiť, aby bola znovu obsadená funkcia osobitného zástupcu Európskej komisie pre slobodu náboženského vyznania a presvedčenia mimo Európskej únie“. O navrhovanom uznesení by mal rakúsky parlament rokovať tento týždeň v stredu.

    Podobne 135 členovia nemeckého Bundestagu z rôznych frakcií vyzvali, aby sa pokračovalo v práci osobitného zástupcu EÚ pre náboženskú slobodu. Požiadali nemeckú vládu, aby sa počas nemeckého predsedníctva v Rade EÚ zasadzovala za pokračovanie tejto pozície.

    To isté žiadajú aj poslanci združení v Medziskupine pre slobodu náboženského vyznania alebo viery a pre náboženskú toleranciu v Európskom parlamente: „Mandát pre osobitného vyslanca EÚ sa od decembra, keď Komisia von der Leyenovej začala svoju prácu, neobnovil. Potrebujeme viac náboženskej slobody na celom svete a musíme podporovať pozitívny vývoj v tejto oblasti. Apelujeme preto na predsedníčku Komisie, aby čo najskôr obnovila mandát osobitného vyslanca EÚ.“

    K tomu vyzýva aj arcibiskup nemeckého Bambergu Ludwig Schick. Eurokomisia má v tejto veci podľa neho „zaujať jasnú pozíciu a naďalej vysoko uprednostňovať ochranu náboženskej slobody na inštitucionálnej úrovni“. Rovnaký postoj deklaroval aj kardinál Jean-Claude Hollerich, predseda Komisie európskych biskupských konferencií (COMECE), či hlavný moskovský rabín Pinchas Goldschmidt, ktorý je predsedom Európskej rabínskej konferencie.

    Figeľa v úrade si pochvaľovali

    EÚ vyslala pozastavením tohto úradu zmiešané posolstvo a urobila krok zlým smerom, upozorňuje Adina Portaru z advokátskej organizácie ADF: „Vzhľadom na pozitívny vplyv pozície – modelu, ktorý sa teraz zavádza v mnohých krajinách po celom svete –, je ťažké pochopiť, prečo bola pozícia prerušená. Ľudia na celom svete sú kvôli svojej viere vylúčení, väznení, mučení a zabití. V čase rastúcich obmedzení slobody náboženského vyznania dúfame, že EÚ bude presadzovať toto základné právo inými prostriedkami.“

    Doterajší osobitný vyslanec EÚ pre náboženskú slobodu Ján Figeľ pre Postoj povedal, že pokračovanie tejto pozície je dôležité pre prenasledovaných ľudí vo svete aj pre dôveryhodnosť samotnej EÚ.

    „Táto pozícia je významný príspevok pre mier a udržateľný rozvoj okolo Európy a tiež preventívne opatrenie voči možnej budúcej utečeneckej a migračnej vlne. Bolo veľmi povzbudivé vidieť, ako mnohé členské štáty EÚ nasledovali túto inšpiráciu a obdobne nominovali svojich vyslancov alebo predstaviteľov. Bolo to Dánsko, Spojené kráľovstvo, Poľsko, Nemecko, Litva, Estónsko, Holandsko, Česká republika. Slovensko sa na to pripravuje tiež. Preto vnímam rastúcu potrebu, aby Únia bola v popredí a ponúkla koordináciu a spoluprácu v oblasti politiky a aktivít na podporu náboženskej slobody,“ vyhlásil Figeľ.

    Jeho práca podľa ADF a viacerých novinárov prispela k posilneniu EÚ ako „soft power“ pri podpore náboženskej slobody vo svete, keďže bývalý slovenský politik ako diplomat EÚ „dosiahol niekoľko pozoruhodných úspechov“.

    Za jeden z nich býva označované oslobodenie pakistanskej kresťanky Asie Bibiovej, ktorú odsúdili za rúhanie a čelila trestu smrti. Pakistanská kresťanka vtedy Figeľovi poďakovala za podporu.

    Vznik nového úradu osobitného vyslanca EÚ pre podporu náboženskej slobody alebo viery mimo EÚ ohlásil bývalý predseda Európskej komisie Jean-Claude Juncker. Stalo sa tak vo Vatikáne v roku 2016, kde sa zúčastnil odovzdávania európskej Ceny Karola Veľkého pre pápeža Františka.

    https://svetkrestanstva.postoj.sk/57806/eurokomisia-celi-kritike-za-zrusenie-pozicie-vyslanca-eu-pre-nabozensku-slobodu