Conference of the Wilfried Martens Centre, Brussels

On 26 June, the Chaplain-President, acting in his capacity as Bishop Robert's adviser for EU affairs, attended a conference of the Wilfried Martens Centre (a research centre linked to the mainstream centre-right EPP (European People's Party) group in the European Parliament) entitled Did secularisation kill God? Changes in religiosity and values among "natives" and "migrants" in Europe, which analysed the differences in religious observance across "native" and "migrant" populations in the EU, with migrant populations typically exhibiting a stronger attachment to religious observance as well as to "traditional values". A lively discussion took place. Our friend Dr Torsten Moritz, secretary-general of the Churches' Commission on Migrants in Europe, made a very perceptive speech on the Churches' role in making migrant communities feel that they belong in Europe.