The Presidium of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) has voiced its concerns over religious freedom in Albania following a meeting in Geneva last week.

The 10-member Presidium, which serves as the executive of the Central Committee of the CEC, reviewed the work of CEC and its commissions in the areas of religious freedom and human rights, with particular reference to the situation in Albania, as well as the issue of migration in Europe.

|QUOTE|In a statement on religious freedom in Albania, CEC said: “CEC monitors very closely the implementation of human rights throughout Europe, including the right to religious freedom."

CEC said that in several European countries, including Albania, Serbia-Montenegro and Turkey, “the issue of the restitution of formerly confiscated church property and the re-opening of places of worship and religious education remains a special concern”.

The statement continued: “It is therefore with serious concern that the CEC Presidium has learnt of specific local incidents in Albania, for example, in Permet, Lukovo, Libochovo and Kodra etc., where the return of places of worship has been prevented or revoked by local authorities.”

CEC called on the relevant governments, including the Albanian authorities, to “rigorously uphold” human and religious rights and to “make every effort to enable the return of places of worship held as sacred by the faithful of the community and which were confiscated during the communist period”.

Referring directly to the recent tragic events in Ceuta and Melilla in France, the CEC said in a second statement on the issue of immigration in Europe: “Churches in Europe advocate the protection of refugees and a humane approach to migration policies. Migration is a normal phenomenon, since the very beginning it has been a part of human history.”

It continued: “While we recognise the right and obligation of countries to control their borders, European states also have an obligation to protect refugees and thus not close their borders indiscriminately.”

|TOP|The CEC Presidium said that migration policies need to include regularisation of migrants in irregular situations as well as the fight against trafficking in human beings. CEC also made the appeal to European countries to ratify the International Convention on the Rights of all migrant workers.

The Presidium meeting also featured a special lecture on churches and media given by Dr Tomas Gaertner, 2004 laureate of the Templeton Prize for Religion Writing in the Secular Press.

He underlined that religion writing “is above all a work of translation: technical theological terms into straightforward, understandable language”. He added, however, that “as a journalist I have to be an independent, neutral observer”.

“I have to inform not evangelise. People need knowledge about the church to enable them to make up their own minds,” he said.

An installation service was also held for the new General Secretary of the CEC, the Venerable Colin Williams, Archdeacon of Emeritus of Lancaster, during the Presidium meeting.

The Presidium will meet next in Northern Ireland at the end of May 2006.