Photo: Lukasz Kobus/European Union, 2025
Press Release No: 15/25
18 November 2025
Brussels
The Conference of European Churches (CEC) highlighted the value of honest and respectful dialogue during a high-level meeting hosted by Magnus Brunner, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration.
The meeting in Brussels, held on 17 November 2025, brought together Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist leaders to reflect on the theme “Responding to the Polarisation of our Societies.”
CEC President Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain; Pavel Pokorný, Synodal Senior of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren; and Rt Rev. Martyn Snow, Lord Bishop of Leicester, Church of England, contributed to the discussion.
Archbishop Nikitas reflected on how the tone of public conversation has become more divisive and harsher in recent years, and urged the EU to invest and fund programmes to detect and understand hate speech better in other languages and how AI is used.
He urged preserving space for honest and respectful dialogue. “Religious leaders, educators, parents, and all public voices share a duty to promote understanding, rather than hostility and hatred,” he said. “Overcoming hate is not only a legal or technological challenge; it is a moral and spiritual one, calling each of us to repentance, renewal of conscience, and a return to our true humanity in God's image.”
Synodal Senior Pavel Pokorný addressed the growing anxiety about a world that is perceived as complex and threatening. “In this anxiety, people seek support, which they mistakenly find in identifying with a group that displays power,” he said. “The ongoing conversation is therefore not about a factual exchange of views, but merely a display of power. When we encounter hate speech, it is essential to insist on human dignity, both our own and that of our opponents.”
Rt Rev. Martyn Snow, Lord Bishop of Leicester, Church of England, underlined that faith communities have a vital role in society. He acknowledged that social media should be controlled by the platforms, the states and the EU—but that also citizens should be responsible for seeing when something is not right.
He referred to experiences in the UK, when fake news led to unrest in a city. He reflected on a project of Leicester, in which institutions were asked to bring together people with different opinions and attitudes to speak about differences.
The meeting was part of a longstanding practice supported by Article 17 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which foresees an open, transparent, and regular dialogue between the EU and churches, religious associations, and communities.
Learn more: Dialogue with European Political Institutions
For more information or an interview, please contact:
Naveen Qayyum
Communications Coordinator
Conference of European Churches
Rue Joseph II, 174 B-1000 Brussels
Tel. +32 486 75 82 36
E-mail: naveen@cec-kek.be
Website: www.ceceurope.org
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