One of Europe’s most prominent cardinals has warned of growing restrictions on religious freedom across the European Union, and urged governments not to use claims about combating terror as a pretext for curbing church activities.

“Concerns about the general state of freedom of religion in the EU have already been expressed in reaction to the extremely rigid national measures imposed on churches and religious communities in view of Covid-19,” said Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, president of the Brussels-based Commission of EU Bishops Conferences, COMECE. “Eroding specific rights in such a way endangers the whole architecture of fundamental rights, based on the idea of universality and interconnectedness.”