The spiritual and cultural dimension of Europe; a review of the work of the Prodi Commission and the priorities announced by his successor, Barroso; the Lisbon Strategy; and the possible start of membership negotiations with Turkey: these were some of the issues discussed by European bishops in Brussels in recent days, during the autumn plenary assembly of COMECE, the Commission of the Episcopates of the European Community. The meeting’s agenda also included an update of the document “Let us open our hearts”, an examination and discussion of the Episcopal Conferences of the new member states of the EU, and the question of the new Constitutional Treaty in relation to the Churches of the continent. During the meeting, chaired by the president of COMECE, Bishop Joseph Homeyer, the results of a number of major projects promoted by the Church this year were also reviewed; they include the Pilgrimage of Peoples to Mariazell (Austria), the Summer University and the French Semaine Sociale and the equivalent Social Week in Italy. Issues relating to the EU institutions were also discussed.
