The meeting of the ruling Council of the 34 European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) ended at Zagreb on 21 July. The meeting prepared the CCEE plenary assembly planned to be held in Rome from 29 September to 2 October, date of the start of the Synod of Bishops (2-23 October). To mark the 40th anniversary of the end of Vatican Council II, “the representatives of the European Churches will reflect on the common commitment to the preaching of the Gospel, to the meeting between the different churches, religions and cultures, and to the solution to various moral and ethical issues”. A letter was sent from Zagreb to Benedict XVI, to inform him of the projects of the European bishops and to express the hope for a meeting with him during the plenary assembly. The CCEE ruling council also examined the plans for the third European ecumenical assembly and a four-stage pilgrimage that will involve all the countries and Churches of Europe: it will begin in Rome on 24 January and end in Sibiu in Romania in September 2007. The Council also examined the process of European unification, and reflected in particular on the terrorist attacks in London and on the French and Dutch rejection of the EU Constitutional Treaty. Two further questions were tackled: collaboration between European and African bishops and relations with Muslims in European countries.
