"An experience which goes far beyond its four days, especially for people who, like us, still feel like a second-class citizen within Europe". This is how the Eastern Europeans who are the latest members of the European Union feel about the meeting of the Christian Churches in Wittenberg and how they are moving towards the Ecumenical Assembly of Sibiu (Aee3). It was stated by the Lutheran pastor Elfriede Dörr, Romania, who said "Sibiu will be an important opportunity to boost the European integration process". On an even wider scale, "the ecumenical movement, called to give a soul to Europe, can only do this in a horizon that is as universal as the Churches are", highlighted mgr. Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Bishops Commission for Ecumenism and Dialogue of the Italian Bishops Conference. His opinion is shared by Heikki Huttunen, Finnish Orthodox pastor, who added: "Europe can become itself only through a dialogue with the rest of the world. As an ecumenical movement, by taking up this challenge as well, we can become something more than we are now".
