"By acting locally and within the decision-making centres, the Church has a great role to play in the building of Europe", at the centre of which "is man, in its entirety as a cultural, social, spiritual and religious being". It was said last night in Brussels by mgr. Adrianus van Luyn, Bishop of Rotterdam and president of Comece (Commission of the EU Bishops Conferences), as he spoke for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the presence of Ocipe (Jesuits’ Office of Initiative for Europe) in Europe. Founded in 1956 in Strasbourg at the request of the then Archbishop mgr. Weber, Ocipe, which today is based in Brussels, Budapest and Warsaw, has celebrated its 50th birthday to coincide with the "Feast of Europe". Ocipe, explained its director Frank Turner, "aims at guiding the building of Europe by assisting the staff of the institutions in their professional and spiritual judgement, supporting critical reflections on values and promoting solidarity in the EU both inside and towards the rest of the world". According to Katrin Hatzinger, of Evangelischen kirche in Deutschland (Ekd), "the promotion of the Christian values in the political arena in Brussels is a great commitment, which is reflected in small achievements, such as persuading an MEP to submit a given amendment to an act".
