(From SIR correspondent in Budapest) The plenary assembly of the presidents of the 34 European bishops’ conferences was presented through an introducing press conference taking place in Budapest this morning. The plenary assembly opens in the afternoon in Esztergom, near the Hungarian capital. Cardinal Peter Erdõ, archbishop of Budapest and president of the Council of the European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE), pointed out the subjects on the agenda: the Church and media, dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox, dialogue between Christians and Muslims, collaboration with Africa’s and Asia’s Churches, and the works of European institutions. "The Catholic Church in Europe said Cardinal Erdõ to SIR intends to pay the most sincere and effective contribution for the Old Continent to grow by remaining faithful to its Christian roots, which are a point of reference for freedom, dignity, and responsibility for the rest of the world, too. The dialogue path, for the Catholic Church, is a choice focussing on truth, on the presence of God in the history of every man and of all men, as Benedict XVI recalled during his apostolic journey to France". During the assembly, the new CCEE secretary succeeding Msgr. Aldo Giordano, permanent observer for the Holy See in Strasbourg, will be elected.
