"In opening the meeting states the note , mgr. Nikola Eteroviæ, secretary general, recalled the challenges and the signs of hope of the Church in the continent, referring to the Exhortation Ecclesia in Europa". The challenges mentioned by mgr. Eteroviæ include: "Loss of the Christian memory and heritage; fear in facing the future; solidarity fading away. Behind the loss of hope lies the attempt to make a God-less and Christ-less human anthropology prevail". There are, however, "some signs of hope said the secretary general that either come from the Christian faith or are strongly influenced by it". They include: "The recovery of freedom for the Church in Eastern Europe and the inclusion of such countries in the process of European integration according to democratic methods and in a spirit of freedom". For the participants in the meeting, "the current challenges should push all the lively forces of the Church to renew the surge of evangelisation in the Old Continent that shows signs of tiredness as well as of some recovery… In order to appropriately propose the message of salvation to contemporary men, more concentration and collaboration are needed between the particular Churches in Europe, in an affective and effective union" with the Pope.
