Brussels (Fides Service) - During their annual spring plenary assembly in Brussels (Belgium) 27 and 28 march, the Bishops of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) called the European Union to be more committed to promoting a world order of justice and peace.
The Bishops considered the response of the European Union to the current international crisis and discussed its implications for the work of the European Convention. They adopted a statement on the Iraq crisis entitled "Blessed are the peacemakers", expressing their concern for the suffering of the people and urging the leaders and institutions of the European Union to work together for peace and justice in the Middle East and the wider world (see below).
The Bishops welcomed the fact that a consensus seems to be emerging within the Convention on, for example, the contribution of Churches and religious communities in European society and respect for their status under national law
They also discussed the conclusions of a joint seminar on EU-Africa relations organised by COMECE and the Symposium of Bishops' Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) in Lisbon on 27-28 February 2003. They expressed their sincere gratitude to the Portuguese Bishops' Conference for its contribution to the organisation of the seminar. They agreed to continue to work with SECAM in order to promote a joint contribution by the Catholic Church in Africa and Europe to the development of the EU-Africa relationship.
The Bishops elected the Presidium of COMECE for the next three years. Bishop Josef Homeyer of Hildeshem, Germany will continue as President, and Bishop Adrianus van Luyn of Rotterdam, Netherlands will continue as Vice-President. Archbishop Hippolyte Simon of Clermont, France was also elected as Vice-President. The Plenary Meeting also marked the launch of the COMECE website. The website provides news about the activities of COMECE, profiles of the Bishops of COMECE, information on the Catholic Church and the European Union, in English, French and German.
Other Bishops Conferences are affiliated with the COMECE Catholic Bishops Conferences of Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Hungary . MS (Fides Service 31/3/2003 EM lines 32 Words: 369)