“Unborn children, the elderly, a sick person suffering from loneliness, the refugee who is fleeing wars, and the poor who have no work – they are all in the heart of the Church”. Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and CCEE President, said this as he opened the Plenary Assembly of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) in Monaco this afternoon. The Plenary is a real summit that brings together, until Sunday, 9 October, all the Bishop-Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences who will debate the most pressing challenges facing Europe besides electing the new Presidency. In his long opening address, Card. Erdő recalled what the last three Popes had said about Europe and the mission carried out in the continent by the CCEE over the past years. “The Church – Card. Erdő said – should always promote the dignity of the human person. Human life must be promoted and protected at any stage and in any circumstances”. The cardinal went on to warn against the spread of “individualism” in Europe today, which – he said – “seeks to deny the social dimension”. “It is a disease which, besides bringing no hope, is also a real threat to man. In such circumstances, the Church is called to promote where people belong to – the family, the nation, the religious community”. In his opening address, the cardinal also spoke of Europe’s plurality. “In our world today, some problems are cultural and need to be addressed by all of us together and often also with those who do not share our faith”. Although, he said, on the one hand, the Church is called to have “a strong voice as a sign of that fundamental unity that comes from the faith”, on the other, that voice must also be “respectful of the different cultural, linguistic, historical, economic and social identities”. Hence the role that the CCEE is called to play with the Churches for the communion of the Churches in Europe. “The great variety of situations and social contexts in which the Church is present in Europe – said the president whose mandate is coming to an end this year – is such that our continent takes on different characteristics. It is therefore impossible to see the CCEE as a body giving pastoral guidelines and advice common to all; rather, it should be seen as a space for discernment to facilitate dialogue and reflection on the great challenges facing the Church and Europe. The CCEE wants to be a space in which there are no second-class Bishops’ Conferences”.