(Brussels) “The Church believes in the European Union. And in the light of Brexit, and of other signs, we hope for more Europe”. Card. Angelo Bagnasco said this as he visited the European Parliament in Brussels today. The Archbishop of Genoa, President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI) and of the CCEE (the body bringing together the presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe), met with a group of MEPs. With them, he engaged in an intense dialogue about the latent crisis in Europe and about possible ways to address it from a cultural and political point of view, also touching on the contribution of the Churches to the integration process and the value of interreligious dialogue. Accompanied by about thirty priests from his diocese, and by the Secretary-General of COMECE (Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community), Fr. Olivier Poquillon, the Cardinal went on to celebrate Mass in the European Parliament’s Meditation Room. In his wide-ranging speech, he thanked for “the remarkable welcome and attention” given to him in Brussels. Then he highlighted: “What Europe do we need today? Maybe we need a ‘lighter’ Europe, less bureaucratic, one that is “closer to the citizens, intended as a home, and intended as a ‘mother’, not a ‘stepmother’”.