Day one of the summer plenary meeting of the Austrian Bishops Conference (Öbk) has been focussed on a topic that is relevant but unusual for the prelates: security. Gathered at the national Marian sanctuary of Mariazell, this problem, apparently unusual for the Church, concerns both the security of the Country and its citizens, the security of devotees in places of worship and in liturgical celebrations, as well as the security of Christians in those countries where living one’s faith is difficult. The Bishops invited to their meeting high-profile experts from the military world and from national and local security forces. The starting point of the workshop, organised by the military bishop, mgr. Werner Freistetter, was a review of the complicated, difficult situation of global security: security is a problem for the Church, cardinal Christoph Schönborn confirmed, as he spoke to the media before starting the academic part of the meeting, and everyone “is called to deal with the current terrorist threat with prudence and faith in God”. But, the president of Öbk pointed out, “terrorists do not rule the world”. Schönborn told that, when he officiates in St Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, plain-clothes detectives are always around, and police’s visibility around places of worship has increased.