(Brussels) The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (Comece) “mourns the demise of card. Roger Etchegaray”. This morning, in a brief message, the Catholic Church organisation at the European institutions joins the voices that express pain and sympathy for the death of the French cardinal. In particular, Comece points out that Etchegaray “in 1965, with his ‘simple note’ about cooperation among the European Bishops’ Conferences, boosted the process that led to setting up Comece in 1980”. These words refer to the text written by mgr. Etchegaray when he was adjunct secretary general of the French Bishops’ Conference, at the time the Second Vatican Council was about to complete its work. In the text, he proposed “pastoral cooperation” among the Bishops’ Conferences and envisaged the “establishment of a Bishops’ Commission composed of one delegate from each conference”. Then, the “simple note” paved the way to the birth of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (Ccee) in 1971 and then of Comece in 1980.