Category Archives: Plenary Assembly

The Assembly of COMECE is formed by the Bishops delegated by the Episcopates of each Member State of the European Union. Its main function is to take the decisions necessary to pursue, in a spirit of collegiality, a closer collaboration among the Bishops’ Conferences, to address the pastoral questions connected to the development of the competences and activities of the Union.

2018 Autumn COMECE Plenary Assembly. (Credit: EEAS)

The Assembly also provides an effective platform for exchange and concertation among the EU Bishops’ Conferences, engages in a dialogue with high-level EU representatives on current and future EU policies, and sets out the main lines of the activity of the COMECE Secretariat.

A single Bishop represents the Episcopates of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Sweden, and the Republic of Finland. The Assembly also includes observers from the Episcopates of Serbia, Switzerland, Scotland, England and Wales.

The Apostolic Nunciature to the European Union, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the Council of Europe, and a representative of the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) and of Justice and Peace Europe are invited to take part in the Assembly.

The Assembly elects COMECE’s President and four Vice-Presidents from among its members ensuring that they are representative of the geographical distribution of the Episcopates of the European Union. The Assembly also elects the Presidents of the COMECE Commissions on Social Affairs, Legal Affairs and External Action.

The Assembly gathers twice per year (during the Spring and Autumn). A seminal issue of the European integration process provides the core theme for each meeting.

Plenary Assembly, Press

Press Release

COMECE cordially invites you to participate in the Mass for Europe

The Mass will be presided by Bishop Jozef De Kesel, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and concelebrated by Mgr Jozef Hal’ko, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Bratislava together with Mgr Jean Kockerols, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, vice-president of COMECE. The Mass for Europe is organised by the Commission of Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) in partnership with the Diocese of Malines-Brussels … Continue reading »

Plenary Assembly, Press

Press Release

Europe’s vocation to promote peace in the world COMECE 2016 Spring Plenary Assembly

This spring, the Plenary Assembly of the 27 Member Bishops of COMECE will be held in Brussels. The main theme for this meeting will be “Europe’s vocation to promote peace in the world”. The COMECE Bishops will be briefed by experts on the geopolitical situation at EU’s Eastern and Southern borders and new security challenges. They will also hear a theological and ethical reflection on … Continue reading »

Migration & Asylum, Plenary Assembly, Policy Areas, Press

News

Mass for Europe. Archbishop Hollerich: “It is our duty as Christians to welcome the refugees”

Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich, member Bishop of COMECE and Archbishop of Luxembourg, the Member State currently holding the presidency of the Council of the EU, was invited to deliver the homily during the Mass for Europe, celebrated in Brussels on 23 September. At the very moment when an extraordinary European Council was being held in Brussels on the refugee crisis, Archbishop Hollerich urged Christians to show … Continue reading »

Plenary Assembly, Press

NEWS

The TTIP on the Agenda of the COMECE Autumn Plenary Assembly

The COMECE Autumn Plenary Assembly opens on Wednesday 12 November. 20 Bishops from all over Europe will attend the 2 days closed meeting. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will be the main topic of the Plenary. The Plenary Assembly of COMECE will be held from Wednesday 12 to Thursday 13 November 2014 in the Secretariat of COMECE (Square de Meeûs, 19 – 1050 … Continue reading »

Plenary Assembly, Press

Press Release

COMECE 2014 Spring Plenary Assembly

The COMECE Spring Plenary Assembly opens today. 20 Bishops from all over Europe will attend the 3 day closed meeting, whose main theme is ‘the EU seen from the outside’. The lull in legislative activity during the elections and the resulting period of change and adjustment in the EU institutions offers an opportunity to take a look at the European Union from a fresh angle. … Continue reading »

Plenary Assembly, Press

Press Release

Opening Speech of Cardinal Reinhard Marx, COMECE President, to the COMECE 2014 Spring Plenary Assembly

In the last few weeks, images of dramatic scenes have been piped into our homes with perturbing regularity. The upheaval in Ukraine has not only dominated the headlines and monopolised the attention of the people of Europe; it has also moved us deeply. It started with week-long protests and a dramatic struggle for sovereignty in Kiev and then in other parts of the country, and … Continue reading »

Migration & Asylum, Plenary Assembly, Policy Areas, Press

Press Release

‘Migration and Integration in the EU’ COMECE Plenary Assembly 13-15 November in Brussels

Europe is a continent on the move. Internal migration and migration from outside, not least in pursuit of political asylum, has impacted on the lives of all communities within all Member States and communities of the EU. The Church is deeply concerned for the situation of refugees and asylum seekers, especially after the tragedy off Lampedusa. ‘Migration and Integration’ will be the main topic of … Continue reading »

Plenary Assembly, Press

Press Release

Catholic Bishops of the European Union call for Unity

‘We have united for the better’. This sentence from the Berlin Declaration of March 2007 was recalled by Cardinal Marx, COMECE President, on the occasion of the opening event of the Autumn Plenary Assembly of the COMECE bishops, which took place from 21 to 23 November in Brussels. In his Speech dedicated to the ‘Current Challenges for the EU and the Contribution of Christians’, Cardinal … Continue reading »

Plenary Assembly, Press

Press Release

“We are at a decisive moment for the future of Europe”

This is the statement of Cardinal Reinhard Marx after his election as the new President of the Commission of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences in the EU. The Archbishop of Munich and Freising was elected by the Bishop Members on 22 March 2012 for a 3-year term of office as the COMECE Chair. He will be assisted by four Vice-Presidents: Mgr Gianni Ambrosio (Bishop of Piacenza-Bobbio, Italy), … Continue reading »

Plenary Assembly, Press

Press Release

Opening Speech of Mgr van Luyn-COMECE Plenary

In his opening Speech, COMECE President Bishop Adrianus van Luyn, whose mandate as a COMECE Chair is about to end, made a review of the events which have marked the European Union in the past months. In the context of the EU enlargement to Croatia and the start of negotiations with Serbia, he stressed the vital importance of reconciliation in the Balkan region, recalling that … Continue reading »