Pope encourages European Bishops’ efforts for synodality and peace

By Antonella Palermo and Linda Bordoni

Pope Leo XIV received the President and Vice President of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) on Saturday morning at the Vatican, reaffirming the Church’s commitment to ecumenical dialogue, synodal engagement, and evangelisation across the European continent.

Archbishop Gintaras Grušas, President of the CCEE, and Cardinal Ladislav Német, Vice President, who were received in audience shortly before the Pope addressed a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, shared insights from their meeting with the Holy Father with Vatican Radio.

Speaking after the audience, Archbishop Grušas described the encounter as “first and foremost the presentation of what we are doing, as CCEE in Europe.” He said that among the key themes discussed was the CCEE’s ongoing commitment to ecumenical dialogue.

Christian unity in Europe

“We are preparing to sign an updated version of the ‘Charta Oecumenica’, which was first signed 25 years ago,” he explained, describing it as a renewed framework for “working together for the unity of Christians, especially in Europe”.

The Pope, he said, encouraged the CCEE to “press on and continue in this working,” particularly in the context of the Synod. Grušas noted the challenge of implementing the synodal process across Europe’s culturally and linguistically diverse landscape, but emphasized the importance of collaboration: “The Holy Father, he reiterated, expressed his support for us and urged us to continue on this mission.”

Archbishop Grušas also touched on the grave concerns surrounding war and conflict in the Middle East and Europe. “We continue to pray for peace,” he said, calling war a “call to prayer” and diplomacy. He referenced the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and President Putin’s ambitions as a source of “preoccupation,” aligning with the Pope’s call to advocate for peace and the poor over military expenditure.

Rearmament is not a solution

The CCEE Vice President also commented on the recent recommendations of Pope Leo XIV when, in his address to ROACO, he warned against the false propaganda of rearmament. “These are beautiful words that I fully subscribe to. A false opinion has spread that without armaments we cannot live, that rearmament is the only solution for peace. This is not true. We see it with the wars of recent years but also with the wars that are not talked about. And when I read the amounts planned for rearmament,“ he points out, ”it hurts me to think that so many people are dying because of the lack of medicine, schools, water and other necessary things.

He also mentions the already dramatically visible damage resulting from the suspension of aid by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which is crucial for countries in the global South: “We see what the consequences are, young people and children are dying. So many schools will be closed because there is no funding.”

Cardinal Ladislav Német offered a broader reflection on the state of faith in Europe, challenging overly negative assessments. “We are in a very nice situation,” he said, “because it is not so bad as we say it many times.”

While acknowledging declining participation in some regions, he emphasised that “the majority of European countries have a nice religious life,” including a “surge of religious feelings among younger generations” particularly visible in Western, Central, and Eastern Europe.

Vitality of Orthodox communities

He praised the vitality of Orthodox communities and stressed the importance of mutual learning: “We learn from the Orthodox.”

When asked about the path forward for evangelisation, Cardinal Német called for a bold but inclusive witness. “We must be more courageous in speaking clearly about Jesus,” he said, “but avoiding isolation, fundamentalism, and exclusiveness”.