Bishop of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Participates in Session of Council of Bishops' Conferences of Europe

From September 30 to October 3, 2010, in Zagreb, Croatia, an annual plenary session of the Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe (Consilium Conferentiarum Episcoporum Europae–CCEE) was held. On behalf of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and on the instruction of its head Patriarch Lubomyr, the session was attended by Secretary of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC, head of the administration of the Patriarchal Curia, Bishop Bohdan (Dziurakh).

The main theme of the session was "Demography and the Family in Europe." In order to make an all-round analysis, research was conducted beforehand to gather information on the demographic development, birth rate, correlation between immigration and growth of the population in certain regions, and the influence of the demographic changes on family life, work, and social security. The research will serve as the basis for outlining the strategy of actions of the church in this area.

Church events for the nearest few years in the economic, social, and cultural areas were also described.

The European Catholic bishops also considered the issue of the relations between the church and state. "In different countries these relations are different. During the sessions we thought how to develop the relations with state authorities effectively in order to keep the necessary autonomy of actions, on one hand, and where it does not contradict  Christ's teaching, to join our efforts for better service to the societies in which we live," said Bishop Bohdan in a commentary for the Information Department of UGCC. The bishop also noted that there have recently been certain tendencies and changes in church-state relations.

There are 34 national Catholic Bishops' Conferences which constitute one European body, Consilium Conferentiarum Episcoporum Europae, which has been headed since 2006 by its president Peter Erdio.