The Commissio Episcopatuum Communitatis Europaeae (Latin) (COMECE) or Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community is an organisation of Roman

Roman Catholic (term)

The term Roman Catholic appeared in the English language at the beginning of the 17th century, to differentiate specific groups of Christians in communion with the Pope from others; comparable terms in other languages already existed...

 Catholic bishops

Bishop (Catholic Church)

In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....

 in Europe to examine European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 (EU) policy and legislation from a Catholic perspective

Catholic social teaching

Catholic social teaching is a body of doctrine developed by the Catholic Church on matters of poverty and wealth, economics, social organization and the role of the state...

. COMECE should not be confused with the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE).
COMECE is made up of bishops delegated by the 24 Catholic bishops' conferences

Episcopal Conference

In the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference, Conference of Bishops, or National Conference of Bishops is an official assembly of all the bishops of a given territory...

 of the European Union and has a permanent Secretariat in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

. It was launched on 3 March 1980 and was preceded by the European Catholic Pastoral Information Service (SIPECA, 1976–1980). Discussions during the 1970s about creating an instrument of liaison between the bishops' conferences and the European Community led to the decision, on the eve of the first direct elections to the European Parliament in 1979, to establish COMECE.

Objectives

The objectives of COMECE are: to monitor and analyse the political process of the European Union, to inform and raise awareness within the Church of the development of EU policy and legislation, to maintain a regular Dialogue with the EU Institutions (European Commission, Council of Ministers and European Parliament) through annual Summit meetings of religious leaders, Dialogue Seminars, various Conferences and by taking part in Consultations launched by the European Commission, to promote reflection, based on the Church's social teaching, on the challenges facing a united Europe COMECE is funded by the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union. Its Secretariat is currently made of 11 advisors.

Organization

COMECE's president is currently Bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 Adrianus van Luyn

Ad van Luyn

Adrianus Herman van Luyn, SDB, is a Dutch Roman Catholic bishop.-Early life and ordination:Van Luyn attended the seminary of the Salesians in Ugchelen. He made his religious vows in 1954. He studied theology at the Salesian Pontifical University in Turin...

 of Rotterdam

Roman Catholic Diocese of Rotterdam

The Diocese of Rotterdam is a diocese of the Catholic Church in the Netherlands. It was erected on July 16, 1955 from the territory of the Diocese of Haarlem with Martien Jansen being made its first bishop. Since 2011 the bishop has been Hans van den Hende...

 since 2006. It has two vice-presidents, currently Cardinal

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

 Reinhard Marx

Reinhard Marx

Reinhard Marx is a German Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as the incumbent Cardinal archbishop of Munich and Freising. Pope Benedict XVI elevated Cardinal Marx to the cardinalate in a consistory on 20 November 2010...

 and Bishop Piotr Jarecki. The official who runs the office on a day to day basis is the General Secretary, currently the Rev. Prof. Dr. Piotr Mazurkiewicz who took over from Fr Noel Treanor in 2008. The General Secretary is appointed for a three-year term renewable term.

General Secretaries of COMECE since 1993

• Noel Treanor
  Noel Treanor
  Noel Treanor is the 32nd and current Bishop of the Irish diocese of Down and Connor. On 22 February 2008, Pope Benedict XVI announced the appointment of Noel Treanor as Bishop...
  
   (31 March 1993-February 2008)
• Piotr Mazurkiewicz (March 2008 – present)

External links

• http://www.comece.org/