European bishops meet in Hungary

Later this week, from January 13 to 15, there will be a meeting held between Superiors from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Presidents of the Doctrinal Commission of the European Episcopal Conference in Esztergom, Hungary.

With the Instruction published on February 23, 1967, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on behalf of Blessed Pope Paul VI, had asked the Episcopal Conferences to implement Doctrinal Commissions within their established structures, as advisory bodies intended to help the Episcopal Conferences and individual bishops in their ongoing task to care for the doctrine of the faith.

To strengthen the collaboration between the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) and the Doctrinal Commissions, in 1982, it was decided that periodic meetings of the Presidents of the said Commissions would be held for each continent.  One of the original characteristics of these meetings is the fact that Superiors of the Congregation would move from one continent to another, highlighting the importance of local and regional bodies and their responsibility to address doctrinal questions.  The first of these gatherings, which took place during the time when Cardinal Josef Ratzinger was Prefect of the CDF, took place in Latin America, in Bogota (Columbia, 1984); followed by meetings in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo, 1987); in Vienna (Austria, 1989); in Hong Kong (China, 1993); in Guadalajara (Mexico, 1996) and in San Francisco (USA, 1999).  During the time when Cardinal William Levada served as Prefect of the CDF, another such gathering was held in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania, 2009).

Now, Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and President of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE), has welcomed the request posed by Cardinal Gerhard Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, for another meeting with the Presidents of the European Doctrinal Commissions to take place in Esztergom.  This encounter demonstrates the willingness on the part of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to support the local bishops, a wish that has also been expressed by Pope Francis - in their commitment to the promotion and care for the doctrine of the faith, taking into account specific challenges which are currently facing the European continent.