The five Serbian bishops and four COMECE prelates met at the Benedictine convent of Marienrode, near Hildesheim, Germany, from Monday to Wednesday.
The issues discussed included the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the common understanding of human rights, and the need for interreligious dialogue.
The conference followed a visit by a delegation of COMECE bishops to Yugoslavia in July 2000, and by Bishop Josef Homeyer, president of COMECE, to Belgrade during the NATO bombing in 1999.
The bishops committed themselves to deepening their dialogue and agreed to hold a further meeting in 2003.
The COMECE bishop-delegates were Josef Homeyer; Adrianus van Luyn and Attilio Nicora, both vice presidents; and Luk De Hovre, auxiliary of Mechelen-Brussels.
The Serbian bishop-delegates were Lavrentije Trifunovi of abac-Valjevo; Irinej Bulovi of Baka; Justin Stefanovi of Timok; Konstantin oki of Central Europe; and Ignatije Midi of Branievo.
