The Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Cardinal Peter Erdö, was elected president of the Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe on Monday at a gathering of representatives of the 34 different European bishops’ conferences that make up the body.

As the Primate of Hungary, Cardinal Erdö succeeds Bishop Amedee Grab of Chur, Switzerland.  In addition to electing a new president, the council also elected two representatives, Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard of Bordeaux and Cardinal Josip Bozanic of Zagreb.

Cardinal Erdö said that as the new president, he would direct his efforts to promoting “the Christian values upon which Europe is founded.”  The Church, he underscored, as “protector of these values,” should firmly carry out this task in order to counter the “superficiality” that has become prevalent in European countries.

The Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe was founded in the Swiss city of Saint Gallen in 1971 and has as its mission the promotion of cooperation between the European bishops.  It also works closely with the Conference of European Churches, which is headquartered in Geneva.