At a 1999 synod of European bishops, he raised the need for greater "collegiality," a code word for loosening Rome's tight grip on local churches.

He was apparently the only effective European bishop in medieval Peking.

At the time of his death, there were six European bishops in Vietnam.

As one retired archbishop said to me, speaking on condition of anonymity, "There are European bishops who feel you can't talk about a Christian Europe anymore without insulting people's intelligence."

In 1991, Orthodox Christians did not attend a meeting of European bishops at the Vatican.

Reflecting the split in America, some European bishops disagree.

The cardinal was in Rome attending a meeting of European bishops.

The European bishops showed the same divisions that exist among the American church leaders over whether to expel a cleric who faces only one accusation of misconduct.

In a sermon he announced that he would call a synod of European bishops to consider steps to be taken in unifying Europe as a Christian continent.

The parish was formed by Father Wilhelm Grutza in 1888 and named after Josaphat Kuntsevych, an Eastern European bishop and martyr.