Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States, attended the informal meeting of foreign ministries of the countries belonging to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), held in Potsdam, Germany on 1 September. The meeting was organised by the current German presidency, in view of the upcoming meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council to take place in Hamburg, Germany from 8 to 9 December, in order to promote political dialogue between the Organisation’s members on challenges to European security and to consider relevant questions such as: refugees and migrants, the Ukraine crisis and “frozen conflicts”; and the strengthening of the OSCE. The previous day, the Secretary for Relations with States attended an evening meeting at the apostolic nunciature in Berlin, the heads of the Katholisches Büro at the federal authorities and in the single federal states (Länder) led by Cardinal Reinhard Marx, metropolitan archbishop of Munich and Freising and president of the German Bishops’ Conference.

The following day, Archbishop Gallagher attended the offices of the Karl Adenauer Foundation, where he met with the Foundation’s members to discuss various international problems regarding the situation of the Catholic Church in some countries and the Holy See’s commitment in the international field.

He subsequently visited the seat of the German Federal Parliament and met with the president of the Committee for Foreign Affairs of the Bundestag, Norbert Röttgen.

In the afternoon he was able to meet the president of the Foundation of Prussian cultural heritage (Stiftung Preuβischer Kulturbesitz), Professor Hermann Parzinger, and the director of the Museum of Islamic Art (Museum für Islamische Kunst), Professor Stefan Weber, participating in a visit of the Museum, guided by Syrian and Iraqi refugees, trained as guides as part of the “Multaka” programme.