Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 2010 (22. évfolyam, 1-50. szám)
2010-01-15 / 2. szám
Abbey Founder Hungarian Priest Dies at 94 Father Ladislas K. Parker, a Catholic priest whose harrowing escape from communist Hungary in 1950 led him to Orange County and the founding of St. Michael’s Abbey, died on Sunday, January 3, after a lengthy illness. He was 94. Parker was among seven Norbertine monks from Csorna, Hungary, who dodged soldiers and land mines, crawled under barbed-wire fences and swam across a river to freedom in Austria. They eventually came to the United States and took jobs as teachers at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana. Saving their money and pooling resources, they purchased a 34-acre former cow pasture in the then largely undeveloped Trabuco Canyon area and opened a monastery in 1961. „He influenced thousands of priests,” said the Right Rev. Eugene J. Hayes, who took over from Parker as St. Michael’s abbot when he retired in 1995. „He was the driving force that brought the group of seven from Hungary to here. And he was the driving force that reunited them as a religious Father Parker was among seven Norbertine monks community He was larger than life » who made a harrowing escape to freedom in Austria, Today> 51 priests and 18 seminarians iive at St. eventually moved to Orange County and founded St. M[chaeVs Abbey and follow a strict, monastic life Michael s Abbey. 0f traditional Catholicism that includes Mass in Latin and Gregorian chants. Members serve churches throughout Southern California, teach at schools and colleges and assist Catholic organizations nationwide. Meanwhile, St. Michael’s Preparatory School, one of the nation’s top-ranked Catholic high schools for boys, boasts of sending all of its graduates on to college. Parker was born Francis Pürker in German-speaking Hungary on Dec. 19, 1915. His father was killed in World War I, and Parker was raised by his mother and grandfather, who wanted him to run the family’s farm. But Parker found his calling early, telling a reporter how at the age of 5 he would turn a kitchen stool upside down and pretend it was a pulpit. He entered the abbey in Csorna as a novitiate and was given the name Ladislas. He later earned a doctorate in theology at Gregorian University in Rome. He was fluent in no fewer than seven languages. In 1984, the Vatican elevated St. Michael’s from a priory to an abbey and Parker was named its first abbot. Parker’s experience with religious persecution in Soviet-controlled Hungary led to relationships with members of Orange County’s John Birch Society, who helped raise money for St. Michael’s in the late 1960s, Hayes said. But more so, Parker’s journey - his escape and what he helped build in Orange County’s foothills — served to strengthen his religious faith and were proof of God’s power, Hayes said. „It deepened his dependence on God for all things natural and supernatural,” Hayes said. „It showed that God’s will will be done.” (LA Times) „If the focal region of drops falls exactly on the dry plant surface intensely focused sunlight could theoretically start a fire,” Horvath said. „However, the likelihood is reduced as the water drops should evaporate before this, so these claims should be treated with a grain of salt.” Can a drop of water cause sunburn or fire? Hungarian researchers found out To the gardening world it may have always been considered a fact, but science has never proved the widely held belief that watering your garden in the midday sun can lead to burnt plants. Now a study into sunlit water droplets, published in New Phytologist, provides an answer that not only reverberates across gardens and allotments, but may have implications for forest fires and human sunburn. “The problem of light focusing by water droplets adhered to plants has never been thoroughly investigated, neither theoretically, nor, experimentally”, said lead researcher Dr Gabor Horvath, from Hungary’s Eötvös University. “However, this is far from a trivial question. The prevailing opinion is that forest fires can be sparked by intense sunlight focused by water drops on driedout vegetation.” The team conducted both computational and experimental studies to determine how the contact angle between the water droplet and a leaf affects the light environment on a leaf blade. The aim was to clarify the environmental conditions under which sunlit water drops can cause leaf bum. These experiments found that water droplets on a smooth surface, such as maple or ginkgo leaves, cannot cause leaf burn. However in contrast the team found that floating fern leaves, which have small wax hairs, are susceptible to leaf burn. This is because the hairs can hold the water droplets in focus above the leaf’s surface, acting as a magnifying glass. The latter not only partly confirms the widely held belief of gardeners, but also opens an analogous issue of sunburn on hairy human skin after bathing. “In sunshine water drops residing on smooth hairless plant leaves are unlikely to damage the leaf tissue”, summarised Horvath and co-authors. “However water drops held by plant hairs can indeed cause sunburn and the same phenomenon can occur when water droplets are held above human skin by body hair.” While the same process could theoretically lead to forest fires if water droplets are caught on dried-out vegetation, Horvath and colleagues added a note of caution: Hungary ripe for renewal, says President Solyom in New Year’s address “2010 as an election year will offer a chance for a fresh start in politics and public affairs,” Solyom said. A new beginning cannot happen without social reconciliation, however. Both government and opposition should adopt a new tone, he said. Anyone who relies on politics to sort out their lives will be disappointed. Many people expected regime change in the 1990s to bring about a western standard of living; their expectations ended in bitter disappointment, he said. Solyom noted that the recent national votes, including the referendum in 2008 and the EP elections last year triggered major political changes. “Every voter should therefore decide whom to authorise for government in full awareness of their responsibility,” he said. The state’s job is to guarantee public security, promote an economy that develops with stability and provides jobs, alleviates poverty and restores Hungary’s prestige in the world, he said. Reining in corruption, however, can only happen with public support, no matter what government is in power, he said. The president called for closer cooperation between families and schools, and intensified efforts to protect the Hungarian language, culture, historical heritage and identity both within and outside Hungary’s borders. Pécs: European Cultural Capital In Hungary Fireworks illuminate the sky above the Széchényi Square during the official inaugurating ceremony of Pecs as one of the three cultural capitals of Europe in Pecs, 196 kms south of Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, January 10. Pecs is one of the European Capitals of Culture in 2010 along with Essen, Germany, Istanbul and Turkey. How well do you know the Trianon Treaty? Január 15,2010 ÍD 1., Before the Trianon Treaty, the Kingdom of Hungary had a population of approximately: a. 24 million b. 21 million c. 18 million d. 15 million 2., After the Trianon Treaty, the “new Hungary” had a population of approximately: a. 8 million b. 9 million c. 7 million d. 6 million 3., The Trianon Treaty reduced the territory size of Hungary by what fraction? a. 3/4 b. 1/3 c. 1/2 d. 2/3 4., Which of the following countries was not a beneficiary of this territory realignment? a. Czechoslovakia b. Poland c. Bulgaria d. Romania 5., In 1910, what percentage of the population in Transylvania were Hungarians? a. 52% b. 42% c. 32% d. 22% 6., Which city was the only one granted the opportunity to decide whether or not to remain a part of Hungary? a. Esztergom b. Veszprém c. Szeged d. Sopron 7., The union between Austria and Hungary officially ended on which date: a. October 31st, 1921 b. October 31st, 1920 c. October 31st, 1918 d. October 31st, 1917 8., After 1920, what percentage of the population of the “new Hungary” was bilingual? a. 17% b. 14% c. 11% d. 8% 9., As a consequence of the Trianon Treaty, which of the following cities was not removed from Yugoslav administration and assigned to Hungary: a, Pécs b. Mohács c. Szigetvár d. Kaposvár 10., The Kingdom of Hungary before the Trianon Treaty had direct access to the Adriatic Sea by way of: a. Zadar b. Split c. Trieste d. Rijeka (Answers: l.b, 2.c, 3.d, 4.c, 5.c, 6.d, 7.c, 8.a, 9.d, lO.d) DUNA Travel 8530 Holloway Dr. If 102 W. Hollywood, CA 90069 Spa, Hotel foglalások, Kocsi bérlés Kedvezményes repülőjegy árak LAX-BUD-LAX $448.-tói + Tax -1 Információért hívják ZSUZS f' TEL: (310) 652-5294 FAX: C' 1-888-532 AMERICAN Hungarian Journal AMERIKAI
