HIS-Press-Service, 1977 (2. évfolyam, 5-8. szám)

1977-12-01 / 8. szám

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Dress-C

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Special Topic: Religion and Church in Hungary _______________ No, 8-Vienna, December 1977

THE FACTS

Religious Instruction and Evangelization in Hungary

Religious instruction and evangelization are not only part of the fundamentals of Church life in Hungary, but also play a significant role in church politics.

In November 1975, an agreement on religious instruction was reached between representatives of the State and the Bishops Conference. Certain points on this topic also came up for discussion at the Hungarian Bishops' "ad limina" visit in Rome in March 1977, as well as at the visit of the Hungarian Party Chairman János Kádár with the Holy Father.

As is well known, the Bishops Synod which convened this fall in Rome concerned itself exclusively with the topic of religious instruction. There was some surprise at the fact that, of all bishops present from Eastern European countries, only the representative of the Hungarian Bishops Conference offered no information on the extent to which religious instruction and evangelization were hindered by the State.

In what follows, therefore, we would like to shed some light on the actual situation which exists in Hungary in the areas of religious instruction and evangelization.

THE BACKGROUND

The Historical Setting of Religious Instruction and Evangelization

Symptomatic for the situation in religious instruction and evangelization in Hungary is a hinderance of their development which has already been going on for decades, a great deal of uncertainty in the interpretation of agreements, and the necessity of constant preparedness for changes; factually speaking, this means that one has been saddled for more than 30 years now with a provisionary form of religious instruction and evangelization. This situation existing in the religious sector corresponds to a great extent with that of the deep-seated political and social changes which have taken place within the country in the past thirty years. To get an overall view of the present situation in religious instruction and evangelization, a short review of the circumstances which led to the beginning of this "provisionary period" mentioned above is necessary.