HIS-Press-Service, 1980 (5. évfolyam, 16-18. szám)
1980-06-01 / 17. szám
HIS Press Service No.17, June 1980 Page 4 ating such "illegal religious instruction." The members of the Priests for Freedom Movement too, who were always watchful of their good relations with the State, joined in condemning this form of religious instruction. The first step toward religious instruction held in the churches came about in 1950. In the course of the above mentioned agreement between Church and State, the latter gave the Church the right to hold a certain amount of Christian instruction in the churches. There children who were preparing for their First Communion received 16 hours of First Communion instructions within a two-month period. Those about to be confirmed received eight hours of Confirmation classes during a one-month period. For the continued religious training of the youth, the clergy was also allowed to hold so-called hours of Christian instruction, in which the children could be taught in a sermon format. The children participating, however, were not to be divided according to age groups; their religious knowledge was not to be tested through questioning, nor were audio-visual aids to be used. These hours of Christian instruction were attended primarily by pupils who were interested in religion but were not involved in religious instruction in the schools; university students too took part. Courageous members of the clergy ignored State reprisals which had no basis in law and organized the hours of religious instruction in the churches along the lines of modern approaches to education. This type of religious instruction awakened ever greater interest throughout the country, with a resulting swell in attendance. In a further attempt to "regulate" this "illegal" form of religious instruction, State agencies forced the Bishops Conference in 1974 to enter into an agreement which was decidedly disadvantageous to the Church. It stipulated that the time at which such hours of church religious instruction were to be held had to be reported to local authorities at the beginning of the year. Furthermore, those registered for these instructions could be divided into only two groups: The six to ten-year-olds would comprise one group, and those over ten the other. A further group could be formed only when the number of participants in the initial two groups surpassed the 35-40 mark. The maximum number of pupils allowed to participate in such religious instructions was two times two groups of 40 participants - therefore, no more than 160 children. One of the two hours of religious instruction had to be held on Sundays. Religious instruction in the churches could be controlled by a representative of the State at any time. The embitterment and indignation these provocative regulations evoked among the people resulted in their partial modification. It is now possible, for example, to set up the four groups on a different age basis than that mentioned above. The formation of additional groups is also allowed. The bishop can also permit the Sunday hour of religious instruction to be transferred to a weekday, and the
