HIS-Press-Service, 1982 (7. évfolyam, 22-24. szám)
1982-01-01 / 22. szám
HIS Press Service No. 22, January 1982 Page 2 treated them accordingly, they did not constitute a significant problem for the official, "negotiating" Church. The internal Church conflict mentioned above began, however, when the State made the Church's leadership responsible for them. Despite the theological statements with which the official Church has taken issue and the various disciplinary problems which have arisen, the roots of this conflict definitely stem from differing pastoral concepts promoted by the two sides involved. THE BACKGROUND Pastoral Opportunities Allowed by the State The process of social change which took place after the war was dictated in Hungary by the Communist government. In the course of these events, the Church underwent a period of serious persecution and suppression during the final part of which it passed, step by step, through several stages: The Church which had revived after the war developed - in the view of the country's official church politics - into an "institutionalized opposition". From this there evolved an institution which lived in "peaceful coexistence" with the State. This Church later assumed a position within society in its efforts at the "construction, of socialism and, in its final stage, even "actively cooperated" in this undertaking. Its approach toward the State, i.e., the development of this relationship with the State, became increasingly a disproportionately large factor, within the life of the Church The regulations imposed by the constitution, the innumerable laws and directives, as well as the complicated system and the even more complicated interpretation of the agreements reached with the State leadership resulted in almost constant negotiations by Church leaders concerning some pressing and extremely important matter which - the bishops initially assumed - was necessary to enable the Church to survive the dangers confronting it, or - as was later said - to help the Church learn to live with the new circumstances. The new spirit of the Second Vatican Council, its teachings, and the relations with leaders of the world Church proved a great aid to Hungary's Church in its efforts at further development. The partial agreement reached between the Holy See and the Hungarian government in 1964 provided Hungary's Church with an expanded sphere in which to carry on its activities. It would be a mistake to underestimate either the role played by the Holy See or the value of the negotiations which have taken place. According
