Magyar Egyház, 1957 (36. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1957-04-01 / 4. szám
14 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ Challenges to Professor Hromadka's View of the Hungarian Crisis Professor Joseph Hromadka’s view of the Hungarian crisis (see EPS No.l, 1957) has drawn comments from a large number of Christian papers. Misgivings are expressed by Stimme der Gemeinde, published in Darmstadt, by Martin Niemoeller, Gustav W. Heinemann, Heinrich Griiber, Herbert Mochalski and other well-known church leaders. “We admit that Professor Hromadka is right in saying that events in the East and in the West would develop better in a peaceful atmosphere, that is, in an atmosphere free from disparaging and disintegrating propaganda,” writes the editor of Stimme der Gemeinde. “At the present moment,” the article continues, however, “we fail to see how the injustice and force used in certain countries such as Hungary can be condoned because of the risk of war.” Stimme der Gemeinde goes on: “Was it not precisely the communist workers, intellectuals and students who revolted against the regime, because they felt that its methods did not contribute to socialist construction but, on the contrary, were an obstacle in the way? Is it not true that something was extremely rotten in the state of Hungary?” asks the writer. Remarking that there were many people in the West who were pleased about the Hungarian revolt “because of their dislike of Soviet Russia rather than because they were interested in the freedom of the Hungarian people,” Stimme der Gemeinde adds: “But there were a great many others whose first concern was for the victory of justice, humanity and human dignity. They were not interested in any particular system, but in the sufferings of humanity.” The January number of the Protestant monthly Amt und Gemeinde, published in Vienna, also critically examines Professor Hromadka’s statements. Referring to Professor Hromadka’s allegations that the October revolution was aided by elements in the West, it says that silence is impossible following the “vehement attack” started by Professor Hromadka. “We feel,” the paper says, “it to be an attack on our country, on its carefully-guarded neutrality, and on the help given by the West, including the Protestant churches.” In France the Protestant weekly Reforme poses what it calls “troubling questions” arising out of Professor Hromadka’s analysis. The first concerns the reliability of the information available to him. “It is disturbing to discover that the information given by Professor Hromadka not only contradicts that received by Western sources (that might be explained by the propaganda on both sides), but his information is also at variance with the personal accounts given by Hungarians who have escaped the misery in Hungary, who are not likely to hold reactionary convictions.” The interdenominational British Weekly asks “if it is true that there was a strong element of fascist counter-revolution, why shoot or imprison or deport the Communist and Social Democrats who revolted with the rest of the people? Why not only fascist counter-revolutionairies? Dr. Hromadka makes some valid criticisms of the West and few would dispute them all, but the same criticisms are made forcibly and freely in the West. And it is inadequate to argue that the errors of the West are errors of policy and those of the Soviet sphere merely errors of administration and inexperience.” E.P.S., Geneva Release of Hungarian Pastors (Geneva)—Two of the nine pastors of the Reformed Church in Hungary arrested in the last ten days have been released, according to a cable received in Geneva March 16 by Dr. Marcel Pradervand, executive secretary of the World Presbyterian Alliance. Dr. Pradervand sent a cable of protest to János Horváth, head of the Office of Church Affairs of the Hungarian Government, on March 11. He expressed the concern of the churches over the arrests of Hungarian pastors. A reply, dated March 15, and signed by Horváth said that on his intervention the pastors would be with their families within twenty-four hours. The pastors, both leading Hungarian theologians, were Dr. Barna Nagy, professor of Budapest, and Sándor Joo, pastor of the Pasarét section of Budapest. All the pastors were alleged to have encouraged the October revolution. A third pastor, the Rev. László Ágay, was also released, according to word received by Religious News Service in New York. Mr. Agay was pastor of Csepel, a working class district of Budapest. Five pastors were arrested on March 7 and four more on March 11. The officers of the World Council of Churches have as yet received no reply to their cable of protest sent to the president of the Hungarian government. Among those arrested on March 11 are pastors Richard Bodoki, former head of the Deaconess Home of the Reformed Church in Budapest and later an interpreter at the Reformed Church Office in Budapest; Henrick Flock; Géza Németh, assistant pastor of a town near Budapest and prominent in organizing the youth work of the Reformed church; and Endre Györkössy, pastor of an industrial parish of Budapestül pest; László Szeles, assistant pastor in Budapest, and Andor Békésy, pastor at Ocsa, about forty miles from Budapest. Dr. Nagy was reported to be seriously ill and under arrest in a hospital. E.P.S., Geneva Hungarian Lutherans Twenty-three Hungarian Lutheran pastors, at the request of the Lutheran World Federation, met in Vienna early in March to discuss the spiritual ministry among Hungarians now in the West. From the meeting came definite plans for a Lutheran church paper published in Hungarian in Europe. The editor will be a Hungarian pastor now living in Norway. A similar newspaper to be published in the United States was suggested. There is at present a great lack of Bibles, hymnals and catechisms among the refugees, the pastors were told. The group from nine countries rejected the idea of founding a Hungarian church in exile. During the conference a special service was held on March 3 in the Lutheran church in Vienna, attended by Dr. Carl E. Lund-Quist, executive of the LWF, Bishop Gerhard May of Vienna and a large congregation of Hungarian refugees. In the sermon Dr. Vilmos Vajta said that spiritual care for refugees must be completely free from political or national ambitions. Its sole concern is to preach the Christian message, he said. Dr. Vajta, a Hungarian who is now a citizen of Sweden, is director of the department of Theology of the LWF. E.P.S., Geneva
