Magyar Egyház, 1957 (36. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1957-06-01 / 6-7. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 15 News From The Churches At Home And Abroad AUSTRIA The Austrian government has appointed a commission to begin negotiations with the Vatican concerning a settlement of the controversial question of the Austrian Concordat and with the Protestant Church looking toward a new legal basis for the church. Protestants have hailed the move because they are anxious for a definite settlement of their relations to the state, and want the abolition of church laws passed after 1938 by the Hitler regime, which adversely affected both Protestant and Catholic churches. The laws were not declared invalid after World War II. However, evangelical circles in Vienna which have studied the situation declare that a mere reinforcement of the Austrian Concordat of 1934, which was not practiced during the years of the Hitler regime or since, would cause severe opposition by Evangelicals. If the concordat were carried out completely it would make non-Catholics subject to the Catholic marriage. Schools would have to be set up on a confessional basis rather than a secular one. Austrian schools at present are state-supported and provide for compulsory religious instruction. Since the minority Protestant Church can only maintain schools in a few places, enforcement of the Concordat would mean Protestant children would have to attend Catholic schools. Another item of vital importance to the Protestant church is the question of equal rights for all churches is Austria. Observers in Vienna say that the only basis for a new legal order is the guaranteed equality of Protestants and Roman Catholics. Certain Roman Catholic circles want the legal status of “dominating church.” To this the new Austrian vice-chancellor, Dr. Pittermann, has repeatedly stated that equal status is the only possible basis for settling the question. He is a Protestant and a leader of the Socialist Party in Austria, one of the governing parties. (E.P.S.) ISRAEL Thirteen non-Jewish religious groups have now been recognized by the government of Israel as autonomous bodies. These include some of the Orthodox and Catholic churches, Moslem groups and the Bahai groups. The Protestant churches, however, have not yet been granted this status. (E.P.S.) FRANCE In the forests of Armainvilliers 3,000 gypsies, with their children, recently gathered from all over France for a Protestant Kirchentag. Four hundred caravans formed a circle round the big tent and observers report that many confessions of faith were given in the evening round the fire. The climax of the Kirchentag was a huge baptismal service and a wedding where 28 Protestant gypsy-couples were married. (E.P.S.) GERMANY In connection with the approaching elections in the Federal German Republic, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer states that the crucial point is “whether Germany will remain Christian or turn Communist.” This statement drew a petition from the students of the Wuppertal theological college. Addressed to Dr. Adenauer, it asked him “to respect the fact that Christians are free to decide for any democratic party.” They say the continuity of Christendom is not to be guaranteed by a particular political program. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Münster, Dr. H. Keller, has told a Catholic workers’ conference in his diocese that a convinced Catholic cannot be an active socialist or vote for the Social Democratic Party in the forthcoming German Federal elections. He said the Social Democratic Party was opposed to the Roman Catholic Church on all vital cultural and political questions. COLOMBIA In a small Colombian town from which most of the Protestants have moved to safer areas, Pastor X has been holding services in a house. The church was destroyed by a tornado several years ago. Interest in the services of the visiting pastor was so great that the authorities took notice and forbade him to continue. When their threats failed they called officials from a large town to arrest him. In jail, the meals of Pastor X were supplemented by gifts of food sent in by Protestant families. It is customary for Colombian families of prisoners to supply them with food, as little is provided otherwise. So many of the Protestants sent in food for Pastor X that he gave to other prisoners who were not cared for. He also spoke to them about Christ and his Gospel. The jailer protested, “You have no permission to preach to the other prisoners.” The prisoners remonstrated, “We want to hear what he has to say.” After a few days of these goings-on, the prison authorities gave the order: “Pastor X must be released or all the prisoners will become Protestants.” GENEVA A plea for governments to accept Hungarian refugees now in Yugoslavia was made by the Administrative Committee of the Division of Inter- Church Aid and Service to Refugees of the World Council of Churches. In its resolution, the committee “expressed profound regret at the very limited opportunities for emigration at present offered to these refugees.” The group “urged the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, the general secretariat of the W.C.C. the director of the Division and the churches to press for a more generous action by governments in providing emigration opportunities to refugees granted first asylum in Yugoslavia.” About 30,000 refugees remain to be settled of the 180,000 who entered Austria.
