HIS-Press-Service, 1977 (2. évfolyam, 5-8. szám)
1977-12-01 / 8. szám
HIS Press Service No.8. December 1977 Page 12 It was decided to open up a retreat house with a capacity for 30-35 persons in order to help meet the needs of the faithful for spiritual development and inner reflection. This initiative, which is aimed at an effective control of efforts in this direction, has also received the support of the State. It is planned that one-week retreats connected with opportunities for further education in matters of faith be offered at this retreat house. A maximum of 1,500 persons a year should be able to participate in these retreats. According to Cardinal Lékai, the retreats are to be set up in such a way that the time "from evening to morning is set aside for quiet reflection and the celebration of the liturgy. The remaining time is to be used for continued Catholic education in the truths of the faith on a biblical-theological basis." The Results of the 30-Year Lack of Religious Instruction Persons who have lived their lives in the spirit of Catholicism;and who were even willing to risk State reprisals from time to time because of this, have found that the thirty-year battle has strengthened their participation in religion. The religion teachers and the base groups are examples of the fact that these active individuals constitute a significant factor in present-day Hungary. This cannot cover up the fact, however, that the Catholic Church has suffered severe setbacks. The number of believers has not kept pace in proportion with the increase in population numbers. Although the birth rate of the Catholic segment of the population is still much larger than that of the national average, today's Catholic Church nevertheless has fewer members than thirty years ago, despite a rise in the national population during the same period from 9 million to 10 1/2 million. The extensive lack of a basic knowledge of the faith is a serious result stemming from the absence of religious instruction and is already a cause for concern. After thirty years, this result is becoming evident even among those who remained faithful to the Church - persons, therefore, among whom an interest in the truths of the faith can be assumed. Characteristic for the situation is the sad fact that, for the young men who have decided to become priests and have entered a seminary, a year of preparation has to be given before the beginning of their actual studies in order to teach and expand upon the basic principles which would normally have been learned through religious instruction in the schools. Studies in the sociology of religion which were carried out among the graduates of a confessional high school showed that about the half of the boarding pupils, i.e., those who grew up in religious surroundings, have an idea of God which is not in harmony with the fundamentally personal conception of God held by the Christian faith.
