HIS-Press-Service, 1979 (4. évfolyam, 13-15. szám)
1979-06-01 / 15. szám
HIS Press Service No.15, June 1979 Page 2 to freedom of conscience, the protection of parental rights, and the progress of culture itself." (Gravissimum educationis, No.8). The Pope then called upon the bishops, theology professors, and other persons present to work with him on the basis of the Council's declaration concerning the training of priests in the formation of Hungary's seminarians as true shepherds of souls "on the basis of the example given by our Lord Jesus Christ as Teacher, Priest, and Shepherd. They must be prepared in the service of the Gospel so that they come to understand ever better the revealed word of God, become familiar with it in meditation, and give witness to it in their speech and way of living; (they must be prepared) for liturgical service and the work of sanctification so that, by prayer and the celebration of the sacred liturgy, the work of salvation be carried out through the Eucharistic Sacrifice and the sacraments; (they must be trained) in service to the Sheperd so that they can represent Christ to the people...." (Optatam totius,No.4). The Pope then reminded his listeners of the Council's Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity and of his first encyclical, which contains the spiritual program of his papacy; in connection with this, the Pope made recommendations on matters concerning the pastoral care of the youth. At the close of his talk, the Holy Father called upon all the bishops, priests, and faithful of Hungary to remain true to their faith: "Remain always steadfast in faith in God and Christ, and pass on with love to the coming generation this incomparable gift of the Lord!" As a closing thought, he added: "I send my proper greetings and best wisches to the civil authorities and to all Hungarians who do not share in your faith." THE BACKGROUND Contemporary Concerns of Priestly Training in Hungary > The complete lack of relatedness between the Hungarian language and the Romance and German languages isolates it to some extent. A prerequisite for maintaining contact with the world Church has thus always consisted in sending a number of seminarians to other countries for their priestly training. Traditional places for such studies were until the Second World War the Pazmaneum in Vienna, the Canisianum in Innsbruck, the Collegium Germanicum Hungaricum and the Hungarian Papal Institute in Rome. Each year since 1965, 6-7 priests have been allowed to leave Hungary for continued studies at the Hungarian Papal Institute. Cardinal Lékai now announced that, beginning in Fall 1979, students would again be sent to the Collegium Germanicum Hungaricum, though only two of the twelve Collegium openings at Hungary's disposal would be utilized.- Until 1972, the training of Hungary's seminarians was for the main part carried out along the guidelines set down at the beginning of the 17th century by Péter Páz-
