Magyar Hírek, 1983 (36. évfolyam, 1-26. szám)

1983-08-20 / 16-17. szám

RED LETTER DAYS AND WEEKDAYS

THE HERITAGE OF ST STEPHEN

Summer is traditionally the time of reckoning in Hungary, very likely because it is also the time of harvesting, and the nature of the harvest vitally important once, and even today, in industrialized Hungary: it has a considerable influence on the quality of everyday life. The change that occurred in Hungarian agriculture over the past twenty-five years is a well-known success story, therefore the only news I can give to the reader in this respect is that the harvest this year equals, indeed for a number of crops it even surpasses the results of last year in spite of the long dry period experienced this spring. The Hungarian section of the paper contains a report on the harvest and an article on baking bread. But reckoning of a different kind, which surveyed the whole life of the country also took place diu-ing this period, dining the spring session of Parliament, where the government gave an account of the first half of the 1981 —85 plan period György Lázár, the Prime Minister reported on the successful maintenance of international liquidity and domestic economic equilibrium of Hungary, no mean achievement in the difficult world economic situation. He also announced further steps to follow the implemented reforms: the further growth of economic efficiency under the sign of decentralization, and broadening democracy. I believe that we are in this issue giving important information on some essential basic features of political and economic processes taking place in Hungary with the publication of an article by the General Secretary of the Patriotic People’s Front, Imre Pozsgay which, on the occasion of Constitution Day, discusses the further development of the electoral system and the strengthening of the policy of alliances.

In the Hungarian section Tibor Pethő writes on the achievements and problems of grass roots democracy and István Javorszky on its implementation. (See on the pp. 22-24.)

The 20th August is a red letter day in the Hungarian calendar: it is the feast day of Saint Stephen, the first king, and founder of the Hungarian state, who led his people into the fold of Christendom. This year is the ninehundredth anniversary of the canonization of King Stephen I, and this is commemorated in Komán Catholic Churches all over the world. We are greatly pleased and honoured that we have the opportunity to publish an interview with Cardinal László Lékai, in which he tells of the long, and not always easy road which had to be travelled to establish the present good relations between Church and State on the basis of mutual trust, the blessings of which are now enjoyed by the whole Hungarian nation. (The interview with Cardinal Lékai is published in the English supplement in a slightly abbreviated form. The full Hungarian text appears on pages 36—37.) The Catholic Church maintains a home for handicapped or disabled children, including the blind. Judit Hunyady writes about iton pp. 38 —39. of the Hungarian section.

In this issue we publish an interview with Lord Kaldor, a famous fellow countryman who lives abroad. He himself permitted us to describe him this way, since he told the journalist, who interviewed him that “I am as much of a Hungarian as you are.” He said this after having lived abroad for almost half a century, in an accent free Hungarian, saying emphatically that he received his first impulses from Hungarian culture, and that “the years of youth are indelible.” (The original Hungarian text of the interview is on p. 9.)

PHOTO: ZSIGMOND VIZY

Lake Balaton is widely discussed in the Hungarian section of the paper, there Géza Baróti informs the readers on the environment protection situation Photographs by Eszter Kezes Molnár (pp. 32—33) give an exciting account of sailing regattas on Lake Balaton and other sporting events. The exhibition of the photos of Tamás Féner at the Museum of Ethnography, Budapest, is one of the events of the summer likely to arouse interest. The noted photographer spent years gathering material that gives a moving account of the feast days and every days of Hungary’s Jewry: some of his moving and beautiful photographs are printed on pages 48 — 49 in the Hungarian section.

True to our promise, we continue the series 'of articles designed to introduce the reader to the ‘secrets’ of Hungarian cuisine. Angéla F. Nagy describes the sequence of operations how to cook a characteristic Transylvanian dish, “töltike”. The English supplement carries an abbreviated version of the details complete with illustrations published in the Hungarian section, (p. 51.) For the first—but not the last—time an article is published with a sports subject, written by Rudolf Fischer, the language editor of the English supplement. He writes about the rising popularity of mass sports in Hungary, Ferenc. Szabó writes on the new appointments in football and water polo. Peter Doherty who teaches English at the Budapest Eötvös Loránd University of Sciences, writes on the spread of CI5 radio in Hungary based on his personal experience.

The English-language supplement is published for the second time in this issue; and even though I know that this is but the beginning of the beginning, readers may already wish to express their views. All letters will be highly welcome, speaking for myself and the members of the staff, I would be very pleased to know what you think about the English supplement and what kind of things you would like to read. This will help us all to improve the paper.

What does St Stephen, the founder of State and Church, mean to the Hungarian Catholic Church ?

“Every time I find myself in Rome, no matter l ow jampacked my programme is, I take a stroll to the Lateran Basilica and savour practically word by word the inscription on its main facade: OMNIUM UKB1S ET ORBIS ECCLESIARUM MATER ET CAPUT. It was this pulsation of the Universal Church that St Stephen wanted to get into, also as organizer of the Hungarian Church but also as a king equal in rank with the Christian rulers of Christian Europe. This is how, feeling awe, we can look at the monument which Bishop Vilmos Fraknói, the Hungarian historian had elected in the right sideaisle of the basilica in the early years of this century to commemorate the scene as Abbot Astrik was handed the Holy Crown for our King Stephen by Pope Sylvester II. Our attention was called to the European significance of this scene, as the starting-point of long-standing relationships between the Hungarian and the French people, by President Mitterrand of France in a toast during his visit to Hungary. Notably St Stephen requested and received the Crown from Sylvester II, a French pontiff. But St Stephen gave expression to his Europeanism also by maintaining spiritual contacts with Cologne, the ‘German Rome’, and he entertained relations of friendship even with the Grand Duke of Kiev, St Vladimir, in distant Eastern Europe. This St Stephen with a European mind who also acted in this spirit, is still looked on with admiration by the Hungarian Catholic Church today. We wish to follow in his steps, preserving—as he also did—all Hungarian values, achievements and national traditions, past and present. Nor has the Ecumenical Church forgotten St Stephen, since the psalm-singing priests all over the world remember him on 16 August every year. Last year, having just recovered from his wounds, Pope John Paul II spoke of St Stephen to the people assembled in St Peter’s square in Rome.”

St Stephen’s regalia were restituted to Hungary a few years ago. They have since been seen by millions in the Hungarian National Museum; this personal experience has certainly been instrumental in those treasures being kept in the genend consciousness of the nation. What is Your Eminence’s view of this process?

“St Stephen’s regalia, but (»specially his Crown, have always had a prominent role to play in the history of our nation. Historians and legal historians still try to define the special status of the Crown. One thing remains certain, however: the proper place of the regalia is in Hungary, because it was on this soil that St Stephen founded the State and the Church. That is why the Hungarian Catholic Church regards as invaluable this Crown which touched the head of the founder of our Church, even if only after his death as some of the experts believe. The Hungarian Catholic Church, together with our Catholic brethren who supported the restitution of the regalia, wanted these irreplaceable ecclesiastical and national treasures to be restituted to their rightful owner, the Hungarian State.”

The motto of your Cardinal’s coat of arms reads: ‘Arbor succisa virescit’; that is: The pollarded tree greens. Can this thought be interpreted as relating to the Hungarian Catholic Church as well?’’

“A parish priest friend of mine recommended me this motto when I was given a new assignment in the southern frontier zone of Hungary. ‘This provides you with an episcopal motto as well,’ he wrote me. Then, as 1 was appointed first to Veszprém and later on to Esztergom, I kept the motto, because I think it is characteristic of both my life and the life of the Hungarian Church. After 1945 it seemed that the Hungarian Catholic Church would lose its entire financial basis with the loss of its estates. But the faithful saw that the Church had to start a new life together with them. Thus they gave it every assistance enabling it to stand on its legs again. We were given a thorough pollarding also when most of ou, religious orders were expelled. Four religious orders remained and are engaged exclusively in teaching: the Benedictines, the Piarista, the Franciscans, and the Little Sisters of the Poor. These orders have grown in strength from year to year, and they attract the youth so much that there are far more vocations than we can cope with. It is a comfort to know that precisely the young educated at these schools show a great inclination to work for Church charities. This is a fine new sprout of our Church. Four years ago we started a correspondence course at the Theological Academy, in which so far 450 Catholic men and women enrolled, who had all completed secondary school. This very important new sprout of our Church points to the future, for these our Catholic brethren and sisters will later impart religious instruction to young people, although they will not be ordained priests . . .

We have built many new churches, and the number of