William Penn Life, 2000 (35. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2000-09-01 / 9. szám
Hungary salutes St. Stephen as nation marks 1,000 years of statehood from wire service reports BUDAPEST — Hungary always hosts a fantastic celebration each Aug. 20, the feast day of St. Stephen, the king who introduced Christianity to the nation. But, this year's party may have been the biggest ever, as Hungarians marked 1,000 years of statehood and Christianity. Amidst the parades, fireworks, air acrobatics and costume balls, St. Stephen remained the unchallenged focal point of the day. For the first time ever, the Eastern Orthodox Church canonized a saint of the Roman Catholic Church when it recognized King Stephen as a saint. An estimated 25,000 people gathered at a Mass celebrated by papal emissary Cardinal Angelo Sodano. During the Mass, Patriarch Bartholomeos I of Constantinople, head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, officially declared Stephen a saint in the Orthodox Church. Thousands of spectators jammed Budapest's bridges and embankments in a scorching sun to watch an air show, which included parachutists who landed in the cool waters of the Danube River. In the evening, the capital was lit up by a tremendous fireworks display over the Danube as thousands participated in an enormous street dance. Magyar Links IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN keeping current with the news from Hungary, but don’t read Hungarian, you can find out all the latest on several Hungarian news web sites published in English. For daily updates, you can visit www.mti.hu/english, the English version of news from the Magyar Távirati Iroda (the Hungarian News Agency). It’s not the most in-depth reporting you’ll ever see, but it does provide a good synopsis of the day’s news. For more in-depth reporting of Hungarian news in English, check out www.budapestsun.com, the on-line version of The Budapest Sun, the capital’s largest Englishlanguage daily. The on-line version is updated each Thursday, and offers hard news as well as stories on sports, the arts, culture, and other topics of general interest. Finally, for top-notch analysis of Hungarian politics, history and art, you can’t beat the Hungarian Quarterly and it’s on-line version, www.net.hu/hungq. US Embassy in Hungary to house office targeting Slobodan Milosevic By Duncan Welch, The Budapest Sun BUDAPEST - The U.S. Embassy in Hungary is to house a new office with the primary function of supporting democratic forces in Yugoslavia in that country's September elections. According to U.S. Ambassador Peter Tufo, civilian organizations and independent media in Serbia must be strengthened in case Slobodan Milosevic remains president. The office, opened by the U.S. State Department, commenced work on Aug. 14 and has been criticized by members of the Serbian opposition.. Despite the facts the U.S. does not currently have diplomatic relations with Serbia, the Serb Democratic Party still believes the Hungarian government should ban what it calls "the unlawful operations of the U.S. Embassy." Tufo said that the office's creation did not mean that the U.S. intended to choose among opposition leaders or philosophies, stressing that U.S. links with democratic forces, mayors and foundations in Yugoslavia had to date been comprehensive. Coalition offers flood relief to town WASHINGTON - The Hungarian American Coalition has awarded an $80,000 grant to aid in the reconstruction of a town in eastern Hungary that was devastated by massive flooding this spring. The town of Vámosújfalu, located in the Tokaj region, is home to some 900 people. It was chosen for the grant based on recommendations by Hungarian flood relief official and an on-site visit by a member of the Coalition. The grant will be used to rebuild the town's public administration building, which was totally destroyed. Construction was to be completed by this fall. The grant was made possible by a major contribution from an anonymous donor to the Coalition's Tisza Flood Victims' Relief Fund. William Penn Life, September 2000 13
