Hungarian bishop apologises over opinion given in support of presidential pardon
Reformed Bishop Zoltán Balog said on Tuesday that he had been asked to give his opinion and agreed with supporting a presidential pardon granted to Endre K but added that the decision was not made by him.
Balog, who is pastoral president of the Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church, said in a video message that he had made a mistake, he expressed regret and apologised to all affected persons.
In a message posted on reformatus.hu, Balog said he had called a meeting of his church’s officials on Tuesday to discuss “the attacks directed at him and the church”. He added that the meeting had been attended by four-fifth of the officials and it ended in a secret vote where 86 percent of those present stated support for him.
Balog reacted to recent press allegations according to which it had been on his advice that Katalin Novak, who resigned from the post of President of Hungary on Saturday, granted presidential pardon to a former deputy head of a children’s home in Bicske, near Budapest.
Balog said the request for presidential pardon had not been submitted by him but he was one of the persons whose opinion was asked about it.
“Based on preliminary opinions and information about him [Endre K] and his life, I agreed with granting him pardon, but I was wrong and I made a mistake,” he said.
“I apologise to everyone I must apologise to,” he added.
Balog said it was not him who made a decision concerning the request for presidential pardon and added that it was above question that he was clearly rejecting the crime of paedophilia.
“We have full consent about this, too, in the Reformed Church,” he added.
PM’s press chief decries media reports on Orbán, Balog
The prime minister’s press chief on Monday decried “left-wing press reports” saying that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán “also held [Reformed Bishop] Zoltan Balog responsible for the clemency” granted by President Katalin Novák to a man convicted for helping to cover up child abuse. Several news websites alleged on Monday that “Balog’s seat as a bishop may be in danger”. Bertalan Havasi called the reports “fake news” and “stupid”. The government and the prime minister do not interfere with matters of the church, and respect their autonomy, he said.
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The rot of those complicit with Fidesz corruption extends right into the Church. Church leadership has been taught to toe the line if they want the benefits of having friends in government. Apologies are not enough. We need a house cleaning of all of this endemic Fidesz political corruption in Hungary.
It doesn’t get much better, does it?
Get real gentlemen. All Christian religion support the forgiveness of sins when the sinner asks for forgiveness. Did both of you manage to live without coming across the Bible.
Do not blame PM Orban for established church tenets; tenets that have been around for hundreds of years.
Forgiving of sin is a private sacrement but not a legal or political act. What took place was revicitmizing the vicitims and their loved ones who would have had to go thru a legnthy process to have the man found guilty. Find the scrourge of society and punish to the extreme those who hurt children.