Prime Minister Péter Magyar has called on the Catholic Church to publicly distance itself from priest Zoltán Osztie after he strongly criticised Tisza voters during a Mass and called the party morally corrupt.

Priest attacks Tisza voters during Mass

Catholic priest Zoltán Osztie has come under fire after making strongly political remarks about Tisza Party voters during a Mass in Feldebrő on 26 September. In the sermon at St Martin’s Church, Osztie questioned how Christians could vote for Tisza, describing the party as a “morally deeply corrupt” group that would destroy the country.

He also said that people who identified as Christians but voted for Tisza “understood nothing” of the Gospel. He criticised what he described as support for “lies, immorality and hatred”, and referred to the political group as “unbelieving, immoral and treasonous”.

Osztie also said he was proud that there were no Tisza voters around him and said he wanted that to remain the case.

According to Telex, the priest has previously made political statements. In July, he spoke at a demonstration near the Sándor Palace without authorisation from the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest. At that event, he discussed, among other topics, the influence of global powers and BlackRock, as well as Pride and what he described as communist and fascist terror.

If you missed it: Scale of deficit inherited by Magyar government is now official: EUR 7.6 billion in the red

Magyar demands public response and apology

Magyar shared an excerpt of the more than 13-minute sermon on Facebook on Thursday and called on the Catholic Church to immediately and publicly distance itself from Osztie’s remarks.

The prime minister said Osztie had previously made what he considered inappropriate political statements, but argued that the latest comments were particularly problematic because they were delivered as part of a sermon inside a church.

Magyar said criticism itself was not the issue, but argued that neither believers nor non-believers should have to listen to a Catholic priest speak about them in such terms during a Mass. He said he understood that the Catholic Church did not share Osztie’s views, but nevertheless expected the Church to make its position public. He also said he expected Osztie to apologise.

Magyar added that he valued the social, educational, cultural and religious work carried out by churches in Hungary. He called on people not to respond with anti-Church comments, stressing that his criticism was directed at the priest’s remarks rather than at the Church as a whole.

Osztie has previously drawn criticism over political activity

Osztie has attracted attention for his political involvement before. In July, he spoke at a demonstration organised near the Sándor Palace in support of then-President Tamás Sulyok and against a constitutional amendment proposal by Tisza. The speech was not made with the authorisation of the Esztergom-Budapest Archdiocese.

Osztie has also regularly celebrated Masses attended by former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, including a Mass held for Orbán’s birthday in May. Magyar’s latest intervention comes shortly after his visit to the Vatican, where he met Pope Leo XIV in September.