religion

Pope Francis received Hungarian Catholic leaders at the Vatican

Pope Francis receives Hungarian Catholic leaders in Vatican

A pilgrimage of Hungarians to the Vatican will take place in April next year, Cardinal Péter Erdő, the head of the Hungarian Catholic Church, told MTI, after meeting Pope Francis at a private audience in Vatican City on Monday morning.

Cardinal Erdő headed a delegation to the Vatican including Bishop András Veres, President of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, and Greek Catholic Metropolitan Fülöp Kocsis.

Erdo said they expressed thanks to the pontiff for the visit he had paid to Hungary at the end of April this year. Pope Francis’ visit was “a matter for the whole of Hungary”, he said, adding that it had given the entire Catholic community new impetus and strength.

The cardinal said the pope welcomed that his visit had made a lasting impact on Hungarian society and education.

He said they had told the pontiff about a planned pilgrimage of Hungarians to the Vatican next April with the aim to jointly express thanks to him.

Erdő said Pope Francis had noted his latest meeting with President Katalin Novák in August, pointing out that they were thinking along the same lines about the values of the family and the demographic problems.

Bishop Veres said the pope had highlighted the important role Hungary could play due to its geopolitical location in serving as “a bridge” between the East and West not only politically but in terms of religion as well. Hungary, the pope said, had always been regarded as a meeting point between people and cultures, Veres added.

Veres said they also discussed the situation of Ukrainian refugees coming to Hungary on a daily basis, noting the Hungarian church’s support for the education of Ukrainian children. They also discussed the humanitarian aid extended to eastern Ukraine where a large Hungarian community lives and to which region many Ukrainians moved from the country’s western region.

As we wrote before, chances are high that the next pope will be Hungarian, details HERE.

MEP Gyöngyösi accepted into the party family of ECPM – VIDEO

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MEP Márton Gyöngyösi (Non-Attached Member of the European Parliament) is now an individual member of the European Christian Political Movement (ECPM).

The ECPM is the only European party family to declare its commitment to defending Christian values and offers a distinctly right-wing, conservative political alternative.

ECPM President Valeriu Ghilețchi met with Márton Gyöngyösi middle of September and informed him of the ECPM’s board decision to accept him as individual member of the European party. Gyöngyösi has been often denouncing the high-level corruption in the country and the Hungarian government’s friendly demeanor towards authoritarians like Putin and Erdogan, the ECPM press release said. In the European Parliament, Márton Gyöngyösi serves as a member on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and as substitute on the Committee on International Trade and the Subcommittee on Human Rights.

The ECPM and MEP Gyöngyösi share the same values when it comes to human dignity and the preciousness of life, traditional marriage, protecting the EU external borders and curbing illegal migration. Gyöngyösi is joining ECPM’s other four MEPs who are weary of Brussels’ power grab and advocate for stronger national sovereignty and a strict enforcement of the principle of subsidiarity.

According to MEP Gyöngyösi, its admission to the party family is an important recognition that Jobbik-Conservatives have become the heir to Hungarian Christian democracy and the only true right-wing party in the European sense.

 

Disclaimer: the sole liability for the opinions stated rests with the author(s). These opinions do not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Parliament.

Survey: Three quarters of Hungarians support Christian culture

Fully 75% of Hungarian adults consider Hungary “a Christian country based on its culture and traditions”, the Center for Fundamental Rights said on Wednesday, reporting on the think-tank’s latest survey.

86% of the 1,000 voting-age respondents identified as Christian, the survey found.

The report pointed to increasing violence against Christians in Europe. “Christian heritage has been beset by Muslim masses arriving illegally and leftist extremists promoting cancel culture,” it said.

Concluding from the survey’s findings, the think-tank said Hungary’s “high proportion” of religious people could be further increased, and it praised government efforts in this area, such as protecting Europe’s southern borders “against Islamic occupation”, and “protecting Christian traditions against Western liberal elites”.

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MEP Gyöngyösi: Christian politics is not political Christianism

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MEP Márton Gyöngyösi’s (Non-attached) thoughts via press release:

I had a very joyful experience last week: after years of negotiations, discussions and several joint events, I was admitted to a European party family. Furthermore, it is the European Christian Political Movement, the only European political party group explicitly focusing its programme on promoting Christian values.

As a practising Christian and an MEP wishing to represent a value-oriented policy, this success and the prospect of working together with my new allies fills me with great joy and gives me a huge inspiration, especially because Christianity and value-oriented politics both have to endure relentless attacks.

We all know how lifestyle leftists and the social engineering politicians who have converted the momentum of the old Marxist class struggle into a woke agenda are now trying to erase Christianity even from the memory of Western societies. Their intentions are clearly revealed by each step they take to deny the role of the traditional family, to redact any reference to our Christian heritage from our documents or to openly demonize certain groups of the society.

However, Christianity is also exposed to another, typically insidious threat that is often more difficult to identify. It is the political Christianism that sprouted from the soil of the populist right (or was carefully designed by Moscow spin doctors). The representatives of this political agenda spare no effort to make extremely loud references to Christianity, families and defending our culture while demonizing individuals and stigmatizing social groups just as enthusiastically as the warriors of woke insanity.

Political Christianism loves and supports the external symbols of Christianity, such as churches, ceremonies or spectacular and loud expressions of faith, because all of them can be tied to political organization. 

On the other hand, it completely lacks such real Christian values as solidarity, forgiveness and the respect for human dignity, because they cannot be utilized directly for political purposes. As a result, political Christianism doesn’t really promote Christian values. In fact, it devours and empties Christianity, degrading it to a simple political product.

It is an important task for us, Christian politicians to demonstrate the true nature of Christianity through our work, even if it’s quite difficult in today’s world.

I am glad to see that ECPM understands it, and I am confident that we will be able to cooperate in promoting a political programme that reflects the true spirit of Christianity.

Disclaimer: the sole liability for the opinions stated rests with the author(s). These opinions do not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Parliament.

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople visited Hungary

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople visited Hungary

Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén and Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, addressed an international ecumenical conference in Pannonhalma, in western Hungary, on Friday, and spoke about reconciliation and various forms of peace.

Whereas achieving conciliation is possible in politics as well, finding reconciliation is possible only in one’s spirit in which churches play an essential role and “we pay great attention to that process with respect to the churches”, Semjén said in his address.

Addressing the conference, the Bartholomew said finding peace with nature is intertwined with finding peace with one another. Social justice presupposes finding peace with God, he said. Peace, Bartholomew I said, was another word for the existence of the Christian church, adding that the orthodox church was praying for peace administered “from above”, for peace in the whole world.

The patriarch is paying a six-day visit to Hungary at the invitation of the Pannonhalma Archabbey. The focus of his visit is ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, as well as peace-building.

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President: Christian faith provides a competitive advantage

Hungarian President Katalin Novák

The free practice of Christian faith provides a competitive advantage in today’s world, President Katalin Novák told a thanksgiving worship service and ceremony closing out the Hungarian Reformed Church’s nationwide kindergarten programme in Kunszentmiklós, in central Hungary, on Sunday.

In her speech, the president expressed thanks for the 66 Reformed kindergartens that have been built or renovated across the country over the last four years. Novák also gave thanks for the 1,300 Reformed churches that have been renovated and the 55 that have been built across the Carpathian Basin in the last 13 years. The leadership of the Hungarian Reformed Church does not just settle for survival, but intends to grow, she said, adding that the church had what was needed to make this happen.

The president said she was also thankful that more and more parents wanted to equip their children with knowledge of Christianity and faith, and that Christian communities were being kept alive. Novák noted that the nationwide kindergarten programme has helped create 450 jobs linked to the Reformed Church and Christianity and that the number of kindergarten teacher applications had doubled compared with previous years.

Read also:

  • Hungary to help Nicaragua Christians
  • American television host Tucker in Budapest: Biden government hates true Christianity

Almost 100 million euros on Reformed Church’s nationwide kindergarten programme

Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, told the same event that good kindergartens and schools were needed in order for the country to make progress. Communities that are strong in their faith and unity and work to achieve goals that go beyond themselves are also necessary, Gulyás said.

The government has allocated 35 billion forints (EUR 90.8m) towards the Reformed Church’s nationwide kindergarten programme, he said. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church is building, upgrading and expanding 128 kindergartens from 67 billion forints, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church is spending 10 billion on building or upgrading 13 kindergartens, he added.

Hungarian Reformed Church Aid provides aid to Morocco

Hungarian Reformed Church aid

The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid is providing humanitarian assistance in earthquake-stricken Morocco, distributing durable foodstuffs and hygiene products. The first delegation of the organisation will fly to Marrakesh on Sunday, members of the organisation said at a press event.

“This time we are not primarily focusing on searches with dogs or searching for missing people, but we plan to provide humanitarian aid to the victims of the earthquake,” executive director Márton Juhász said, adding that they will purchase products locally for donations and these will be transported to their destination with locally rented vehicles.

In addition to delivering donations, the delegation will assess local needs. The search and rescue team of the organisation is already prepared to provide reinforcement if necessary and could depart as soon as Monday. The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid is organising a national fundraiser for contributions to the aid effort. The website for the fundraiser is HERE.

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Jewish festival started in Budapest downtown: traffic changes significantly

Budapest Jewish festival (Copy)

A programme series celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of the city of Budapest and joining the European Days of Jewish Culture got under way in the capital on Sunday.

Opening the seven-month event dubbed 150 Years of Jewish Budapest, Mayor Gergely Karácsony said the 150th anniversary marks not only the unification of the regions of Pest, Buda and Obuda into one city, but the integration of many various cultures as well.

“Budapest was born out of the notion of Hungarianess and Europeaness, and this allowed Jews and Christians to coexist in this city,” the mayor said. “Budapest will remain a city of bonds and diversity on which multicoloured palette Jewish culture is one of the nicest colours,” he said.

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Yacov Hadas-Handelsman, the ambassador of Israel and chief patron of the event, noted a large Jewish community thriving in Budapest and in Hungary that has 20 synagogues in the capital and several cultural institution across the country. The programmes this year celebrate not only the 150th anniversary of Budapest, but also the 75th birth anniversary of Israel, he said.

In the morning, Brazilian Ambassador Susan Kleebank opened an exhibition featuring artwork by German-born artist Hanna Brandt who had emigrated to Brazil.

Here is a map about the traffic changes:

Hungary to help Nicaragua Christians

Szijjártó Nicaragua

The Hungarian government will provide help to the Christian community of Nicaragua in view of “atrocities” they have recently suffered, the foreign minister said on Thursday.

Péter Szijjártó said he spoke by phone with Archbishop Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, after news reports that Nicaragua’s government had taken measures hindering the activities of the Jesuit community and had shut down the largest Catholic university in the country.

Szijjártó said he told Gallagher that the Hungarian government was ready to give scholarships to students who studied at the closed down university and would consult about aiding Jesuit monks who were in a difficult situation.

The foreign minister said he would initiate talks with his Nicaraguan counterpart on the sidelines of the upcoming United Nations general assembly meeting and urge that Nicaragua should drop measures against its Catholic community.

What did King Stephen do on 20 August that we still celebrate after a thousand years?

Gisela of Hungary and Stephen I

It is a well-known fact that 20 August is the day of St Stephen, the celebration of the foundation of the Hungarian state and the establishment of Christian Hungary. It would therefore be logical to link this date to an important event, such as the siege of the Bastille for the French (14 July) or the reunification of Germany (3 October). But 20 August was fundamentally different from what we, Hungarians all over the world, are celebrating today. How is this possible?

The founding of the state took decades

For us Hungarians, it is difficult to explain to a foreigner why we have three important national holidays that are also public holidays. Let alone to, say, an Englishman, where there is no such thing as a national holiday (although some consider the monarch’s birthday to be one), Helló Magyar writes. There is 15 March, which was the day the revolution of 1848 and 23 October, when the people of Pest swept away the communist regime. Both are tangible, precise dates, and when celebrating, we often focus on the highlights of the day.

However, in a national sense, nothing much happened on 20 August to give this holiday a special character. King Stephen, for example, did nothing on this day specifically related to the founding of the state. The founding of the state itself did not take place in one day or even in one year, but took a longer period of time. The general consensus among historians today is that the foundation of the state did not begin under Stephen, but under his father, Géza, and that it did not end with the reign of our holy king either, since our young state almost disintegrated between 1038 and 1044.

So what happened on 20 August to celebrate the founding of the state? To do that, we have to go back to 1083 (well after Stephen’s death). In 1083, as a major foreign and domestic political success for the House of Árpád, five saints were consecrated, although not necessarily with papal approval (the Pope was imprisoned in the Castel Sant’Angelo, as the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV conquered Rome at a height of the conflict between church and state).

Protestants did not like August 20

For the young Hungarian state, it was an important diplomatic help that its saints, including a monarch, were finally admitted to the ranks of Christian European states. This was an event of about the same importance as our accession to NATO in 1997 or the EU in 2004.

According to Gábor Klaniczay, a professor of the Department of Medieval History at ELTE, these canonisations did not take place at the same time, but on separate dates: the two monks were canonised on 17 July, Stephen on 20 August, Gellért on 24 September, and Imre on 5 November.

Our national holiday is therefore the date of the canonisation of King Stephen on 20 August. This is why, for example, there was a major conflict between Protestants and Catholics in the 19th century over the observance of the holiday, as the former did not want to celebrate their nation on a Catholic holiday.

The founding of the state has been commemorated with fireworks since 1927. Since the change of regime, it has been the officially recognised red-letter national holiday of our country.

Find the original article in Hungarian on Helló Magyar.

One of the jewels of Cluj Napoca renovated with Hungarian support

Transylvania

A parish house that belongs to the Reformed Church in Cluj Napoca (Kolozsvár), Romania, was inaugurated on Sunday, after undergoing a renovation supported by the Hungarian government.

Árpád János Potápi, the state secretary for policy affecting Hungarians beyond the borders, acknowledged the work of historical Hungarian churches in preserving Hungarian identity and faith. He also paid tribute to the role of Cluj Napoca in Hungarian history and its contribution to the Hungarian nation.

Béla Kató, a bishop for the Reformed Diocese of Transylvania, said the renovation was undertaken not just to preserve a landmark building, but to serve the local youth as “leaven for the future”.

The inauguration coincided with the start of the 14th Kolozsvár Hungarian Days in Romania.

Jewish Cultural Festival offers music and literature this September in Hungary

The Great Synagogue

The 25th Jewish Cultural Festival will offer music and literary events throughout Budapest between September 3 and 12, the organisers said on Wednesday.

Events will be held at the Great Synagogue in Dohány Street, Europe’s largest, and at the Frankel Leó, Hegedűs Gyula and Rumbach street synagogues, as well as in the Bálint House, House of Music Hungary and Papp László Budapest Sports Arena, they said in a statement.

The festival will be opened by the Budapest Klezmer Band giving a concert and concluded with a performance by the Sabbathsong Klezmer Band.

International performers will include the Voices of Yemen, Omri Mor Trio, Alex Jacobowitz, Leonid Gutkin, and guests of the Binah Orchestra.

For further programme details, please visit zsidokulturalisfesztival.hu. Find the Facebook page of the festival HERE.

Former Minister: climate protection is Christian, patriotic duty

Climate protection Christian duty

Having effective climate and green policies is a “Christian and patriotic duty”, Justice Minister Judit Varga told the World Law Congress in New York on Thursday.

Speaking at the biannnual event which this year focused on the connection between sustainability and law, Varga said Hungary’s Fundamental Law made it a duty of all citizens to protect cultural and environmental assets in the interest of future generations. At the same time, the only way to guarantee lasting solutions is through international cooperation, she said.

Rather than burdening the poorest countries, the costs of environmental protection should be borne mostly by large polluter countries and corporations, she added. Cooperation based on equality can’t lead to “certain countries being stigmatised for the measures taken to ensure their citizens’ welfare and democratic choices,” she said. The war in Ukraine has had an effect on global energy policy in general and hit Hungary, Ukraine’s immediate neighbour, especially hard, she said. Energy prices skyrocketed in the wake of the EU sanctions on Russia, and Hungary is focusing on ensuring the country’s energy supplies and curbing the “sanctions surcharge”, she said.

Hungary’s government will not support any proposals “directly or indirectly risking our energy security or lifting energy prices above an acceptable level.” Meanwhile, Hungary is expanding its use of sustainable and nuclear resources and diversifying natural gas procurement to curb dependence on exporting countries.

Hungary has pledged to cut its carbon emissions by 40 percent compared with 1990 levels, and to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, she noted. Hungary is 13th of the 32 countries surveyed in the Net Zero Readiness Index, she said.

Judit Varga in the USA:

Coming out: most well-known Hungarian Catholic priest admits he’s gay

András Hodász well-known Hungarian priest gay

András Hodász, who is generally referred to as Father Hodász, although he does not serve as a Catholic priest for a while, admitted in an Instagram post he was gay. Interestingly, he did so yesterday late evening, while Budapest Pride starts this afternoon.

According to the post, he received a message from one of his followers asking about his sexuality. And since he was an upright man, he did not lie. He admitted he was gay.

He wrote it took him long to realise that, and no longer being a Catholic priest helped that. He said it became obvious he did not have a place in the church as a priest. He added he liked to be a priest. Hodász highlighted that because of the coming out, he would never be able to join that community again. However, he hopes he can be a useful member of society and can continue to build the civilisation of love.

God is love – who can deny that? (Hodász l)

He said he still believed in God and loved the church but could not change the teachings of the Bible. Later, he promised he would answer questions and share details on the “suitable” forums.

Jumped out priest working in a café

According to telex.hu, András Hodász was the priest of the Szent Mihály parish in Budapest-Angyalföld (13th district). Cardinal Péter Erdő released him from service last September, following Hodász’s request. We wrote HERE that Erdő has favourable odds in becoming the next pope. Mr Hodász became famous because of his Papifrankó YouTube channel. Currently, he is working in a Budapest café.

Here is a photo of him holding a Holy Mass on Budapest’s popular Sziget Festival:

After quitting as a priest, he shared that he was sexually abused by a Catholic priest during his childhood in an interview. Here is another photo of him:

Chances are high that the next pope will be Hungarian!

Cardinal Péter Erdő Hungarian Catholic Church next pope

A new study has revealed the odds and predictions of the next Pope, and with odds at 10/1, Cardinal Péter Erdő from Hungary features in 2nd place!

OLBG has revealed the bookies odds for five names linked to the role of becoming the next Pope – and both Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines, and Cardinal Marc Ouelletis of Canada are the current favourites at 7/1.

Next Pope Betting Odds

The odds have revealed. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the former Archbishop of Manila, and Cardinal Marc Ouellet, former Archbishop of Canada, are the favourites at 5/1. Both Cardinal Péter Erdő, the former Archbishop of Budapest, and Bishop Angelo are presently positioned as the second favourites, sharing odds of 10/1.

Potential Next Pope Nationality Betting Odds
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle Philippines 7/1
Cardinal Marc Ouellet Canada 7/1
Cardinal Péter Erdő Hungary 10/1
Bishop Angelo De Donatis Italy 10/1
Cardinal Christoph Schonborn Austria 12/1

Cardinal Péter Erdő on Pentecost Sunday in front of Saint Peter’s basilica in Budapest:

Former Favourite, Ghanaian Peter Turkson drifts right out to 66/1, would have had become the first black pope if he were to be elected.

Did you know?

The current Pope is Francis, who was elected to be Supreme Pontiff in March 2013 when Pope Benedict XVI resigned. Pope Francis is set to spend the next few days in hospital (from Wednesday 29th March) with a respiratory infection. Both cardinals Peter Turkson and Marc Ouellet were towards the head of the next Pope betting in 2013 when Pope Francis was chosen. You can view the full odds again by clicking HERE.

The only Hungarian who had a real chance of becoming the leader of the Roman Catholic world was the poor but witty son of a serf, Tamás Bakócz at the beginning of the 16th century. He spent a fortune on the election, read HERE the astonishing details.

Szijjártó: Ukraine is falsely accusing Hungary

foreign minister szijjártó

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba “has once again levied false allegations against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Hungary” in connection with 11 Ukrainian soldiers brought to Hungary by the Russian Orthodox Church, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Facebook on Tuesday.

The 11 soldiers, who had been taken prisoners of war by Russia, came to Hungary as a result of the work of the church and the Hungarian Maltese Charity, and without participation of Hungary’s government, Szijjártó said.

The soldiers have free movement within the country, “they do as they please and can contact whoever they want,” he added. “Instead of mendacious attacks and personal slights, we should rejoice in the freedom of these 11 men,” he said.

“Should my Ukrainian colleague have any doubts or queries, he knows where to find me,” he said.

Hungary continues to support a swift peace, as the only way to put an end to the suffering of several tens of thousands of people, the foreign minister said.

Fidesz politician: Family law ‘exclusive’ national competency

balázs hidvéghi epp fidesz parliament

“Italy and its government have the exclusive right to pass rules concerning marriage, adoption, and any other issue around family law,” Bálazs Hidvéghi, MEP of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz, said in a European Parliamentary debate on the subject of surrogate motherhood on Wednesday.

Adopting regulations concerning those areas is a national competency, he added. He also said, however, that such rules should be designed “with regard to higher moral considerations”.

“Our European culture is based on Christianity and Christian values that involve certain moral obligations and restrictions to human actions,” the politician from Fidesz said.

“We must not build a world in which the fundamental laws of nature and life are disregarded; we must not materialise people and allow children to become goods that could be purchased for money,” he said.

“We should accept that life and birth are sacred and man is not a master over life and death,” Hidvéghi added.

Hungary to receive a surprising visitor in September

Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew I will pay a five-day visit to Hungary in September, at the invitation of the Pannonhalma Archabbey, the abbey said on Wednesday.

The patriarch’s visit will focus on ecumenical and inter-church dialogue as well as peace, the abbey said in a statement.

He will address as a keynote speaker the international ecumenical conference on peace in Pannonhalma, in north-western Hungary, on 22 September.

Bartholomew I will in Budapest meet politicians and representatives of public life and give a talk at ecumenical and inter-church conference hosted by Pázmány Péter University and the University of Public Service.

The patriarch visited Hungary last time in 2021 when he attended the International Eucharistic Congress.