THE SOCIAL LAW AS A TROJAN HORSE

The interview with Dr Zsolt Semjén, Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Human Rights, Minorities and Religion (Fidesz) deals with the menacing signs of the returning Communist practice in handling Church affairs.

Dr Semjén mentions the case of Bishop András Veres who was rudely called to account for a sermon by Bishop Mihály Mayer by the state secretary responsible for church policy. This practice and style recalls the worst years of Communist dictatorship. The present government has no church policy whatsoever. There was not even a single sentence in the election programme of the Hungarian Socialist Party about the churches.

The blunders and ignorance of the present government encourage the attack of anti-Catholic forces which wage a coordinated war against churches. This started with the threats of István Szalai state secretary and continued with the flagrant violation of the agreement on church subsidy and the modification of the social law which violates the constitutional rights of religious people, not to mention the prevention of the broadcasting of the Catholic Radio programme on a national frequency. All this is motivated by the free mason intrigue of old to try to treat the churches as civil organizations like stamp collectors or anglers.

The common spiritual heritage of the Hungarian Socialists and Free Democrats is anti-Catholic and atheist and they wish to reduce the weight of the historical churches in the name of religious freedom. The modifying motion of the government violates the agreement of the Hungarian state with the Holy See concluded in 1997. The other issue criticized by Dr Semjén is the method of state subsidies previously connected with census data but later modified by the government majority in a way that the amount of subsidies is attached to taxpayers’ incomes which excludes less affluent people from statistics.

This government modification clearly serves the interests of religious sects and fictitious ’churches’ established for tax evasion. The Socialist-Liberal government has reduced state support in almost every field, in education, in social and health investments and in protection of monuments and reconstruction of historic buildings. The Catholic Church does not ask for privileges but insists on keeping existing laws and agreements, says Dr Zsolt Semjén in the interview to Magyar Nemzet.

Translated by Péter Szentmihályi-Szabó