Stranica 1 [1]
KeAsNoe5e for December 1°52.
REPORT FROM HUNGARY,
SF Oe OE ee ES EE ee eT ee SP UE ES a ES ee
New wave of relircious versecutions.
Since the trial of Archbishop CGroesz, there wes much less
talk abéut Church resistance in Hungary, Communistic authorities even
tried to make believe thet the Chureh - freed of its undemocratic
leaders, Cardinal Mindszenty and Arehbishop Groesz - was willing to
cooperate with the regime, This policy went so far
as to send fake telegrams in the neme of Archbishop Czapik and
Bishop Hamvas to Paris, requesting the liberation of communist leader
Duelos. This heppened on the 3lst of Mey, “Intelligence Digest" at
the time gave the inside story of thet cheat.
Only ea month leter - in the last days of June - the Party
Certral Committee held a twe-days' meeting, in view of re-evaluating
the ideological directives of the Party line, The main speaker was
the member of the Central Committee ard the rising star in Party
ideology, Marton Horvath, The main theme of his talk wes a strong
warning against a tendency of self+satisfaction and relaxation pres
vailing in the Party. This esrnecially in face of a "clerical reaction’
that had succeeded in regeining powerfvl influence. He warned
especially against the elerical activity that leid to undermining the
morale and discipline of workers, of women and of children eee
The impact of this sveech covld be seen immediathhy along
three lines: a violent press campaign against the Church, tontkerkimk
personal threats and measures against individual priests, a policy
of eliminating the clergy and the religious communitics as suche =
The press campaign has not ceased since. At the time of the
harvest, for example, as forced requisitioning ercated a great deal
of unrest and opposition, the difficulties were blamed on both the
"kulaks" and the “elerieal reaction", Any other similar occasion is
used, to work up the same theme.
Individual priests were aecneed and severly pungshed for
having helped workers and their families, esrecially minersj for havin
instructed children in the faith; for having "sabotaged" the country's,
economic effort, by inducing people to attend church serviceginstead
of advisine them to work on Sundays; for not using the confessional
or the sermon to advise the faithful into entering the kolkhose or
participating in some other way in the country's “socialist res
construction". This observer hes seen long lists of parish priests,
thus accused, ill-treated, omprisonned and denorted as a consequence.
Only one exemple: At the end of Sentember, Father Imre Somorjai
was sentenced to five years emprisomment for having given private
religious instruction to chiléren in sm Csillaghegy. The fathers of
the children - Istvan Mocsári, Janos Pogaes, Peter Letai - were dock
and textile workerse They themselves and their wives were sentenced
to 24 years prison, for having admitted the priest to their homes and
paired allowed such “harmful influence" to be exercised on their chad.
e ene
48 .