UNGARN: Von Phrasen haben wir genug!
HUNGARY: We are fed-up with Buzzwords!

Summary/Abstract: The fact that the Hungarian Catholic Church is only an advance organization of the Communist Party has been proved many times. As well recently, when the two Budapest pastors László Kovács and András Gromon were suspended from service. Kovács was close to the "grassroots communities", which hold positions not only on the issue of conscientious objection, but also in theologically much more central questions that are inconsistent with the official views of the church. Cardinal László Lékai said that if grassroots understanding prevailed and a large number of young Hungarians actually refused military service, then "Hungary would be without military protection." Kaplan Kovács had been suspended so that he could no longer spread his "theological error" - so Lékai - among the youth: Kovács had risen in a youth pilgrimage with massive criticism of the Hungarian bishops and insisted that the young Christians should refuse military service. While the church hierarchy thus relieves the burden on the state security authorities and assumes their functions, the opposition makes it more difficult for the regime: in a memorial service on 18 October, 300 participants of a "Flying University" event remembered the 25th anniversary of October in Hungary. A few days before, Dr. Tibor Pakh, a political prisoner until 1970, went on a hunger strike at the Budapest University Church for banning his departure for Poland. The means of the hunger strike were denounced more or less as the act of a "madman." Dr. Pakh was admitted to the psychiatric hospital and released on the basis of a letter of protest signed by more than 100 intellectuals. The student István Enyedi, co-signer of this letter has now been relegated from the university.

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