Exploiting the freedom to evangelize among the young after decades of repression, and “eliminating religious ignorance”, taking into account both traditional religious practice and the new languages to communicate the faith: these are some of the main objectives of the Hungarian youth apostolate. Before the collapse of Communism in 1989, attention to the young was prevented from taking any kind of structural form. Throughout the country the activity of only eight Catholic schools (attended by some 800 students) was permitted, but outside the churches catechesis was prohibited. Spiritual exercises, youth associations, retreats, summer camps were wholly unknown. The overturn of the political situation in 1989 brought with it freedom for the Church, which immediately began to organize a youth Commission, under the direction of Msgr. Balàs Béla, bishop of Kaposvàr. “The parents of the young today explains Msgr. Pákozdi István, university chaplain and secretary of the youth Commission never had any kind of religious formation, that’s why so much emphasis is being put on youth catechesis. In the university chaplaincy of Budapest alone we have celebrated 7 baptisms and 11 confirmations of young adults”. Movements and lay organizations are also represented on the commission, which follows all the programmes of the dioceses. At the present time the youth apostolate in Hungary is organized in five ecclesiastical regions (which do not correspond to the dioceses). They have the task of organizing regional and national meetings. Today the Church runs 50 Catholic nursery schools, 95 primary schools, 50 classical lycées, 31 professional schools of various kind and a Catholic university with 4 faculties. In 1997 over 2000 Hungarian youngsters were present at the World Youth Day in Paris, and some 2500 at Tor Vergata. But this year, due to the high costs of travel which will be almost entirely supported by the Hungarian bishops, only a hundred or so youth will go to Toronto in July.
