The hand and the word

Hungarian Caritas, the official institution for assistance to the Hungarian Catholic Church this year will celebrate the 80th anniversary of its constitution and the 20th anniversary of its re-foundation.Charity is the language everyone speaks. “The economic recession caused serious, widespread poverty, to the extent that it was necessary to create a national rescue institution”, said card Péter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, President of the Hungarian Bishops’ Conference, recalling the circumstances that led to the foundation of Caritas in 1931. “The Church experienced that people become involved when support is given to them. Charity is the language everyone speaks”. According to the cardinal it is essential that the hand that brings relief and the words that proclaim the Gospel are jointly conveyed to the needy. The Under-Secretary of State for Social questions, the Family and Youth Miklós Soltész declared that the government largely relies on its cooperation with the Church in providing social services to the population. As regards future projects, the politician said the government intends to set up some 40-60 volunteering centres nationwide, with an investment of 600to 700 florins (approximately 2 million euro).Historical background. The decision to establish a Catholic Caritas in the country was taken by Cardinal Jusztinián Serédi, prince primate of Hungary in 1931. The structure of the organization was set up rapidly, firstly in the parishes of Budapest with 800 volunteer workers, which later was extended to 13 dioceses with the creation of Caritas centres. The volunteers thus prepared a “poverty map” of Budapest, that gave impetus to the charity initiatives. That extremely efficient system was unfortunately dismantled in the Communist period. Twenty years ago, in 1991, Caritas once more had the opportunity of reorganizing according to its original structure. “The primary features of this structure – explained the bishop, president of Caritas, Msgr. Antal Spányi – consists in the presence of a volunteering body, alongside with the institutional dioceses network, whose members, present throughout most parishes, implement the ‘charity of relief’ and preserve ongoing relationships with the needy”. “The changes compared to the past decades can be observed especially in the forms in which the relief is given”, he added. While “in the first years the principal area of intervention was famine and poverty, today human necessities are multifarious. Sadly, there remains a dire need for food and clothing, but in addition, many people are overcome by alienation and solitude. According to the president of Caritas Hungary, “today, Caritas relief efforts are mostly directed to drug-addicts and alcoholics, disabled people and the victims of natural disasters”.In the front line. Last year Caritas Hungary intervened in two core disaster areas. In the spring Caritas workers brought relief to the victims of the flood in the Borsod region and in the fall support was given to the victims of the red mud disaster, where relief efforts are ongoing. Caritas also runs recreation services with volunteering assistance in youth entertainment places. “Ferrying” is the support and counselling service for drug-addicts based on a German model, with eight centres located across the Country. What Caritas can distribute in material terms, is the result of donations by the faithful. The modest offerings of widows and of parishioners accumulate creating surprisingly large sums, which Caritas uses for charity works. Without these donations, Soltész said, we would be lacking the underlying spiritual content. To tackle serious problems, Caritas can also count on dedicated public funding. Another “important source” are the donations given “by institutions”. Transparency and the traceability of Caritas activity are a guarantee for the donors.Biblical foundations. Msgr . Spányi also spoke of the biblical foundations of solidarity and underlined that the help of a Christian person is much more than food, clothing, ears that listen, empathic heart or receptive spirituality. “A Christian addresses himself to his peer aware of the fact that he is debtor to the Lord who loves him with a personal love. A Christian brings Christ, sees Christ in others and brings the love of Christ to another person. Through charitable actions the spoken words become Christian witness. The world progresses not with well-organized activity but with good deeds”.