Hungary’s recent history has hardly favoured community life; the problem was compounded by that of vocations and the lack of material resources. The Hungarian Church is having to come to terms with the reality of parish life and looks to the future with a mixture of fear and hope. “Today says Father Mihály Kránitz, professor of fundamental theology and vice-rector of the Catholic University of Budapest there are over two thousand parishes in Hungary. During the Communist period, in our villages, the faithful were afraid of seeking a contact with the parish priest other than at Sunday mass. But in the big cities various small basic groups resisted and continued to play an active role. After the change in regime in 1989, the opportunities for organizing meetings and ecclesial and pastoral events increased, but, given the low number of priests, this is mainly confined to the cities”. Yet “in spite of the decline in the number of priests, the parish in Hungary has remained the last cultural bulwark in contemporary society. In the parishes in which a religious order or movement is present, and collaboration with the faithful exists, there’s greater missionary vitality and positive results are evident. As far as the future in concerned, we need to devote ourselves more actively to vocations and place greater trust in the laity. The Hungarian Church must invest in the young. Consumerism and ephemeral fashions imported from the West risk having a negative impact on the younger generations”.
