“We cannot remain silent on the moral crisis of recent days. The solution must be sought in truth and in justice. No healthy society can be based on lies”, declare the Hungarian bishops, intervening on the violent demonstrations and clashes between police and anti-government factions that have continued in Budapest since Sunday 17 September, with hundreds of demonstrators in the streets of the capital demanding, even violently, the resignation of the government of Ferenc Gyurcsany. The premier had admitted he had lied to the electors in order to win the general elections in April, but announced he had no intention of resigning. In a statement the Hungarian Bishops’ Conference recalls that each nation should be “founded on truth and justice”. “We feel responsible for the future of our country and nation – write the bishops -. The solution must therefore be sought in truth and in justice. It is essential that our country’s leaders conduct themselves accordingly”. The bishops denounce “the illegal tumults whatever their inherent motivation”, but at the same time “consider it important that the democratic rights of freedom of expression and peaceful demonstration be respected”. They end their statement by recalling that, as the Catholic Church, they would continue to work “for the renewal of society, whose only path is moral renewal”. “In Hungary – added the bishops’ spokesman Csongor Szerdahelyi in a briefing to SIR – there is a great moral crisis, because our prime minister did not speak with honesty prior to the elections and later admitted his lack of sincerity. That’s why the street protests are augmenting every day”. The situation in Budapest is serious, he says, “especially at night, with episodes of violence and clashes. But there are also peaceful protests by day, led by minority groups”. In his view, “the majority of the population want a change, whatever form it takes”.
