An exhibition in Debrecen draws attention to church hypocrisy and the use of public funds

Local News

The posters from the Párbeszéd-Greens’ church-critical campaign have arrived in Debrecen. The messages visible and readable on the installations call for a reconsideration of the role of the church. According to the organizers, churches in Hungary play a much more significant role than would be justified. They argue that while Hungarian society is largely non-religious, churches are increasingly receiving schools, funding, and political influence.

Richárd Barabás, politician of the Párbeszéd party, told Debreceni Nap in an interview that the goal of the newly opened exhibition is to initiate a public dialogue about the involvement of churches in the state, the use of public funds, and the political exploitation of religious values.

According to Barabás, it has long been evident in Hungary that the government frequently acts hypocritically under the banner of Christianity, demanding values from others that it does not uphold itself.

“It’s time to talk about how churches manage public money — is it right that church-run schools receive twice as much funding as public ones, or that churches enjoy tax exemptions?”

– he stated.

The politician emphasized that the exhibition also draws attention to sexual abuse within churches. As he put it, “While the government claims to protect children, it remains silent about the serious abuses happening within church settings — abuses that are often covered up.”

Barabás added that even as the proportion of religious people in Hungary continues to decline, the public funding of churches increases year after year.

“The state and the church must be separated. In a modern, democratic country, medieval norms cannot be made into law,”

– he declared.

According to the Párbeszéd politician, the government hypocritically restricts the work of civil organizations — such as in the field of sexual education — while invoking Christian values. “It’s highly damaging that the government tries to answer 21st-century questions with medieval responses,” he said.

The installations on display at the exhibition aim to highlight the harmful consequences of the intertwining of religion and politics. Richárd Barabás stressed:

“We’re not criticizing the community of believers, but the institutional system of the church,”

and he called everyone to engage in dialogue.

“As Pope Francis also said: we may be angry during dialogue, but only through it can we move forward,”

– he added.

Bishops are outraged, claiming they are being persecuted

The Secretariat of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference (MKPK) responded to the campaign with “sorrow and shock” in a press release. They believe the party’s campaign is highly defamatory in nature and tone, reminiscent of the darkest periods of modern history and the church-persecuting dictatorships.

“We regret that a political party wishes to exploit the Easter holiday and the death of Pope Francis for political gain and to draw attention to itself in this way. Such behavior is indefensible for any person of goodwill — especially at a time when we are mourning and preparing to bury the Pope of true and authentic dialogue. Considering that, in our opinion, this campaign is an unworthy provocation, we do not wish to comment further,”

– they wrote.

(Debreceni Nap)

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