Pressure by godless ideologies is being exerted when various NGOs try to occupy schools and question the rights and place of parents. In contrast, the future lies in community building, where the Catholic Church also plays a key role, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó stated on Tuesday in Hegykő.
The minister called the preservation of communities that stayed together in ‘every storm‘ extremely important at the opening of the renovated Old School of the village, which received 220 million HUF in government and European Union support. The building, which had been unused and in a state of neglect since 1978, and which has been restored by a consortium of the local government and the Catholic Church, will be used as a cultural centre.
According to the minister, ‘Hungary’s future lies in communities, from Hegykő to Kisvárda, or from Szob to Röszke…As long as these communities stick together, they keep us together. And as long as this is the case, we can be relatively calm about the future of the Hungarian nation,’ he said. He pointed out that these communities have faced and continue to face many challenges in the past and present, citing the brutal devastation of the ‘godless dictatorship’ until the regime change as the first example, saying that communism tried to annihilate the country’s future by destroying education and undermining the functioning of churches.
‘There is nothing new under the sun, as we are still facing pressure from godless ideologies when NGOs try to occupy our schools, when they already question the rights, obligations and place of parents,’ he said. ‘We live in a time when Christianity is slowly becoming the most persecuted religion in the world,’ and added:
‘We, Hungarians, are made of hard wood. We, Hungarians, have resisted every possible dark idea.
We, here in Hungary, have endured every dictatorship and sent home every occupying power from Hungary.’ The minister underlined that this ability comes from Hungary’s more than thousand-year-old Christian statehood, which guarantees the nation’s indestructibility, as has been proven several times.
He underscored that the future lies in communities, so they must be built and maintained, and the churches, especially the Hungarian Catholic Church, play a key role in this. The government therefore provides all support for continuing this work.
The minister reported that communities such as the one in Hegykő will be greatly needed, as the country is currently facing serious challenges. ‘The flashes of war are striking above our heads, hostility has become the foundation of international politics, and the world is moving towards bloc formation again,’ he warned. According to him, all of this carries risks, as Central Europe always loses out in East-West conflicts. ‘We can say without being overconfident that a strong Hungary built on strong communities will be able to overcome even these current challenges,’ he summarised.
