| 20 January | Hungarian Radio launches a new half-hour informationprogramme entitled Religious Newsreel (ed. LászlóRapcsányi). |
| 2 February | Imre Miklós president of the State ChurchOffice, holds a press conference in Vienna on Church-State relations.He states that not every pre-war religious order will be reinstated,and that there is no need to establish normal diplomatic relationsbetween Hungary and the Vatican. He also rejects the idea of CardinalMindszenty's political rehabilitation. |
| 14 March | Károly Grósz meetsrepresentatives of the various Hungarian Churches. Bishop Szendi arguesfor a new concordat between Church and State, which would be morefitting for a democratic country. He also asks in his speech for thereinstatement of all religious orders dissolved in 1950, thelegalisation of religious education and pastoral work with youngpeople, and he also asks for the freedom to establish religiousassociations. |
| 3-9 April | 30th Congress of Pax Romana is held in Puchberg,Austria, with many Hungarian lecturers participating. The main topicis: "The future of young people - Young people of the future". |
| 22 April | Government spokesman RezsőBányász states that there are 146 Jehovah'sWitnesses and 6 Catholics among those imprisoned for refusing to domilitary service. |
| 21-22 June | The Hungarian Academy holds a meeting for theanniversary of St. Stephen, at which Ferenc Glatz, Minister ofeducation, argues. for the necessity of a renewal .of Churchhistoriography. |
| 24 June | John Paul II visits Burgenland (Austria) and celebratesMass in Trausdorf (formerly Darázsfalva in Hungary) -thousands of Hungarians take part. |
| 28 June | László Paskai, Archbishop ofEsztergom, is made cardinal. |
| 9 June | A Hungarian daily Népszabadságpublishes an interview with Imre Miklós, president of theState Church Office, under the headline: "Is the influence of religionin Hungary increasing?" He believes that a reform of Church policy isunnecessary, because "for the last 30 years there have always been goodgovernment decisions and party resolutions in this field". He alsoannounces that the new act on religious freedom will be completed by1990 and that talks are under way about the introduction of analternative to military service Marxists' views on religion havechanged: "Religion and religious people are no longer consideredpolitical enemies." |
| 13 July | Endre Gyulay, bishop of Szeged and Csanád,publishes an article in Magyar Hírlap entitled"Understanding and Tolerance" in which he compares the Church to St.Sebastian, who was sentenced to death, but survived and offered hisservices to society. However, Gyulay believes that the Church alsoneeds guarantees. |
| 17 July | Imre Miklós, president of the State ChurchOffice, attends the inaugural Mass of CardinalLászló Paskai, and greets him afterwards at thereception. Some leading Church officials, he remarks, includingbishops, request things which are unacceptable, because they marChurch-State relations. He referred to Bishop Szendi's speech deliveredin Parliament, and to Bishop Gyulay's article (see above 14 March 1988,and 13 July 1988). |
| 19 August | József Cserháti announces at apress conference that the Church would like to improve the efficiencyof its social work. The fact that Jesuits and Cistercians were allowedto reopen their houses for educational purposes, and that there areless restrictions on religious education, indicate the erosion ofobstacles to the work of the Church. |
| 20 August | 100,000 people attend the Jubilee Mass in honour of St.Stephen, held in front of the basilica in Budapest, and Cardinal Paskaiannounces in the presence of Archbishop Colassuonno and other foreignguests, that he and the government have invited Pope John Paul II toHungary. The Pope addresses Hungarian Catholics in his letter on theoccasion of the 950th anniversary of St. Stephen's death. |
| to 1st September | 5000 refugees from Transylvania receive Church aidamounting to 6 million Forints. |
| 14 September | Cardinal Paskai addresses a letter to Lord Henry Plumb,president of the European Parliament, asking for his intervention inorder to put a stop to the village destruction in Romania. |
| 24 September | Cardinal Paskai announces in his pastoral letter hisintention to convene a diocesan council. |
| 30 September | The Hungarian Union of Priests, which had been set uptwo years previously by thirty priests, holds its autumn congress.László Lukács announces officiallythat the Hungarian movement will join the international Unio CleriApostolica. |
| 2 October | The training of youth group leaders starts to improvethe pastoral work with young people, under the guidance of BishopGyulay, Church official responsible for youth education. |
| 12. October | Thousands of Hungarians both from Hungary and abroadparticipate in the national pilgrimage to Rome on the occasion of theyear of St. Stephen. This event is the first such joint celebration. |
| 1? October | The Hungarian Boy Scout Movement is re-established.After long debates, those opposing any religious tendency in the groupset up the Alliance of Hungarian Boy Scout Groups under the directionof the Patnotic Popular Front. |
| 11-17 October | Imre Miklós, president of the State Church Office does to Rome to negotiate the appointmentof new assistant bishops, and also to discuss the national minoritiesand the Pope's visit. |
| 20 October | 37 priests are ordained during the course of the year. |
| 8 November | The 4th pastoral letter of the diocese Szeged andCsanád publishes Prime Minister Grósz's answersto the questions posed by Church r representatives at the March meeting(see above 14 March 1988). In answer to Cardinal Paskai.Grósz states: I agree that "the rules concerningChurch-State relations have to be reformed, and limitations should bereplaced by defined rules". To Gyulay's question he replies: There isno discrimination against religious people in Hungary. According to thenew military ruling, soldier's will be allowed to take part inreligious services during their holidays without wearing uniform. Nopermission will be required to publish pastoral letters." In answer toBishop Szendi: "The reinstatement of the religious orders dissolved in1950 will not be on the agenda". "It is an internationally well knownfact that Churches in Hungary can work freely outside the churchestoo." Grósz among other things mentions the following: thepermission of the bishop is sufficient for religious education to takeplace in churches. The Catholic Church is allowed to establish a housefor educational purposes where Cistercians can help in the training ofdiocesan priests. |
| 15 November | Magyar Hírlap publishes an interview withFerenc Magyar, editor of Új Ember. "Since the concordat of1950, Hungarian Catholicism has tried to survive by taking only littlesteps. Many think we collaborated and therefore criticise the leadersof the Church. Though to a certain extent this criticism is justified,most of the concessions in time proved to be necessary." |
| 25 November | K. Harshew, president of the department of religiousaffairs in the Soviet Union, declares in London "the Soviet Union isnot an atheist state." "When in the past we fought against religion andclosed down churches, this was a distortion of Marxism like thepersonality cult of Stalin." |
| 3 December | Áron Márton Society, a newCatholic association, is established. |
| December | The Hungarian Maltese Charity Service is establishedunder the leadership of Csilla Boeselager. The organisation gavehospitals 6.5 million Forints worth of medical equipment. |
| 22 December | A new charity organisation, "Szamaritánus"(Samaritan), is set up to help drug addicts and alcoholics. Althoughthe organisation belongs to the Church it is supervised by the Ministryof Health. |
| 23 December | Cardinal Paskai celebrates Mass in the hospital ofEsztergom. For the first time in 40 years Christmas Masses arecelebrated in many hospitals throughout the country. More and morehospitals allow Mass to be said. |
| 30 December-4 January | The ecumenical community of Taizé organisesa European youth meeting in Rome and 1500 Hungarians participate. |
