The problem of ethnic segregation in eastern Hungary’s schools appears to be deepening, despite past attempts on the part of some local administrations to ensure that Roma and non-Roma children studied together. For instance, as 444.hu reports, twelve years ago when the town of Nagyecsed (population: 6,327), in northeastern Hungary, tried to create mixed classrooms of both Roma and non-Roma students, […]
Sándor Szenczy is a Baptist pastor and President of Hungarian Baptist Aid. This week we learned that a high-ranking official from North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommended that Pastor Szenczy build a Baptist House of Prayer in Pyongyang. On a recent trip to North Korea, the pastor was given the opportunity to speak in one of only two Protestant […]
Joe Gunn is the Executive Director of a Christian faith-based public policy organization in the Canadian capital, Ottawa, called Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ). His group’s advocacy work in democratic reform, anti-poverty initiatives, refugee rights and ecological justice are initiatives valued by HFP, as well as by many civil society organizations in Hungary–though admittedly, in the Hungarian context the faith-based […]
Last year Good Friday became a public holiday in Hungary. The proposal was submitted by the ruling Fidesz alliance with the Christian Democrats and was approved by 163 votes in support and two abstentions. The idea of introducing a public holiday on Good Friday was first suggested by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at a memorial event of the Synod of […]
Pastor Steven Anderson of Arizona’s Faithful Word Baptist Church often claims to have a monopoly on “true,” undiluted “Bible-believing” Christianity. In his mind, Christ’s message is not of redemption and forgiveness, but of visceral rage and damnation for a wide range of people on his hate list. Mr. Anderson has declared that homosexuals are better dead than alive and has […]
Gáspár Orbán, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s 25 year old son, used to be known most for mirroring his father’s deep affinity for football and for being a professional football player. Those days are over, but the young Mr. Orbán is making a new name for himself as the leader of a Pentecostal church community, where he speaks in tongue, asserts […]
Sometimes in Canada we have a tendency to see ourselves as exceptional when it comes to our model of multiculturalism and diversity. Yet societies throughout the world have found ways to handle diversity for centuries. In late June, I spent a week travelling along the Black Sea Coast, visiting Romania and Bulgaria. I was fortunate to have a private guide […]
Hungary is spending $1.7 million (463 million forints) to help restore Christian churches in Lebanon, according to government records. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has instructed the Minister of the National Economy to transfer this amount, as the Hungarian government aims to help Lebanon’s Christian minority continue living in their own country and also wants to play a role in preserving […]
Zsolt Bayer, the prominent publicist, the co-founder of the ruling Fidesz party and close confidant of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, announced that Hungary must exit the European Union. He went further, calling the EU “a scalding pigsty.” Mr. Bayer was speaking to the local television station of the northeastern town of Miskolc, where he said: “If the EU continues along […]
Miklós Beer is the Bishop of the Diocese of Vác, extending from Nógrád county bordering Slovakia down towards Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in southeastern Hungary. Some 640,000 Hungarians (or 57% of the population) of this area identify as Roman Catholic in the towns covered by the diocese, which includes regions that are among the poorest in Hungary. Bishop Beer gave a fascinating interview […]
