Hodász: Catholic Church Would Be Better Off Without State Funding

It’s unspoken but understood in the Hungarian Catholic Church that the clergy don’t really take part in the election campaign, but if they do, it’s in favor of Fidesz, Catholic priest András Hodász (pictured) told Valász Online about whether priests were allowed to take a side in the election.

In a Good Friday interview with the news site, Hodász also said that those on the “Christian-national side” blew a fuse when they saw that he had been photographed with Peter Márki-Zay, but not when some of his fellow priests had been featured on Fidesz flyers recommending the party’s candidate.

A clear formula would be better. Or a decision that we stay out of party politics and no priests promote any candidate, or everyone can support whoever their heart tells them too, and promote them if they wish. Let’s say that even then I wouldn’t campaign for a specific party. Especially not in a church.

-he said.

The interview also touched on Father Gergő Bese’s statements in support of Fidesz for Budapest’s Zugliget neighborhood. Hodász believes that if Bese, in a community house and without wearing his garments, had said that he supported the ruling party for this or that reason, the priest would have had no problem with it. “But in the church, by the altar… I don’t think this was fortunate,” he commented.

In response to Bese’s argument that funding for churches would dry up if the opposition won the election, Hodász said:

Hallelujah! If only. It would be so good for the church! This is certainly the heart of the problem. Whoever I debate with about the relationship between Christianity and politics, I always get this as their argument. But we do get the money! What kind of morality is this? What kind of gospel? Where does it say in the Bible that stolen money is only stolen until we get some of it?

-asked the Catholic priest. [HVG]