Prime
Minister Viktor Orbán’s speech at the inauguration of the renovated Saint
George’s Church in Nagykáta, Hungary (17
May 2019)
From
the Prime Minister’s Press Office
It is a great joy for me to be here, and to celebrate the
re-dedication of your renovated church with you. And naturally I congratulate
the latest recipient of the St. George Award. I have a dear friend who always warns
me not to use military terms in speeches at church events. And while I mostly
try to heed that advice, nonetheless I can’t resist saying how lucky you are
that every single day you are under the protection of Saint George, the
legendary warrior saint. His life shows us most clearly that, if life demands
it, we must bravely stand up for the truth, for what is good, and in general
for every important value that has been entrusted to us. Observing his example,
we clearly see that we Christians – and particularly those of us whom God
created as Hungarians – must always be ready to defend our faith, our country,
or our family when needed. And I have personal
experience that you here in Nagykáta
understand this very well.
 |
| Roman Catholic church at Nagykáta (Pest County, Hungary) has been renovated recently, with the assistance of the Government |
The last time I was here as your
guest was sixteen years ago, in 2003. Back then cold winds were blowing through
Hungary. It seemed that what we had built between 1998 and 2002 would be demolished.
It seemed that we were seeing the rise of people for whom national cohesion
meant little or nothing at all, and who were indifferent to the Hungarian
people’s thousand-year heritage. I remember that back then there were many who
were sad at the sight of this, and planned to preserve their faith and dreams by
withdrawing to their churches and inner rooms. You Catholics of Nagykáta did
not do this. With pride and dignity you stood by the knightly legacy of Saint George
and the Christian witnesses. With your parish priest taking the lead, you
showed how to persevere, even in difficult times.
I remember, as if it were
yesterday, the beautiful spring afternoon on which I had the privilege of being
with you. There
were many of us and we were well aware of our difficult situation, but we were trusting,
because we knew that in the end our fate would be decided in a higher place. We
encouraged each other, but it was difficult to tell exactly who encouraged whom:
whether you encouraged me, or I encouraged you. It was an uplifting, beautiful
day that gave us all strength. Since then the world has changed a great deal.
Seven lean years passed, and in 2010 we won again. With due modesty, but also
with the self-confidence of a job well done, I can tell you that we have
accomplished most of what we resolved here in 2003. We declared in our
Fundamental Law what Hungary owes to Christianity, and we strengthened
cooperation between the state and the church for realisation of the common
good. The seeds that we sowed together sprouted, grew shoots and eventually
bore fruit.
Today twice as many children study in
church schools as did ten years ago, and churches are often doing more to look
after elderly people and strengthen communities than one could expect. But at
least as important as this is the spiritual struggle that we are fighting in
Europe today against immigration. Once more what is at stake is what, after
World War II, a founding father of the uniting Europe Robert Schuman described
thus: “Europe will be Christian, or it will be nothing”. Naturally I don’t want
to take Father András’s job from him. All I’m saying is that in this work we
all have our own tasks. Together with his fellow priests, the mission of Father
András is to lead us fallible people on the path of faith. Meanwhile our duty
as Christian democratic political leaders is to defend and strengthen the way
of life that has grown from the Christian faith: human dignity, family, homeland
and our church communities. Our Fundamental Law also declares: “The protection
of the constitutional identity and Christian culture of Hungary shall be an
obligation of every organ of the state.”
We have a great deal more work to do.
No one knows what the future holds, but I do know that our aspirations can only
meet with success if in the Carpathian Basin there are ever more living confessional
communities such as yours. The prosperity of our families, the advancement of
our children and future generations, the security of our lives and our national
cohesion are all values which we can only defend and fulfil together, and only on
the two thousand-year foundations of Christianity. I thank you for the support
I have received from you in recent years. Thank
you for your encouragement and reassurance. Thank you for your prayers, and
please continue to honour us with your trust in the future. It is important for
our economy to be strong. It is important for our young people to be intelligent,
and to be equal to the competition. But it is at least as important for them to
know where they belong: to know where their home is, and what heritage they
have received from their parents, their grandparents, and those who went before
them. In this mission, in this day-to-day work I wish you good health,
perseverance and cheer – from wherever the wind may blow. And as we are now
also rededicating a renovated church, please allow me to briefly welcome you
with a greeting from my part of the world: “Jesus on our door, the Blessed Virgin
on our window, four beautiful guardian angels in the four corners of our house.
Come holy crosses, guardian angels protect us!”
God bless the people of Nagykáta!
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento