Hungarians in Slovakia need to join forces with a large part of the majority society to preserve and promote the values of Christianity, the State Secretary said at the inauguration.Continue reading
For the survival of Hungarians and the defense of common values, we need to unite, Miklós Soltész, the State Secretary for Church and Nationality Relations at the Prime Minister’s Office, said in Marcelháza (Marcelová), in Felvidék (upper Hungary, in today’s Slovakia), where he delivered a speech at the inauguration on Wednesday of a Roman Catholic church renovated with the support of the Hungarian government.
At the inauguration ceremony of the renewed church in the village in the district of Révkomárom (Komárno), the State Secretary said that the church in Marcelháza and the churches that have been renovated or newly built in recent years required the joint will of the Hungarian people, the churches, and the Hungarian state, and this cooperation has brought great results, contributing to the survival of the Hungarian nation. He said that a hundred Reformed churches and nearly a hundred Roman and Greek Catholic churches had been renovated, which is a huge number.
Miklós Soltész, State Secretary for Church and Nationality Relations of the Prime Minister’s Office at the Roman Catholic church in Marcelháza. Photo: MTI/Csaba Krizsán
Hungarians want to live and want to survive, and one of the means of doing so is cooperation with the churches and the work done over the past decade or more,”
he pointed out.
The politician underlined that in order for the Hungarian nation to survive, many things are needed: kindergartens and nurseries, which have been renewed and rebuilt; young Hungarians from different ethnic groups need to get to know each other; and cooperation with the majority nation is also necessary. He stressed that in the coming months, there will also be a need for unity between the two nations, both to defend Christianity and common values.
Defending the values that are important everywhere, from Bratislava to the Tatras, can only be achieved by uniting the two nations,”
said Miklós Soltész, adding that the majority of both societies are on common ground and on the side of the values of the created world.
Referring to the other common views of the two peoples, the State Secretary emphasized that the majority of Slovak and Hungarian people want peace as soon as possible, and that they share the same views on the issue of migration.
If we can achieve this unity between Hungarians themselves, and Hungarians and Slovaks, we will be able to present our common views in a much stronger way, both in Brussels and in the world,”
Soltész said.
Krisztián Forró, the president of the Alliance of Felvidék, who also attended the inauguration ceremony, thanked the Hungarian government for its help in the church renovation, adding that it would be ideal if the Slovak government also cared about the churches of the Hungarian minority in Felvidék, and about the Hungarians who pay taxes in Slovakia.
The association, therefore, aims to help achieve this by gaining representation in parliament.
It was mentioned that early parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Slovakia on September 30, 2023 to elect members of the National Council.
The renovation of the church in Marcelháza started three years ago with a HUF 15 million (EUR 39,144) grant from the Hungarian government.
Featured image: Facebook/Soltész Miklós