Budapest - Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

Under the title "Shared Responsibility: Cooperation between States and Religious Communities in Europe", the conference was held last weekend in Budapest, the capital of the current rotating Hungarian presidency of the European Union, which said on its website that the conference addressed the issue of religious affairs, and was attended by 160 participants, and included a review of important topics and roundtable discussions in the afternoon, during which national and international participants explored useful issues. The European statement did not refer, from near or far, to any representation of the Muslim community in Europe as a whole or in Hungary at least.
According to the European statement, “The conference opened with a series of welcoming remarks. On behalf of the hosts, Miklós Soltys, State Secretary for Church Relations and National Minorities in the Prime Minister’s Office, welcomed the participants. Representatives of the historical churches in Hungary gave a welcoming speech or introductory presentation to bring closer and deepen the main theme of the conference, namely the important issue of cooperation between the state and religious communities, both in Hungary and in Europe. First, József Steinbach, Pastoral President of the Synod of the Reformed Church in Hungary and Bishop of the Transdanubian Reformed Church Region, shared his thoughts with the audience, which was followed by a welcoming message from Prof. Dr. Andor Grosz, President of the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (MAZSIHISZ). Cardinal Dr. Péter Erdö explained in his presentation that the previous legal regulation and cooperation that focused on the regulatory system of the church is being replaced by the fundamental rights approach to religious practice throughout Europe, which no longer focuses on the church as a regulatory partner, but on the individual as a subject of religious freedom. This also helps secularism gain ground. This was followed by a presentation by Dr. Mathias Enniger, a Swiss religious scholar who has been studying and researching the religious diversity of states and the cooperation of religious communities with states for decades. In his presentation, he highlighted the types of cooperation between church and state, and gave examples of models that are being implemented in different countries. In addition to presenting international examples and the Swiss system in his country, he also referred to the Hungarian model, which he researched and praised, the diversity of the list of existing churches, and the generous system of church support structures. In the session “Age of Risks”, György Holvenyi, MEP (Patriots for Europe Group), member of the European Parliament’s Development Committee, presented the increasing persecution of Christians. Tristan Azbej, State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians, then presented the Hungarian initiatives and Hungary’s unique aid program to help Christians. Statistics and assessments of the situation were followed by a very moving presentation. Bishop Wilfried C. Anagbe, Bishop of the Diocese of Makurdi in Nigeria, spoke about the persecution and massacres of Christians in the country. He regretted that Europe had not provided enough assistance to control armed terrorists and murderers, however, he thanked the Hungarian government for the concrete support it had received so far. The afternoon programme of the conference included two interesting roundtable discussions. The first was entitled “Christianity as the foundation of European culture and political order”. The participants stated that in many respects (cultural roots, traditions, values, etc.) the culture of Christianity cannot be excluded, as this could lead to loss and the onset of negative trends. (Participants in the roundtable discussion: Rev. Prof. Duarte Nuno Queiroz de Barros da Cunha, former Secretary General of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences; Alessandro Calcagno, Assistant Secretary General and Legal Adviser of the Commission of Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union; Rev. Frank-Dieter Fischbach, Secretary General of the Conference of European Churches; Dr. Csaba Török, PhD, Parish Governor of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption and Saint Adalbert of Esztergom, Director of the Cathedral Treasury, University Professor, TV Director of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference; Moderator: Gergely Vajvolgyi, journalist, broadcaster and political scientist)
The second roundtable discussion was entitled “Demographic Challenges in Europe”. The international participants presented the demographic situation in their countries, from which it could be demonstrated that the trend of population decline is general. A number of promising measures were included in the “action plans” of each country. As such, the family support system in Hungary, which many people at the international level consider an example to follow, was discussed. Dr. Boglarka Ilse, State Secretary for Bilateral Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, concluded the conference with a closing speech.