Church and archbishop of the Esztergom-Budapest district amid a row with the government over reduced subsidies.
Ahead of the ceremony in the Basilica of Esztergom, about 60 kilometres (apr. 37 miles) north-west of Budapest, angry Catholic and Reformed denominations and opposition parties said they would go to the Constitutional Court to protest against the cabinet’s church policy.
Under government plans, subsidies to churches will be based on the number of active believers, not on a 2001 census which shows that about 52 percent of Hungary’s population of 10 million is Roman Catholic. One in five Hungarians are either Reformed or Lutheran, according to the Hungarian Central Statistical Office.
However the Socialist-led cabinet, which includes former Communists, has suggested that far fewer people go to church and that only hundreds of thousands of Hungarians pay tax deductible gift to their denominations.
EASING TENSIONS
Primate Peter Erdo told reporters that he wanted to find a solution for the conflict and that one of his first tasks will be to "ease tensions." During Saturday’s ceremony, which was attended by Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy, he said "to be honoured" with the presence of government representatives.
Erdo stressed the inauguration ceremony was held to make sure that "the new bishop" with the support of believers will "offer the richness of the salvation from the love of Christ to the whole world."
He took over the tasks of 75-year old Cardinal and Archbishop Laszlo Paskai, who was the Hungarian Roman Catholic Church leader since 1988.
CRITICS
Critics, including Priest Gyorgy Bulanyi who suffered under decades of Communism, had earlier urged the church to dismiss current leaders, as they apparently worked with the previous regime.
On Saturday, January 11, Erdo thanked Pope John Paul II for his confidence in him, and stressed that he wanted a good relationship with other denominations.
The Pope’s appointment of Erdo came somewhat as a surprise, as other bishops were seen as favourites. Before he became Primate, Erdo served since 1998 as rector of the Catholic Peter Pazmany University in Budapest.
