10, following this small country’s bloodiest bank robbery, in which 7 people died. Six people, including four staff members, a security guard and a client were shot and killed Thursday, May 9, when Robert Farkas (24) and Szilard Horvath (28) allegedly opened fire in the Austrian Erste Bank in Mor, a small town 60 kilometres west of Budapest.
A seventh person, a man in his thirties, later died in a Budapest hospital of gunshot wounds and doctors were still trying to safe the life of his wife, who was also injured in the attack. As
thousands of policemen and border guards continued a manhunt Friday May 10, there was news about another, not related, shooting incident in Budapest, in which one truck driver was killed.
CHURCHES
News about the violence came at a time when politicians urged the churches to support a spiritual renewal in Hungary, after decades of communism. In addition pastors have suggested that Satanism and occult phenomena’s are among other problems facing this officially mainly Catholic nation, which they say date back to the middle ages.
The Hungarian News Agency MTI quoted Medgyessy, a former Communist turned Socialist, as saying that "religious people are extremely important for the Socialists." He said that the Socialists, the heirs of the former Soviet backed Communist Party, are seeking "good relations and cooperation with the churches."
Medgyessy and Socialist Party chairman Laszlo Kovacs held talks Friday, May 10, with leaders of the Catholic Bishops Conference, and consultations with other churches will soon follow, MTI said.
FAMILIES
He added that the discussions focused on ways to "ensure a stable and calm life for families" and to solve the problems of the poor. Kovacs, who is expected to become the next Foreign Minister, told reporters earlier that Christianity should be encouraged as an important part of Social Democratic
values.
Medgyessy said he had explained (Roman Catholic) Cardinal Primate Laszlo Paskai, that a separate state secretary would be dealing with church affairs within the Prime Minister’s Office, MTI reported.
The Christian Democratic Party in Hungary has reportedly expressed support for the Hungarian Socialist Party, which ousted the centre right alliance of conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orban during last month’s general elections.
