“The scandalous news concerning our Church in recent months has caused many to feel uneasy and disappointed … for sins committed, we must pray, fast and make atonement,” said a statement published on the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference news service Magyar Kurír on 4 December.
“The Catholic Church stands with the victims and communities affected. We pray for them and support their healing.”
Although the statement did not name specific events, it followed a series of widely publicised sex scandals and paedophilia allegations in the Archdiocese of Kalocsa-Kecskemét since September, which have also implicated the central administrative structures of the bishops’ conference.
The storm around the archdiocese began to break on 6 Sepetmber with the public disgrace of one of its priests, Fr Gergő Bese, a prominent social media influencer closely identified with the governing Fidesz party via its satellite KDNP (Christian Democratic Peoples’ Party).
Fr Bese had been a vocal supporter of Fidesz’s anti-LGBT agenda, but was found to be living a double life as a participant in gay pornographic films. He was put under disciplinary suspension.
While Bese’s activities involved only consenting adults, the disclosure prompted further revelations about other forms of sexual misconduct in the archdiocese involving minors.
Two priests, identified only as Gábor R and Robert H, who both also have strong personal ties to Hungary’s ruling parties, face prosecution in the secular courts on charges of child molestation.
In 2023, Gábor R was subjected to a full canonical process by church authorities, during which he admitted the offences, and was removed from ministry.
Speaking to the Hungarian outlet Válasz Online, the Archbishop of Kalocsa-Kecskemét Balázs Bábel said public awareness of the prosecutions has caused a chain reaction with complainants coming forward with allegations about other clergy.
“In recent months, the archbishop’s office has received many more reports than before,” he said.
Several other priests of the archdiocese have been suspended while investigations proceed.
Although the scandal only directly concerns the Archdiocese of Kalocsa-Kecskemét, allegations of serious impropriety in handling communications about the affair forced the resignation of the secretary of the national bishops’ conference, Fr Tamás Tóth, on 25 October.
“The scandal is nationwide, the outrage knows no diocesan boundaries,” observed the religious affairs commentator János Reichert.
The same day the bishops’ published their statement, Pope Francis received Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the Vatican.
Their discussions covered “the commitment of the Catholic Church to the promotion of the development and wellbeing of Hungarian society”, according to a statement from the Holy See.