Hungary returns churches, but most are in bad shape
A Hungarian church leader has welcomed the fulfillment of state pledges to restore church properties to religious communities six decades after they were confiscated by the country's communist regime. "This is the only area of church-state relations which has gone well in recent years. The process was transparent and well managed," said Zoltan Tarr, general secretary of the Reformed Church of Hungary.
Refurbishing the neglected or ruined buildings is the downside, however. "While it's been important spiritually and emotionally for local communities to get back buildings they constructed with their own money, they weren't well looked after, and the vast majority are now in poor shape. Refurbishing them to modern needs will pose a heavy burden on the churches."
The Calvinist pastor was speaking as the center-right government of premier Viktor Orbán prepared to complete handover of the properties or pay compensation for those still in state hands by the end of the year.
