The scouting movement and the Catholic community are such a fundamental force for the American Hungarian community that it is in the national interest to preserve them, the prime minister's representative Katalin Szili told MTI by phone from New York after she attended the scout ball of the Hungarian community there.
The politician said that at the invitation of the Hungarian Scout Association Abroad, he participated in the first scout ball of the Hungarian community after the pandemic with the participation of 350 Hungarians, of which 34 were first-timers, which is one of the most in recent times. Imre Lendvai-Lintner, head of the Foreign Hungarian Scout Associations, was also present.
In his speech, he said what an important role the scout association has played in the life of Hungarians in the past 100 years.
"It was the scout association that helped young people to retain their Hungarian identity and they created a community that is still one of the unifying forces of Hungarians here and overseas, obviously alongside the church," said the politician.
He talked about how important it is that the assumption of responsibility for the Hungarians living outside the border as set out in the Basic Law has become an actual reality, because this means ordinary, everyday action, while the previous constitution only contained completely subjective wording.
In addition, he emphasized two important principles that can be deduced from the Basic Law; one is that today Hungarians have become a world nation, since Hungarians can be found in every corner of the planet from Australia, through North and South America to Western Europe, and the other is that all Hungarians matter.
That is why he called projects such as the system of university scholarships important, which currently provides the opportunity to study in Hungary for 28 American and Canadian university students of Hungarian origin. "We hope that this will also help those who, as second, third or fourth generation young people, want to find and keep their roots," explained Katalin Szili.
During the day, the prime minister's representative will participate in the mass of the Hungarian St. István Catholic community in New York. The politician recalled that the community lost the St. Stephen's Church in Manhattan in 2006, so the mass is held in the St. Joseph's Church, but the community is functioning and Father Iván Csete has been serving the community for four decades, who is specially congratulated on this occasion. Katalin Szili pointed out that faith and being able to pray in Hungarian are very important for the Hungarian Catholic community, because this also helps them retain their Hungarianness.
MTI
Photo: Facebook/Dr. Katalin Szili
