I have always believed that religion is not a private matter, but a public matter, a personal matter - declared László Bíró in connection with the national census starting on Saturday, the first of October. The retired Catholic camp bishop therefore encourages the faithful to confess their faith at the census and to show strength for their values.

I think it's a huge thing that in a census they ask me what my identity is, how I think, what my worldview is, it wasn't always like that - retired Catholic camp bishop László Bíró told our newspaper in connection with the national census starting on Saturday. He pointed out that: previously, before the regime change, the slogan was that many things are private matters, not public matters, and everyone handles their faith as they wish. As he said, because of this, the faithful were forced into a kind of sacristy Catholicism. "I myself have always claimed that."

religion is not a private matter, but a public matter, a personal matter. It is like marriage, which is the most personal act of human life.

At the same time, it is also a public matter, because society gains most of its human capital from marriage. And religion is also a public matter, because today's society could not exist without its Christian past. This is only because Christianity has put a lot of things on Europe's table over the centuries, said the retired Tabor bishop.

László Bíró also talked about: the Christian believer confesses that he belongs to the group of people gathered around the gospel, the good news. – And when someone feels great joy, they usually look for someone to share it with. If we, Christians, are truly a team belonging to the Gospel, then we are not forced to express our joy. Not least because shared joy is double joy. And if you share joy, it protects you from isolation, he emphasized. The retired camp bishop explained:

if we are asked about our faith in a census, it is a gift, because we can express our joy.

According to his words, seeing the heterogeneity of society, it is increasingly important who has what identity. And when we communicate where we belong in our religious thinking and worldview, we express our identity. – And saying the identity is good for everyone, both for the one who says it and for the one with whom I share it. And thus, the collection of census data can serve to strengthen our identity, and it is not a problem if society also knows that there are indeed Christians. It is not enough to be good, you must also maintain the appearance of goodness. In another approach, the saying is also true

it's not enough to be a Christian, you have to look like one. It must be made visible in society that there are Christians. And if we dare to confess our own identity, then regardless of the direction of the current government, it is not possible to marginalize the group that makes up a significant part of society.

If we hide our Christian identity during a census, we also harm society, because it is good to know that there are people who preserve values. And it's also good for us if someone besides us takes note of this - emphasized László Bíró. He added: it is our responsibility to state and pass on our own values.

2022Plusz: When I was a child, I was taught, and I still do it today, that if you go in front of a church, stop and make the sign of the cross. I often observe how many people follow this teaching, and I see that most of them - a little ashamed of themselves - hurry up. I stop and make the cross, I meditate a little. And the world starts to shine!

Source: Hungarian Nation

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