- As the pastoral president of the synod, the highest legislative body of the Reformed Church of Hungary, I have today called together all the deans and archbishops of our church on behalf of the Presidency Council to discuss and respond to the attacks on me and our church - says Zoltán Balog in the video that was published recently. 

The Reformed bishop added that four-fifths of the officials participated in the meeting, which ended with a secret vote expressing their opinion.

 at which 86 percent of those present assured Balog of their trust. 

"I thank them gratefully for this. The presidency council, four bishops and four archbishops, strongly asked me to reconsider my public roles, to what extent they could be reconciled with my mandate as pastor of the synod. I will comply with this request. If necessary, I am ready to convene a meeting of our highest legislative body, the Synod. I am aware that the attacks do not end there, but the trust of the governors of our church gives me the strength to endure them," he detailed.

He continued by saying that they reject any effort to drag the church into a matter with which it has nothing to do. "Not a single body of our church dealt with requests for mercy and does not deal with them. As the pastor president of the synod and also a member of the advisory board of the president of the republic, I consider it my duty to answer the accusations in the public eye of our church," he added.

He added that everyone knows that Katalin Novák has a long working relationship and a good human relationship, and it is also known that Zoltán Balog was also a member of the advisory board of the President of the Republic along with fifteen well-known public, academic, church and cultural figures. "If I take a position on any matter at the president's request, it belongs exclusively to him. Whether I was wrong or not. This goes without saying in a consulting role. He makes decisions, his sovereignty is unquestionable," the Reformed bishop asserted and highlighted that Katalin Novák said publicly what he considered necessary.

He took responsibility for the decision he made 

- he detailed, and he also said that he respects the way he closed this case, and then listed what he thought were the most important specifics regarding the charges. According to this, in 2016, while Balog was the Minister of Human Resources, the director of the orphanage in Bicske received an award signed by the then President of the Republic - János Áder - for promoting the field. "When suspicions arose against the director, I immediately suspended him, ordered an investigation, and at the end of the criminal proceedings he was sent to prison. I have never met him personally, he did not submit a request for pardon," stated Zoltán Balog.

He emphasized that for the sake of the deputy director K. Endre, who was not convicted as a pedophile,

others turned to the president of the republic with a request for clemency.

"So I did not submit the application and I did not present it. Along with others, they asked for my opinion. Based on prior opinions and information about him and his life, I agreed that he should be pardoned. I was wrong and made mistakes. I have asked for forgiveness from whoever I have to apologize for this and I am asking for it. I didn't make a decision, the clear rejection of the crime of pedophilia has never been a subject of debate for me and it never will be ," explained Zoltán Balog, who believes that

he should apologize not because he sided with a man who asked for mercy, but because this case caused harm to the Reformed Church. 

"I am deeply sorry for this, and I ask for forgiveness from my people, from all Reformed people, please forgive me. But the consequences of this in our church are not decided by the media, not by the opposition, not by the government, but exclusively by our elected church officials. That's why I thank you for your support. We ask all members of our church and people of good will not to allow hatred to prevail in the world or in the church, but to pray for peace and love to reign among us. We trust in the grace that Christ prepared for all people," concluded Zoltán Balog.

Source: Hungarian Nation

Photo: reformatus.hu