Leading members of Hungary's Catholic, Reformed and Lutheran churches have urged their bishops to "stop closing their eyes" towards the plight of refugees, after growing criticism of their silence towards recent government actions.
"We call on them to serve their sisters and brothers, not the state, and to represent the teaching of Jesus", the open letter said. "By their silence, our churches have become accomplices to human rights violations, legal infringements and violence. We all hope our leaders will finally bring the churches to act for peace and reconciliation".
The letter, signed by over 400 prominent lay Christians, said Hungary's latest Asylum Law, in force since 28 March, would herd all refugees, including unaccompanied children, into a transit zone on the Serbian border while their asylum requests were processed. It added that even those who tabled legal asylum requests would be viewed under the Law "as potential Islamic terrorists", when many had themselves "fled from the violence of radical organisations".
"We are supposed to be defending our homeland's values - in place of fear and hatred of foreigners, fuelled by media-distorted messages, we should be fostering social solidarity", the signatories said. "Some say the churches are being protected by their silence. But we are closing our eyes to cruelty. Instead of believing in providence and mercy, we are allowing ourselves to be governed by anxiety".
Prime Minister Viktor Orban's centre-right government has been widely condemned for using razor fences and armed police to restrict the flow of refugees into Hungary, which granted protection to only 425 of 29,432 asylum-seekers in 2016, according to government data.
The country's Catholic Bishops Conference made no mention at its early March plenary of the new Asylum Law, which has been protested by Western governments and human rights groups, and denounced by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees for its "terrible physical and psychological effects".
In their open letter, the lay Christians said the Law looked set to exacerbate xenophobia in Hungary and urged church leaders to make a "public stand for refugees", while ensuring their prayers were "heard for the poor and persecuted, and for all in need".
PICTURE: Newly-built Hungarian detention camp for migrants at the Serbian-Hungarian border. Under the new law refugees seeking asylum in Hungary will be held in camps such as this one until their claims are processed.
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