The number of abortions has dropped by more than a quarter over the past six years, it has been claimed.
Miklós Soltész, minister of State for Churches, Minorities and Civil Affairs, said that thanks to Hungary's "family policy efforts there has been a huge drop in the number of abortions in Hungary during the past six years. Prior to 2010 the average number of abortions exceeded 40,000 for many years, but has now fallen to 30,000-a-year”,.
Soltész said "there is still work to be done, but this reduction is nevertheless a major achievement”.
Soltész added that in recent years the ministry had supported all religious denominations and striven to aid their community-building efforts. One such example was the replacement of official vehicles, as a result of which the diocese had purchased an electric car. According to the minister this is an excellent example for other church communities of the fact that in addition to protecting life, churches can also be at the forefront of protecting creation.
The minister also mentioned that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Székesfehérvár had received 8.32 billion HUF (26.5M EUR) from the funding distributed at the end of last year, which in the upcoming years will pay for the renovation of the Bishop’s Palace and church, the pilgrimage sites at Bodajk, Ercs and Alsószentiván, the church schools in Érd and Székesfehérvár, and the churches in Vál and Lovasberény.
Bishop Spányi added that the Catholic Church does much to protect both conceived life and the environment, adding that the protection of creation can only be complete with the protection of life, and this was why the Church had launched its program to help the disadvantaged.