Church investigates priest who blessed Hungarian Guard

The Dunamellék Protestant Church District has launched an investigation into the actions of priest Tamás Csuka, who blessed the flag of the Hungarian Guard (Magyar Gárda) at its induction ceremony on Saturday, August 25, reports fn.hu.

István Szabó, the bishop of the church district, refused to answer questions from the press. His secretary said that they would release a statement after the investigation is completed.

At the induction ceremony in Budapest's Castle District, a Catholic, a Protestant and an Evangelical priest, without the knowledge of the churches in question, blessed the flag of the controversial paramilitary group.

On Wednesday, Csuka released a statement in which he wrote that reports that had appeared regarding the Hungarian Guard's flag and himself contain "malignant distortions."

When he blessed the flag, he said: "May the blessing of God follow those who line up under these flags. [...] I pray that these flags raise fear in all those who either financially, spiritually or physically [try to harm] Hungary."

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