György Bulányi

György P. Bulányi (Budapest, 9 January 1919 – Budapest, June 6, 2010) was a Piarist priest, teacher, and leader of the Bokor Catholic youth discipleship movements in Croatia and Hungary which faced strong suppression from the Hungarian communist government and Catholic hierarchy for their advocacy of conscientious objection.

Early life

Bulányi graduated from the College of Teacher Education, the College of Paleontology, and then the Pázmány Péter University of Sciences. In 1943 he was ordained a priest in the Piarist Order. He then taught in a Piarist high school serving Sátoraljaújhely, Tata, and Debrecen. In March 1945, a Croatian Jesuit named Kolakovićs came to Hungary to form base communities of youth with the permission of József Mindszenty, bishop of Veszprém. Kolakovićs viewed the model of base communities or cell groups as a survival strategy in the face of likely communist suppression where leaders might be unavailable. Bulányi and Kolakovićs collaborated to in the formation of the high school students who joined this community, and the group came to be called Bokor meaning "bush". They were sometimes also called Bulányists.

Bokor

Bokor was focused on following Jesus and cultivating a love for Jesus. Bokor taught principles of altruism, humility, voluntary poverty, service to the poor, and Christian pacifism. Bokor opposed all involvement in the military and use of force. It was a movement designed for exponential growth, intending to train participants to start their own leaderless cell group of 4–12 friends. The movement was egalitarian, offering all participants the opportunity to share their own opinions, and group prayers were performed by taking turns.

In 1949, Bulányi wrote a pamphlet (Old Scripture) on behalf of a group calling itself (Bush-Eco). The pamphlet asserted that humanity has a moral responsibility to respect nature, preserve the natural environment, and consider the impacts of actions on future generations. This is one of the earliest documents of the modern environmental movement in Hungary.

Bokor opposed the atheist communist ideology of the Hungarian state under Mátyás Rákosi, and continued to clash specifically on the topic of pacifism. The Hungarian State Church Office to the Bishop warned them that this position would not be tolerated, but Bokor held firm on this issue. Bulányi did not agree with Ratzinger's assessment, and for a decade these strong official statements against Bulányi remained. After the change in government in Hungary in 1989, the Hungarian state requested forgiveness from Bulányi.

Finally, in February 1997, Bulányi and Ratzinger came to an agreement, with John Paul II offering greater freedom of conscience than Ratzinger had previously accepted. Bulányi cooperated, clarified his teachings, and signed a statement requested of him. On 5 April 1997, Ratzinger wrote that he considered the matter closed. On 10 September 1997, there was a public announcement of the formal rehabilitation of Bulányi in the Catholic Church, and he was once again permitted to conduct mass.

The Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference published the statements of Bulányi and Ratzinger without comment. Some Hungarian Catholics were disappointed that the Conference didn't offer an apology for their behavior toward Bulányi and his supporters. These Catholic viewed the actions of the Catholic hierarchy as improper use of power in collaboration with an immoral autocratic state. Even after rehabilitation, Bulányi continued to be marginalized within the Catholic community. From 2005 until his death, Bulányi lived with other Piarists in the of Budapest.

Views Bulányi identified with the views of Marcion of Sinope in rejecting the Old Testament as uninspired, immoral, and incompatible with the character of the God of Jesus who is love.

Bulányi affirmed a church structure consisting of base communities, based on a theological affirmation of universal priesthood of the laity.

Works

It was laid in Jászol. Christmas meditations by György Bulányi, 1949–1993; Irotron, Bp., 1993

(six-volumes) Seek the Kingdom of God! Where did it come from? Seek the Kingdom of God! Why did you come? Seek the Kingdom of God! The road Seek the Kingdom of God! Not accepted in Seek the Kingdom of God! The country

György Bulányi's presentation on the secret state preparation of the bishop's judgment against him