Abstract
A representative enquiry based on sample selection was undertaken among Hungarian tourists in Austria with the object of investigating the general attitude taken up with regard to conciliar renewal and pastoral action. The truth or falsity of the relevant hypotheses was tested in five sets of questions: there were questions with general secular reference ; questions with secular reference concerning Hungary; questions with religious and general reference, but concerning Hungary; questions with reference to the Council and religious renewal in general; and questions relating to liturgical reform.
In addition to several detailed results and particular conclusions the fol lowing basic trends were verified:
1. Pastoral action should, according to the faithful, come to grips with many more problems of a general kind as problems which stand in relationship to specifically new experiences in the life of the Church, i.e. the presuppositions are the most important thing in this particular field. 2. In this sector, however, it seems that there is a great amount of lee way to be made up. Pastoral action therefore should be on the one hand very intensive and on the other hand be well-balanced, pedagogic and careful in its method of application, i.e. it should ensure the quickest possible transition without being precipitate.
3. The greatest, and perhaps the most dangerous, deficiency in the religious life of Hungarian Catholics seems to lie in the field of religious education, religious culture, information and knowledge. The long spiritual isolation, the lack of objective means of spiritual orientation and of religious cultural nourishment, the impossibility of keeping up to date with the spiritual development of the Church as a whole are probably leading not only to a lack of knowledge but are also bringing about changes at the deepest levels of the human psyche.