Historical aspects of the Catholic Church's role in the police forces in Hungary

Abstract

This study presents the police forces in Hungary during the Austro–Hungarian Empire, complete with an analysis of the period between the two world wars. The presentation of organization and structure aims to introduce and analyze the system of relations mainly between the Catholic Church and the police forces. As to the author’s research on local history, when comparing the gendarmerie (in Hungarian “Csendőrség”) and the town police, the study primarily focuses on the police forces of the Royal Town of Sopron and the Royal County of Sopron. The goal is to prove that pastoral care, established through the cooperation between the institutions of pastoral care and the armed forces, was operating within an effective framework during the period encompassing the two world wars.