Pope Francis visited Hungary, met Viktor Orbán and warned of the resurgence of outbreaks of hatred and anti-Semitism on the continent

Pope Francis today warned of the outbreaks of hatred and anti-Semitism occurring in Europe and other places during the meeting he held with Christian and Jewish leaders in his first act of the visit to Budapest, where only seven hours will remain to officiate the closing Mass of the Ecumenical Congress.

In the Hungarian capital, the first stop on the journey that will take the pontiff to Slovakia this afternoon, he held an ecumenical meeting with the Jewish community at the Museum of Fine Arts adjacent to Heroes’ Square.

François met representatives of Christians, who represent 52% of the population and of whom 30% are Catholics, and of the Jewish community, severely decimated during the Nazi invasion and of which there remain between 10,000 and 15,000 members across the country.

In this act, the Pope appreciated that the different denominations present in the country, including Lutherans and Calvinists, “came together to tear down the dividing walls of the past”.

“You, Jews and Christians, wish to see in the other no longer a stranger, but a friend; no longer an adversary, but a brother “He underlined and added that God asks them to leave “behind the misunderstandings of the past, the pretension to be right and to blame others, to put us on the path of his promise of peace”.

And he insisted that this union be strong in the face of the temptation to “absorb the other”, for when it was attempted, “it was not built, it was destroyed” and “the same when it was attempted. ‘she was wanted to marginalize “. in a ghetto, instead of integrating it ”.

How many times has this happened in history! We must be vigilant and pray that this does not happen again. And we commit to promoting together an education in fraternity, so that the explosions of hatred that want to destroy it do not prevail. I am thinking of the threat of anti-Semitism, which is still creeping into Europe and elsewhere, ”he warned.

He felt that it is “a wick that must be extinguished and the best way to deactivate it is to work positively together, it is to promote brotherhood”.

He asked the representatives of religions to come together to be an example and so that no one “can say that words of division come out of the mouths of men of God, but only messages of openness and peace”.

“In a world torn by too many conflicts, this is the best witness that can offer those who have received the grace to know the God of the covenant and of peace,” he added.

THE POPE’S MEETING WITH ORBAN

Pope Francis today met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and President of the country Janos Ader during 40 minutes in camera and without cameras on arrival in Budapest to participate in the closing of the Eucharistic Congress.

The meeting lasted longer than expected, as a half-hour discussion was scheduled which also included Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Vatican “Foreign Minister” Richard Gallagher.

The Vatican explained in a statement that among the topics discussed were “the role of the Church in the country, the commitment to safeguard the environment, the defense and promotion of the family”.

This is the first meeting of Orbán and Francisco, who had greeted each other only a few times in the Vatican during meetings of European Christian political leaders.

The Pope’s visit to Budapest will last seven hours, as the trip was not considered an apostolic visit, but the Pope’s participation in a religious event and after Mass the Pope will travel to Slovakia for a three-day trip .

This shows the totally different positions of the pontiff and the Hungarian president, in particular on immigration, since the pope advocates the reception of migrants while Orbán is the leader of the countries that reject refugees considering that they are a hotbed of terrorism. .

In the Vatican statement, the issue of migration was not mentioned among the topics discussed at the meeting.

(with information from the EFE)

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