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Pope on Hungary visit dominated by Ukraine war Pope's visit to Hungary dominated by Ukraine war
(about 13 hours later)
Pope Francis is set to meet Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor OrbanPope Francis is set to meet Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban
Pope Francis has landed in Hungary for a three-day pastoral visit - his first full trip to the country since he became Pope 10 years ago. Pope Francis is in Hungary for a three-day pastoral visit - his first full trip to the country since he became Pope 10 years ago.
What kept him away was the tough anti-migrant stance of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in contrast to the 86-year-old pontiff's compassion for all refugees.What kept him away was the tough anti-migrant stance of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in contrast to the 86-year-old pontiff's compassion for all refugees.
What brings him here now, besides his support for Catholics, is the war in Ukraine.What brings him here now, besides his support for Catholics, is the war in Ukraine.
Hungary and Ukraine share a 134km (85-mile) border.Hungary and Ukraine share a 134km (85-mile) border.
But unlike other EU leaders, Mr Orban has refused to back military aid for Kyiv and maintained relations with Russia's Vladimir Putin. Unlike other EU leaders, Mr Orban has refused to back military aid for Kyiv and maintained relations with Russia's Vladimir Putin.
"It will also be a journey to the centre of Europe, over which the icy winds of war continue to blow," the Pope said ahead of his visit. The Pope arrived in a small white Fiat, in a convoy of black limousines, to a spectacular parade by Hungarian Hussars on horseback outside the presidential palace in the castle district, overlooking the city.
The Argentine Pope has been to eastern Europe before - in 2019 to Romania and 2021 to Slovakia. On his way to Slovakia, he stopped for several hours to celebrate mass in Budapest, the closing event of the International Eucharistic Congress. He walked cautiously, with a stick, after a knee injury last year, but his voice was strong.
The pontiff promised to return, and careful Hungarian diplomacy in Rome led to this visit, which is being portrayed by pro-government media as a diplomatic triumph for Mr Orban and even a chance to end its international isolation over the war in Ukraine. "We seem to be witnessing the sorry sunset of that choral dream of peace, as the soloists of war now take over," he told assembled dignitaries.
"World peace cannot be ensured except by creative efforts, proportional to the dangers threatening it", he quoted the Schuman Declaration of May 1950 which set out the founding principles of the forerunner to the European Union.
"At the present time, those dangers are many indeed, but I ask myself, thinking not least of war-torn Ukraine, where are creative efforts for peace?"
Hungary has been gearing up for the papal visit, beginning on FridayHungary has been gearing up for the papal visit, beginning on Friday
"The Pope is with us," declared the headline in Thursday's Magyar Nemzet, the flagship daily of the governing Fidesz party. The Pope criticised what he called the rise of nationalism. And made a plea for more compassion from his hosts towards asylum seekers.
The Pope's visit, the article suggested, was an endorsement of both the government's so-called pro-peace policy in Ukraine, and its pro-family policies at home. "When we think of Christ present in so many of our brothers and sisters who flee in desperation from conflicts, poverty and climate change, we feel bound to confront the problem without excuses and delay," he said.
"From Rome, Pope Francis sees precisely this unfair struggle and senseless war hysteria," the article went on. Hungary has refused to either supply arms to Ukraine, or to allow Nato allies to deliver them across Hungarian airspace. Europe should work for "secure and legal corridors" to help refugees to safety, he continued.
On Thursday, however, the head of the Hungarian armed forces, Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, was summarily sacked, with no reasons given. Media speculation centred on claims by an investigative new site, Atlatszo, that French military helicopters were delivered to Ukraine via an airbase in western Hungary. Government ministers listened stony-faced.
A different view of the Pope's visit comes from András Hodász, a former Roman Catholic priest who recently resigned from the priesthood because of differences of opinion with the church, and the pressure he came under to remain silent. In 2015, the Hungarian government built a razor-wire fence the whole 170km (105 miles) length of its border with Serbia, and has since added double and triple layers.
"The devil hides in the details," Hodász told the BBC. "The Hungarian government is calling for peace at any cost. An immediate ceasefire which could confirm existing front lines. That contrasts with the words of the Holy Father, that Russia should pull back to the old borders. The Pope recognises Ukraine's legitimate right to self-defence." Last year, there were 158,000 push backs, or "escorts" as the Hungarian police describe them, of migrants who managed to enter Hungary and were expelled into Serbia.
The same public figures who condemned the Pope over migration in the past, he said, were now welcoming him with open arms. "Public opinion," he remarked, "seems as fickle and manipulable as the wind". The prime minister told the Pope, according to his spokesman, that Hungary only had a future if it stayed on the Christian road, and the Christian road was today the road of peace.
This is the Pope's first foreign trip since he was treated in hospital for bronchitis at the end of March. Ahead of the visit, he met Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who invited him to visit Kyiv. There was also praise in the Pope's speech, for the Hungarian government's attempts to defend the traditional family.
"I think of a Europe that is not hostage to its parts, neither falling prey to self-referential forms of populism, nor resorting to a fluid…'supranationalism' that loses sight of the life of its peoples," he said.
As an example, he cited what he called "so-called gender theory" and vaunting as progress a senseless "right to abortion" which is always a tragic defeat.
In the afternoon, the Pope visited St Stephen's Basilica, the main church or cathedral in downtown Budapest, for a meeting with bishops and clergy.
The Pope has spoken out against the war and the suffering of Ukrainians - but has not visited the countryThe Pope has spoken out against the war and the suffering of Ukrainians - but has not visited the country
Later on Friday Pope Francis will meet Mr Orban and Hungarian President Katalin Novak, the architect of the country's attempts to encourage couples to have more children. Hungarians and tourists flocked to the square as the many bells of the basilica peeled across the city.
These include generous loans and payouts to married couples who promise to have children. The policies have had some success, but faltered during the pandemic. Security was tight, with the anti-terrorist TEK police strongly in evidence, but on their best behaviour to manage the crowds.
On Saturday, the Pope will meet poor and homeless people, and refugees from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan. They include Abouzar Soltani, an Iranian convert to Christianity, who spent 18 months in detention in a Hungarian "transit zone". The Orban government has given large sums to the main churches of Hungary in its 13 consecutive years in power, but in exchange, Church leaders rarely criticise government policies.
The Hungarian government has a special office to support persecuted Christians around the world. One exception is András Hodász, a former Roman Catholic priest who resigned from the priesthood because of differences of opinion with the church, and the pressure he came under to remain silent.
The main conflict in the past between Pope Francis and the Hungarian government was the pontiff's compassion for refugees and asylum seekers, contrasted with Hungarian government hostility. "The devil hides in the details," Hodász told the BBC, referring to the narrative on the war in Ukraine.
While the Pope brought Syrian asylum seekers home with him from the Moria refugee camp in Lesbos, Mr Orban built a razorwire fence along a 175km (108-mile) border with Serbia, and suggested that all migrants are potential terrorists. "The Hungarian government is calling for peace at any cost. An immediate ceasefire which could confirm existing front lines. That contrasts with the words of the Holy Father, that Russia should pull back to the old borders. The Pope recognises Ukraine's legitimate right to self-defence."
To enter Hungary overland, would-be asylum seekers need to request permission to apply in the Hungarian embassy in Belgrade. In 2022, 16 applications were made, and of these, only four people were allowed into the country, according to figures from the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a human rights group. The visit continues on Saturday with meetings with homeless people and refugees.
By contrast, Hungary has been generous to Ukrainian refugees, helping 2.5 million cross the country in the past year, and supporting around 35,000 who decided to stay. They include Abouzar Soltani, an Iranian convert to Christianity, who spent 18 months in detention in a Hungarian "transit zone".
The Pope's visit ends on Sunday, with the celebration of mass in Kossuth square, in front of the Hungarian parliament. Hundreds of thousands are expected to attend, including Hungarians from neighbouring countries. The Pope's visit ends on Sunday, with the celebration of mass in Kossuth square, in front of the Hungarian parliament.
Hundreds of thousands are expected to attend, including Hungarians from neighbouring countries.
Related TopicsRelated Topics
Russia-Ukraine warRussia-Ukraine war
CatholicismCatholicism
Pope FrancisPope Francis
Viktor OrbanViktor Orban
HungaryHungary