HUNGARY: For the first time since becoming the pope ten years ago, Pope Francis will make a full trip to Hungary from Friday for a three-day pastoral visit.
He refrained from visiting the country by Viktor Orban’s stern anti-immigration stance, which contrasted with the 86-year-old Pope’s compassion for all refugees. Along with his sympathy for Catholics, the conflict in Ukraine brought him to the country at this time.
A 134-kilometre border separates Ukraine and Hungary, but in contrast to other EU leaders, Orban has declined to support military assistance for Kyiv and has continued to have contacts with Vladimir Putin of Russia.
The Pope said before his visit, “It will also be a journey to the centre of Europe, over which the icy winds of war continue to blow.”
The Argentine Pope visited Eastern Europe in 2021, Slovakia and 2019 to Romania. On his way to Slovakia, he stayed in Budapest for several hours to celebrate mass there, the closing event of the International Eucharistic Congress.
Careful Hungarian diplomacy in Rome facilitated this visit, depicted by pro-government media as a diplomatic victory for the Orban administration and even a chance to break its isolation from the outside world due to the conflict in Ukraine. The Pope pledged to return, and his word was followed by careful Hungarian diplomacy in Rome.
The Magyar Nemzet, the primary daily of the ruling Fidesz party, said in a headline “The Pope is with us”. The story said that the Pope’s visit supported the government’s ostensibly pro-peace and pro-family policies in the country and in Ukraine.
“From Rome, Pope Francis sees precisely this senseless war hysteria and unfair struggle,” the article went on. Hungary has refused to supply arms to Ukraine or allow Nato allies to deliver them across Hungarian airspace.
The commander of the Hungarian armed forces, Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi was abruptly fired on Thursday without being given a reason. According to allegations made by the investigative news outlet Atlatszo, French military helicopters were shipped to Ukraine via an airstrip in western Hungary. This sparked a lot of media discussion.
A former Roman Catholic priest, András Hodász, who just resigned from his position due to disagreements with the church and the pressure he experienced to keep quiet, offers an alternative perspective on the Pope’s visit. Hodász told the BBC that “the devil hides in the details.”
“The government of Hungary is urging peace at any cost. An early ceasefire might reaffirm the front lines as they are. In contrast, the Holy Father has stated that Russia should return to its previous borders. The Pope acknowledges the fundamental right of Ukraine to self-defence.
He said that the same public figures who condemned the Pope over migration in the past were now welcoming him with open arms. He remarked, “Public opinion seems as manipulable and fickle as the wind”.
Pope Francis will meet Orban and Hungarian President Katalin Novak on Friday. He will also meet homeless and poor people and refugees from Iraq, Pakistan, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Iran on Saturday.
