Francis asked Hungary for more openness to migrants

2023-04-28 21:22:00

Francis asked Hungary for more openness to migrants and rejected “self-referential populisms”

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Pope Francis asked Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban this Friday in Budapest that assumes a policy of welcoming migrants “without excuses or delays”amid the increase in people arriving in Europe, while supporting the conservative politician in his positions rejecting the “culture of gender ideology” and the “insane right to abortion.”

Starting a three-day visit to what he called the “heart of Europe”, the pontiff took advantage of his speech in front of the Hungarian authorities – the first of seven planned – to call on the Old Continent and the world to adopt ” policies capable of looking at the whole” as a path to peace, especially in the context of the war in the “tormented Ukraine”, which shares a border of about 150 kilometers with Hungary.

The Pope’s first day in Budapest thus included messages rejecting “self-referential populism” and the “ideological colonizations” that are emerging in Europealthough without identifying names, as well as a call for the countries of the continent to assume the migratory emergency as a community.

On the other hand, in his traditional meeting with the clergy of each of the countries he visits, the Pope warned Hungarian religious about the “temptation to become rigid, shut themselves up and adopt an attitude of combatants” in the face of changes in society, at the same time that he asked them to beware of “catastrophic defeatism and mundane conformism.”

The reception of migrants “is an issue that we must face together, as a community, because in the context in which we live, the consequences, sooner or later, will affect everyone”

In his first speech, speaking in the former Monastery of the Carmelites in the Hungarian capital before the authorities of the European country, the Pope claimed that with “Christ present in so many desperate brothers and sisters fleeing conflict, poverty and change conditions, we need to tackle the problem without excuses or procrastination”.

The reception of migrants “is an issue that we must face together, as a community, because in the context in which we live, the consequences, sooner or later, will affect everyone,” the Pope said.

The pope’s message seemed like a response to Orban’s policieswith whom he met upon arrival, and considered a conservative leader, with anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic and anti-gay couples positions.

“That is why it is urgent, like Europe, to work in safe and legal ways, with shared mechanisms in the face of a challenge of the times that cannot be stopped by rejecting it, but must be accepted to prepare a future that, if we do not do it together, will not come “, he asked.

Francis arrived in Hungary for a delicate visit. Photo: AFP.

Within this framework, the Pope was explicit in calling for a change in attitude towards migrants and refugees, emphasizing that From the Christian values ​​that Orban defends, “not only does the wealth of a solid identity emerge, but also the need to be open to others, as recognized by the Constitution”before citing paragraphs from the Hungarian Magna Carta that recognize respect for diverse cultures and national minorities.

“This perspective is truly evangelical, so much so that it contrasts with a certain tendency sometimes justified in the name of one’s own traditions and even of faith to turn in on oneself,” Francis later added.

The one that started this Friday is the second visit of the Pope to Hungaryafter a trip of a few hours that he made in 2021 for the closing mass of the international Eucharistic congress, to a country in which, with almost 10 million inhabitants, close to 61% of the population recognizes itself as Catholic, although in decline compared to to other years.

Just as the Pope seemed to distance himself from the Hungarian prime minister on the immigration issue, he later showed positions closer to Orban when referring to current debates in Europe and rejecting “the disastrous path of ideological colonizations, which eliminate differences, as in the case of the so-called culture of gender ideologyor they place reductive concepts of freedom before the reality of life, for example, presuming as a conquest a senseless right to abortion, which is always a tragic defeat”.

Photo: AFP.

The 86-year-old Pope, on his second trip of the year, took advantage of his arrival in what he called the “heart of Europe” to speak to the continental political leadership.

“At this historical moment, Europe is fundamental. Because it, thanks to its history, represents the memory of humanity and, therefore, it is called upon to play the role that corresponds to it: that of uniting the distant, welcoming peoples in its bosom and not let anyone remain an enemy forever,” he said.

In that framework, Francis called on the continent “to find the European soul: the enthusiasm and dream of the founding fathers, statesmen who knew how to look beyond their own time, national borders and immediate needs, generating diplomacy capable of rebuilding unity, instead of to widen the divisions”.

“I am thinking, therefore, of a Europe that is not held hostage by the parts, becoming a prey to self-referential populism, but that is not transformed into a fluid or gaseous reality, in a kind of abstract supranationalism, which does not take life into account. of the peoples”, he later exemplified.

In another passage of his speech, in a context of war in the “tormented Ukraine”, the Pope nonetheless maintained that “in the world in which we live, the passion for community politics and multilateralism seems like a beautiful memory of the past; It seems that we are witnessing the sad sunset of the choral dream of peace, while the soloists of war prevail”.

Photo: AFP.

“In general, it seems that the enthusiasm to build a peaceful and stable community of nations has dissolved in the spirits, delimiting the areas, accentuating the differences, roaring nationalisms again and exasperating the judgments and tones towards others”lament.

“Peace will never come from the pursuit of one’s own strategic interests, but rather from policies capable of looking at the whole, at the development of all; attentive to people, to the poor and to tomorrow; not only to power, to profits and to the opportunities of the present”, summoned.

Another of the axes of his first speech in Budapest was the memory of the “violence and oppression caused by the Nazi and communist dictatorships” and his rejection of “the deportation of hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, with the rest of the population of Jewish origin locked up in the ghetto and subjected to numerous atrocities”.

“Peace will never come from the pursuit of one’s own strategic interests, but rather from policies capable of looking at the whole”

After the speech to the political authorities, the Pope then met with the local clergy and asked priests, bishops and religious in general not to stand as “combatants” against the new models of life and assured that “catastrophic defeatism and worldly conformism” are the two “temptations” that the Church must guard against.

The pontiff will continue his agenda this Saturday, focused on the capital during the 60 hours of his stay to avoid long journeys, with a meeting with the poor and refugees, including people from Ukraine, Afghanistan and other countries at war.