The President of Hungary, Katalin Novák, today called on the Pope Franciscovisiting Budapest, to launch a dialogue with Ukraine and Russia to achieve a peace that, he affirmed, is the desire of millions of people.
“Holy Father! Hungarians, like millions of people around the world, see in you a man of peace. Whom we hope will speak to Kiev and Moscow, to Washington, Brussels, Budapest and all those without whom there can be no peace”, exclaimed Novák shortly after Pope Francis arrived in the Hungarian capital.
Pope Francis delivers his first speech in #Hungary
During his visit he will also speak with the ultranationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán about the war in #Ukraine and the drama of #migration in #Europe. /cq pic.twitter.com/jTqZIwxlX1
— DW Spanish (@dw_espanol) April 28, 2023
Novák stressed in the meeting with Francis, at the headquarters of the Presidency, the Sándor Palace, that in the context of the war in Ukraine poverty is deepening, for which reason he considered it important that special attention be paid “towards those in need”.
According to Novák, Hungary and the Vatican “are allies” since together they defend “human life, women and men, but also persecuted Christians, as well as all those who share a different vision of the world.”
This alliance, emphasized the conservative policy, takes on special importance now, when a “bloody” war is taking place in Ukraine.
The president delivered the first words of her speech in Spanish, assuring “Holy Father: God has brought you, the Man of Peace, to Hungary!”
The Pope will meet tomorrow in the Church of Saint Elizabeth with a group of Ukrainian migrants and others from Africa and Asia, while on Sunday he will participate in a mass in Budapest’s Kossuth Square.
Pope Francis prays for Ukraine and Jerusalem in his Easter message
Francis arrived in Hungary this Friday, at 9:53 local time, according to Vatican News. He got off the aircraft from the rear, but reached the foot of the front stairs of the plane walking, something that caused applause and joy from those who were waiting for him.
It is the second time that Francis has visited Hungary: the first time he did so in 2021, on the occasion of the International Eucharistic Congress.
With information from Efe and Vatican News.
