Pope Francis thanked Hungarians on Saturday for welcoming Ukrainian refugees and urged them to help anyone in need.
Pope Francis arrives as he meets poor people and refugees in St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, April 29, 2023. The Pontiff is in Hungary for a three-day pastoral visit. thanked Hungarians on Saturday for welcoming Ukrainian refugees and urged them to help anyone in need, as he begged for a culture of charity in a country where the prime minister has justified firm anti-immigration policies with fears that migration threatens Europe’s Christian culture.
The conservative populist prime minister, Viktor Orban, has said that migration threatens to replace Europe’s Christian culture. Orban, who has held office since 2010, has hingedWhile Orban's government has consistently rejected asylum-seekers from the Middle East and Africa, some 2.5 million Ukrainians fleeing war in their country found open doors. Around 35,000 of the refugees remain in Hungary and have registered for temporary protection there, according to the U.N.
“Here it's safe,” Misiats said of her new life. She said she hopes one day to return to Kyiv, but for now she and her children are adapting. “I want to go back home. There it’s my life, it was my life,” she said. “But the war changed my life.” Francis praised the Hungary's Catholic Church for providing aid to people fleeing war and urged continued charity toward any who need help. He heard from a members of a Ukrainian family who fled Russia’s invasion, traveling for days to reach Hungary after missiles rained down on their hometown of Dnipro, in May of last year.
At the end of the event, a band of Hungarian Roma musicians serenaded the pontiff, drawing a standing ovation and cheers from the crowd and a thumbs up from Francis.
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