#BreakingNews Pope Francis Arrives in Hungary and Speaks to Authorities "...the truth of Christ involves meekness, it involves kindness, in the spirit of the Beatitudes." FULL TEXT
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Apostolic Journey of Pope Francis to Hungary (28-30 April 2023) - Official Reception, Welcome Ceremony, Courtesy Visit to the President of the Republic and Meeting with the Authorities, 04.28.2023
Official welcome at Budapest International Airport
Upon his arrival at Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Budapest, the Holy Father Francis was welcomed by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary, H.E. Mr. Zsolt Semjén. Two children in traditional dress offered him bread and salt.
Then, after the presentation of the local delegations, the Pope and the Deputy Prime Minister went to the VIP lounge of the airport for a brief meeting.
At the end, Pope Francis drove to Palazzo Sándor for the Welcome Ceremony, the Courtesy Visit to the President of the Republic and the meeting with the Prime Minister.
Welcome Ceremony, Courtesy Visit to the President of the Republic and Meeting with the Prime Minister at the Sándor Palace
At 11.15 am, the Holy Father arrived at the Sándor Palace where the Official Welcoming Ceremony took place.
Upon his arrival, the Pope was welcomed by the President of the Republic of Hungary, H.E. Mrs. Katalin Novák, in the square in front of the Palace.
After the presentation of the respective Delegations, the honoring of the flags, the execution of the anthems and the Guard of Honour, the Pope and the President reached the Empire Hall for the Official photo and the Signing of the Book of Honour. Then they went to the Blue Room, where, after the exchange of gifts, the private meeting and the presentation of the family took place.
At the same time, in the adjacent room, a meeting took place between the Cardinal Secretary of State and the Prime Minister, in the presence of the Substitute of the Secretariat of State, the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, the Apostolic Nuncio and the Counselor of the Nunciature.
At the end of the courtesy visit, the President accompanied the Pope to the Maria Theresa Hall where a brief private meeting was held with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary, H.E. Mr. Viktor Orbán, and his family members.
Then, the Pope went to the hall of the former Carmelite monastery for the meeting with the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps.
Meeting with the Authorities, Civil Society and the Diplomatic Corps at the Sándor Palace
At 12.50, in the hall of the former Carmelite monastery at the Sándor Palace, the Holy Father Francis met the political and religious authorities, the representatives of civil society and culture and the members of the diplomatic corps.
After the speech of the President of the Republic of Hungary, H.E. Katalin Novák, the Pope delivered his speech.
At the end of the meeting with the authorities, accompanied by the President and the Prime Minister, the Holy Father went to the terrace behind the former Carmelite convent, from which the city of Budapest can be seen below.
Then Pope Francis went by car to the Apostolic Nunciature where, upon his arrival, he was welcomed by the staff of the Pontifical Representation.
We publish below the speech that the Pope gave during the meeting with the Authorities, Civil Society and the Diplomatic Corps:
FULL TEXT Speech of the Holy Father
Madam President of the Republic,
Mr Prime Minister,
Distinguished Members of the Government and of the Diplomatic Corps,
Distinguished Authorities and Representatives of civil society,
Ladies and gentlemen!
I cordially greet you and thank the Madam President for the welcome and also for her kind and profound words. Politics is born from the city, from the polis, from the concrete passion for living together, guaranteeing rights and respecting duties. Few cities help us reflect on this as Budapest, which is not only an elegant and vital capital, but a central place in history: witness of significant turning points over the centuries, it is called to be a protagonist of the present and the future; here, as one of your great poets wrote, «the soft waves of the Danube embrace each other, which is past, present and future» (A. József, Al Danubio). So I would like to share some thoughts, taking a cue from Budapest as a city of history, a city of bridges and a city of saints.
1. City of history. This capital has ancient origins, as evidenced by the remains of the Celtic and Roman eras. However, its splendor brings us back to modernity, when it was the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during that period of peace known as the belle époque, which extended from the years of its foundation until the First World War. Arising in peacetime, it has known painful conflicts: not only invasions of distant times but, in the last century, violence and oppression caused by the Nazi and Communist dictatorships - how can we forget 1956? And, during the Second World War, the deportation of tens and tens of thousands of inhabitants, with the remaining population of Jewish origin locked up in the ghetto and subjected to numerous massacres. In this context, there have been many brave righteous men – I am thinking of Nuncio Angelo Rotta, for example – a lot of resilience and great commitment to rebuilding, so that today Budapest is one of the European cities with the highest percentage of Jewish population, the center of a country which knows the value of freedom and that, after paying a high price to dictatorships, carries within itself the mission of guarding the treasure of democracy and the dream of peace.
In this regard, I would like to return to the founding of Budapest, which is solemnly celebrated this year. In fact, it took place 150 years ago, in 1873, from the union of three cities: Buda and Óbuda to the west of the Danube with Pest, located on the opposite bank. The birth of this great capital in the heart of the continent recalls the unitary path undertaken by Europe, in which Hungary finds its vital bed. In the post-war period, Europe represented, together with the United Nations, the great hope, in the common goal that a closer link between nations would prevent further conflicts. Unfortunately that was not the case. In the world in which we live, however, the passion for community politics and for multilateralism seems like a beautiful memory of the past: we seem to be witnessing the sad sunset of the choral dream of peace, while the soloists of war are making room. In general, the enthusiasm to build a peaceful and stable community of nations seems to have disintegrated in souls, while zones are marked, differences are marked, nationalisms roar again and judgments and tones are exaggerated towards others. On an international level it even seems that politics has the effect of inflaming spirits rather than solving problems, forgetting the maturity reached after the horrors of war and regressing to a sort of war infantilism. But peace will never come from pursuing one's own strategic interests, but from policies capable of looking at the whole, at everyone's development: attentive to people, the poor and tomorrow; not only to the power, earnings and opportunities of the present.
Official welcome at Budapest International Airport
Upon his arrival at Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Budapest, the Holy Father Francis was welcomed by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary, H.E. Mr. Zsolt Semjén. Two children in traditional dress offered him bread and salt.
Then, after the presentation of the local delegations, the Pope and the Deputy Prime Minister went to the VIP lounge of the airport for a brief meeting.
At the end, Pope Francis drove to Palazzo Sándor for the Welcome Ceremony, the Courtesy Visit to the President of the Republic and the meeting with the Prime Minister.
Welcome Ceremony, Courtesy Visit to the President of the Republic and Meeting with the Prime Minister at the Sándor Palace
At 11.15 am, the Holy Father arrived at the Sándor Palace where the Official Welcoming Ceremony took place.
Upon his arrival, the Pope was welcomed by the President of the Republic of Hungary, H.E. Mrs. Katalin Novák, in the square in front of the Palace.
After the presentation of the respective Delegations, the honoring of the flags, the execution of the anthems and the Guard of Honour, the Pope and the President reached the Empire Hall for the Official photo and the Signing of the Book of Honour. Then they went to the Blue Room, where, after the exchange of gifts, the private meeting and the presentation of the family took place.
At the same time, in the adjacent room, a meeting took place between the Cardinal Secretary of State and the Prime Minister, in the presence of the Substitute of the Secretariat of State, the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, the Apostolic Nuncio and the Counselor of the Nunciature.
At the end of the courtesy visit, the President accompanied the Pope to the Maria Theresa Hall where a brief private meeting was held with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary, H.E. Mr. Viktor Orbán, and his family members.
Then, the Pope went to the hall of the former Carmelite monastery for the meeting with the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps.
Meeting with the Authorities, Civil Society and the Diplomatic Corps at the Sándor Palace
At 12.50, in the hall of the former Carmelite monastery at the Sándor Palace, the Holy Father Francis met the political and religious authorities, the representatives of civil society and culture and the members of the diplomatic corps.
After the speech of the President of the Republic of Hungary, H.E. Katalin Novák, the Pope delivered his speech.
At the end of the meeting with the authorities, accompanied by the President and the Prime Minister, the Holy Father went to the terrace behind the former Carmelite convent, from which the city of Budapest can be seen below.
Then Pope Francis went by car to the Apostolic Nunciature where, upon his arrival, he was welcomed by the staff of the Pontifical Representation.
We publish below the speech that the Pope gave during the meeting with the Authorities, Civil Society and the Diplomatic Corps:
FULL TEXT Speech of the Holy Father
Madam President of the Republic,
Mr Prime Minister,
Distinguished Members of the Government and of the Diplomatic Corps,
Distinguished Authorities and Representatives of civil society,
Ladies and gentlemen!
I cordially greet you and thank the Madam President for the welcome and also for her kind and profound words. Politics is born from the city, from the polis, from the concrete passion for living together, guaranteeing rights and respecting duties. Few cities help us reflect on this as Budapest, which is not only an elegant and vital capital, but a central place in history: witness of significant turning points over the centuries, it is called to be a protagonist of the present and the future; here, as one of your great poets wrote, «the soft waves of the Danube embrace each other, which is past, present and future» (A. József, Al Danubio). So I would like to share some thoughts, taking a cue from Budapest as a city of history, a city of bridges and a city of saints.
1. City of history. This capital has ancient origins, as evidenced by the remains of the Celtic and Roman eras. However, its splendor brings us back to modernity, when it was the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during that period of peace known as the belle époque, which extended from the years of its foundation until the First World War. Arising in peacetime, it has known painful conflicts: not only invasions of distant times but, in the last century, violence and oppression caused by the Nazi and Communist dictatorships - how can we forget 1956? And, during the Second World War, the deportation of tens and tens of thousands of inhabitants, with the remaining population of Jewish origin locked up in the ghetto and subjected to numerous massacres. In this context, there have been many brave righteous men – I am thinking of Nuncio Angelo Rotta, for example – a lot of resilience and great commitment to rebuilding, so that today Budapest is one of the European cities with the highest percentage of Jewish population, the center of a country which knows the value of freedom and that, after paying a high price to dictatorships, carries within itself the mission of guarding the treasure of democracy and the dream of peace.
In this regard, I would like to return to the founding of Budapest, which is solemnly celebrated this year. In fact, it took place 150 years ago, in 1873, from the union of three cities: Buda and Óbuda to the west of the Danube with Pest, located on the opposite bank. The birth of this great capital in the heart of the continent recalls the unitary path undertaken by Europe, in which Hungary finds its vital bed. In the post-war period, Europe represented, together with the United Nations, the great hope, in the common goal that a closer link between nations would prevent further conflicts. Unfortunately that was not the case. In the world in which we live, however, the passion for community politics and for multilateralism seems like a beautiful memory of the past: we seem to be witnessing the sad sunset of the choral dream of peace, while the soloists of war are making room. In general, the enthusiasm to build a peaceful and stable community of nations seems to have disintegrated in souls, while zones are marked, differences are marked, nationalisms roar again and judgments and tones are exaggerated towards others. On an international level it even seems that politics has the effect of inflaming spirits rather than solving problems, forgetting the maturity reached after the horrors of war and regressing to a sort of war infantilism. But peace will never come from pursuing one's own strategic interests, but from policies capable of looking at the whole, at everyone's development: attentive to people, the poor and tomorrow; not only to the power, earnings and opportunities of the present.
At this historical juncture, Europe is fundamental. Because it, thanks to its history, represents the memory of humanity and is therefore called to play the role that corresponds to it: that of uniting the distant, of welcoming peoples within it and of leaving no one forever an enemy. It is therefore essential to rediscover the European soul: the enthusiasm and the dream of the founding fathers, statesmen who have been able to look beyond their own time, beyond national borders and immediate needs, generating diplomacies capable of mending unity, not of broadening rip. I think of when De Gasperi said at a round table which Schuman and Adenauer also took part in: «It is for itself, not to oppose it to others, that we advocate a united Europe... we work for unity, not for division» (Speech at the Round Table of Europe, Rome, 13 October 1953). And again, according to what Schuman said: «The contribution that an organized and vital Europe can make to civilization is indispensable for the maintenance of peaceful relations», since – memorable words! – «World peace can only be safeguarded with creative efforts, proportional to the dangers that threaten it» (Schuman Declaration, 9 May 1950). In this historical phase there are many dangers; but, I wonder, even thinking of battered Ukraine, where are the creative peace efforts?
2. Budapest is a city of bridges. Seen from above, "the pearl of the Danube" shows its peculiarity thanks to the bridges that unite its parts, harmonizing its configuration with that of the great river. This harmony with the environment leads me to congratulate you on the ecological care that this country pursues with great commitment. But the bridges, which connect different realities, also suggest reflecting on the importance of a unity that does not mean uniformity. In Budapest this emerges from the notable variety of circumscriptions that make it up, more than twenty. Even the Europe of twenty-seven, built to build bridges between nations, needs everyone's contribution without diminishing anyone's singularity. In this regard, a founding father predicted: «Europe will exist and nothing of what made the glory and happiness of every nation will be lost. It is precisely in a larger society, in a more powerful harmony, that the individual can assert himself» (Intervention cit.). There is a need for this harmony: for a whole that does not flatten the parts and for parts that feel well integrated into the whole, but retaining their own identity. In this regard, what the Hungarian Constitution states is significant: "Individual freedom can only develop in collaboration with others"; and again: «We believe that our national culture is a rich contribution to the multicolored European unity».
I am therefore thinking of a Europe that is not held hostage by the parties, falling prey to self-referential populisms, but that neither is transformed into a fluid, if not gaseous, reality, into a sort of abstract supranationalism, oblivious to the lives of peoples. This is the nefarious path of "ideological colonizations", which eliminate differences, as in the case of the so-called gender culture, or put reductive concepts of freedom before the reality of life, for example by boasting as a conquest a senseless "right to abortion", which it is always a tragic defeat. On the other hand, how wonderful it is to build a Europe centered on the person and on peoples, where there are effective policies for the birth rate and the family - we have countries in Europe with an average age of 46-48 years - carefully pursued in this country, where different nations are a family in which the growth and uniqueness of each are preserved. The most famous bridge in Budapest, that of the chains, helps us to imagine a similar Europe, made up of many different large rings, which find their solidity in forming solid ties together. In this the Christian faith helps and Hungary can act as a "bridge", making use of its specific ecumenical character: here different confessions coexist without antagonisms - I remember the meeting I had with them a year and a half ago -, collaborating respectfully with a constructive spirit. With my mind and heart I go to the Abbey of Pannonhalma, one of the great spiritual monuments of this country, a place of prayer and a bridge of fraternity.
3. And this leads me to consider the last aspect: Budapest, the city of saints - the Madam President spoke of Saint Elizabeth -, as the new painting placed in this room also suggests. Our thoughts can only go to Saint Stephen, the first king of Hungary, who lived in an era in which Christians in Europe were in full communion; the statue of him, inside the Buda Castle, overlooks and protects the city, while the Basilica dedicated to him in the heart of the capital is, together with that of Esztergom, the most impressive religious building in the country. Thus Hungarian history was born marked by holiness, and not only of a king, but of an entire family: his wife, the Blessed Gisella, and his son Saint Emeric. He received some recommendations from his father, which constitute a sort of testament for the Magyar people. Today they promised to give me the tome, I'm waiting for it! We read very topical words in it: "I recommend that you be kind not only towards your family and kinship, or with the powerful and wealthy, or with your neighbor and with your inhabitants, but also with foreigners". St. Stephen motivates all this with a genuine Christian spirit, writing: "It is the practice of love that leads to supreme happiness". And he concludes by saying: «Be meek so as never to fight the truth» (Admonitions, X). Thus he inseparably combines truth and meekness. It is a great teaching of faith: Christian values cannot be witnessed through rigidity and closures, because the truth of Christ involves meekness, it involves kindness, in the spirit of the Beatitudes. That Hungarian popular goodness is rooted here, revealed by certain expressions of common speech, such as: "jónak lenni jó" [it is good to be good] and "jobb adni mint kapni" [it is better to give than to receive].
From this shines not only the richness of a solid identity, but the need for openness to others, as the Constitution recognizes when it declares: "We respect the freedom and culture of other peoples, we are committed to collaborating with all the nations of the world". It further states: «The national minorities who live with us are part of the Hungarian political community and are constituent parts of the State», and proposes the commitment «for the care and protection [...] of the languages and cultures of the national minorities in Hungary". This perspective is truly evangelical, which contrasts a certain tendency, sometimes justified in the name of one's own traditions and even of faith, to withdraw into oneself.
The constitutive text, in a few decisive words imbued with a Christian spirit, also asserts: "We declare assistance to the needy and the poor to be an obligation". This recalls the continuation of the story of Hungarian holiness, told by the many places of worship in the capital: from the first king, who established the foundations of common life, to a princess who elevates the building towards further purity. She is Saint Elizabeth, whose testimony has reached every latitude. This daughter of your land died at the age of twenty-four after having renounced all goods and having distributed everything to the poor. She dedicated herself to the end, in the hospital that she had built, to care for the sick: it is a shining gem of the Gospel.
Distinguished Authorities, I would like to thank you for the promotion of the charitable and educational works inspired by these values and in which the local Catholic community is committed, as well as for the concrete support of so many Christians tried in the world, especially in Syria and Lebanon. A fruitful collaboration between State and Church is fruitful which, in order to be such, however, needs to safeguard the appropriate distinctions. It is important that every Christian remembers this, keeping the Gospel as a point of reference, in order to adhere to the free and liberating choices of Jesus and not lend themselves to a sort of collateralism with the logic of power. From this point of view, a healthy secularism is good, which does not fall into widespread secularism, which shows itself allergic to every sacred aspect and then sacrifices itself on the altars of profit. Whoever professes to be a Christian, accompanied by witnesses of the faith, is primarily called to bear witness and to walk with everyone, cultivating a humanism inspired by the Gospel and set out along two fundamental tracks: recognizing oneself as the Father's beloved children and loving each one as a brother.
In this sense, Santo Stefano left his son extraordinary words of fraternity, saying that "the country is adorned" by those who come there with different languages and customs. In fact – he wrote – “a country that has only one language and one custom is weak and crumbling. For this reason I recommend that you welcome strangers and hold them in honour, so that they would rather stay with you than elsewhere" (Admonitions, VI). It is a theme, that of hospitality, which arouses many debates in our day and is certainly complex. However, for those who are Christians, the basic attitude cannot be different from that which Saint Stephen transmitted, after learning it from Jesus, who identified himself with the stranger to be welcomed (cf. Mt 25:35). It is by thinking of Christ present in so many desperate brothers and sisters fleeing conflict, poverty and climate change, that it is necessary to face the problem without excuses and delays. It is a theme to be tackled together, as a community, also because, in the context in which we live, sooner or later the consequences will affect everyone. Therefore it is urgent, as Europe, to work on safe and legal ways, on shared mechanisms in the face of an epochal challenge that cannot be stemmed by rejecting, but must be accepted to prepare for a future which, if it is not together, will not exist. This calls those who follow Jesus and want to imitate the example of the witnesses of the Gospel to the forefront.
It is not possible to mention all the great confessors of the faith of Sacred Pannonia, but I would like at least to mention Saint Ladislaus and Saint Margaret, and to refer to certain majestic figures of the last century, such as Cardinal József Mindszenty, the Blessed Martyr Bishops Vilmos Apor and Zoltán Meszlényi, Blessed László Batthyány-Strattmann. They are, together with many righteous people of various creeds, fathers and mothers of your country. I would like to entrust the future of this country, so dear to me, to them. And while I thank you for having listened to what I had in mind to share – I thank you for your patience – I assure you of my closeness and my prayers for all Hungarians, and I do so with a special thought for those who live outside the Homeland and for those I have met in my life and they have done me so much good. I think of the Hungarian religious community that I witnessed in Buenos Aires. Isten, áldd meg a magyart! [God, bless the Hungarians!]
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