He Pope Francisco heard this Saturday testimonies from Ukrainians who fled the war to Hungary and thanked the way, “not only with generosity but with enthusiasm”with which the Church of this country has welcomed them, during a meeting with refugees and poor people in the church of Santa Isabel in Budapestduring his second day of visit to the Balkan nation.
Numerous people came to this Church to listen to the Pope. Ukrainian and Pakistani refugees, while no people from Africa were seen. Syria and Afghanistan, much less present in the face of the harsh anti-immigration policy of the Government of Viktor Orban.
In the pews of this church were also seen dozens of poor and gypsy families which are cared for by the local Caritas.
The pope heard testimony from a Hungarian woman, a Ukrainian father, and a deacon and his wife who care for vulnerable and homeless people.
In front of the Pope he spoke Brigitta of Mariapócsin Hungary, who recounted her childhood of hardships as a farm worker and who married at the age of 17 and lived through a series of hardships.
“This is the testimony that is asked of us: compassion towards everyone, especially towards those who are marked by poverty, disease and pain. We need a Church that is fluent in the language of charitya universal language that everyone hears and understands, even the furthest away, even those who do not believe,” the Pope said after listening to the Hungarian mother.
And he added: “thank you for the way in which you have welcomed, not only generously but also with enthusiasm, many refugees from Ukraine” when recalling the testimony of Oleg and his family and their journey fleeing the horrors of war.
Oleg, his wife Lyumilla and their five children they fled in May 2022, when in Dnipro and other cities missiles exploded all night and many buildings collapsed. He explained that in Hungary he has been able to start a new life and thanked the pope for “speaking in favor of peace and defending the victims of war.”
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who escaped the war have passed through this country, although only about 35,000 have requested temporary protection status to be able to stay, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
In the front row was also Olesia, who decided to escape pregnant with her two daughters from kyiv, where she worked as a nurse. But in Hungary she has found her happiness again. She explained to the news agency EFE before the arrival of the pope to the church that respects him “for his prayers for us and for the end of this war. I thank you with all my heart.”
Despite the criticism of Orbán for his immigration policies, Olesia explains that she previously went through the Netherlands, but it was too expensive a country, while even though she had to wait three months in Hungary, she got an apartment and help. He does not know if he will return to Ukrainehere he has made a life and he only hopes to be able to go back to school to get a job.
On the charity of the Church, the Pope affirmed that “it is not enough to give the bread that feeds the stomach, it is necessary to feed people’s hearts. Charity is not a simple material and social assistance, but cares about the whole person and wants to put it back on its feet with the love of Jesus: a love that helps to recover beauty and dignity.
“Brothers and sisters, I encourage you to always speak the language of charity,” Francis concluded.
The Pope also visited the Catholic Institute for blind children in the morning “Blessed Laszlo Batthyany-Strattmann” from Budapest, where about 70 boys live, whom he greeted while a small orchestra and a choir sang for him.
“Thank you for your songs, your gestures, your eyes,” the pope told the youth at this center on the outskirts of Budapest.
(With information from EFE)
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Source-www.infobae.com