FM Szijjártó: Hungary and the Vatican will continue to stand up for peace

Hungary and the Vatican will remain consistent in supporting peace and peace efforts through “every means possible”, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on Friday.

Vatican and Hungary: pro-peace

At a joint press conference in Budapest with Paul Richard Gallagher, his Vatican counterpart, Szijjártó said the war in Ukraine was “one of the biggest sources of danger” for the world and Europe today. The minister expressed his appreciation for the role the Holy See has played in keeping in contact with and urging peace talks between the warring sides.

“We agree with Bishop Gallagher’s earlier assessment that more courage is needed for peace than for war, and that we should choose dialogue over violence and honesty over hypocrisy,” Szijjártó said, according to a ministry statement. “We will consistently stand up for peace in the coming period as well, and we will support peace efforts through every means possible.”

He also expressed hope that Brussels would not hinder the peace process, welcoming the agreements between Russia and the United States on a ceasefire on the Black Sea and a ban on strikes on energy infrastructure. “It is especially good news for Hungary that the Russia-US agreement on a ban on energy infrastructure strikes includes the infrastructure needed to deliver energy to Hungary,” the minister noted.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó said attacks against Christian communities were intensifying. “Last year there were 380 million Christians living in places where they faced persecution, and there were 4,476 documented cases worldwide of Christians getting killed for their faith,” Szijjártó said. “This is obviously unacceptable.”

Persecuted Christians

He reaffirmed the Hungarian government’s commitment to supporting persecuted Christians through the Hungary Helps humanitarian programme, noting that the government has spent over 40 billion forints (EUR 100.0m) on more than 400 humanitarian projects in 64 countries so far. He also said more than 15 percent of Hungarian students, or around 260,000, attend church-run schools compared with 112,000 in 2010.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó welcomed that Pope Francis has been discharged from hospital and has returned to the Vatican. “We pray for his full recovery, and we’ll always remember and be proud of his apostolic visit to Hungary,” he said. Szijjártó also welcomed the coming beatification of Mária Magdolna Bódi, a Christian martyr killed in 1945, and Greek Catholic Bishop Péter Pál Orosz.

Anti-Pride law

In response to a question about statement released by 22 embassies in Hungary protesting the amendment to the law on assembly, Szijjártó said: “We are a sovereign state. We have never and will never accept being told from the outside how we ought to live over here.” He said it was up to parliament to decide what laws it passes or votes down.

“If one of my ambassadors ever participated in a protest like this, I would fire them immediately,” Szijjártó said. “And since they are fully aware of this, they never take part in these kinds of protests. I don’t send ambassadors abroad so that they interfere in the given country’s internal affairs, and we expect the ambassadors serving in our country not to do it, either.”

Deputy PM commemorates former apostolic nuncio Angelo Rotta

Former apostolic nuncio Angelo Rotta was a professional diplomat and priest boasting traits that allowed him to save thousands of people during the Holocaust, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén said at the commemoration marking the 60th anniversary of Rotta’s death in the Buda Castle on Friday.

Rotta served as the Vatican’s representative in Budapest from 1930 to 1945 and “during those 15 years he became a bit Hungarian himself after learning the tragedies in Hungarian history and reality,” Semjén said at the event held at the plaque on the wall of the former Apostolic nunciature.

The nuncio had saved the life of several thousands by issuing temporary protective passports (tschutzpass) to 15,000 Jews whereas the contingent allowed for only 2,500, he said, adding that “with what he had done in saving human lives Rotta left his mark in Hungary’s history forever”.

Addressing the ceremony, Archbishop Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, said that Rotta was the last apostolic nuncio to serve in Budapest until the democratic change.

Conveying Pope Francis’ message, he said that the deeds of Angelo Rotta should “encourage us to raise our voice in defence of the suffering and persecuted and guard peace with unwavering loyalty”.

Read also:

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