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.