Hungary maintains a zero-tolerance policy against anti-Semitism, “including anti-Semitism disguised as anti-Zionism and anti-Israel sentiment,” the minister for European Union affairs said in Budapest on Wednesday.
János Bóka told a commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the deportation of Hungarian Jews that while holding the Council of the EU’s rotating presidency, Hungary will see it as a priority to cooperate with member states, EU institutions and European Jewish communities to further European Jewish communities and Jewish heritage.
At a time when Europe is facing rising anti-Semitism and intolerance, cross-border and cross-community cooperation against all forms of hate is especially important, Bóka said.
At the commemoration held at the Holocaust Memorial Centre in downtown Budapest and organised by the Hungarian presidency of the EU, Andor Grósz, the head of the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities Mazsihisz, said the centre showed examples of what discrimination and hate led to. “We learned the lesson at the cost of 6 million lives, we need a lot of effort to vanquish anti-Semitism,” Grosz said.
Minister calls for ‘European solutions’ to strengthen competitiveness
European Union Affairs Minister Bóka said “European solutions” were necessary to strengthen the EU’s competitiveness, ones that were supported by cultural, political and historical traditions, in a presentation delivered at a meeting of the heads of the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Eurochambres) in Budapest on Wednesday.
Bóka said European values couldn’t be sacrificed in the interest of catching up with the United States and China. He added that Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the EU aimed to start the debate on steps to address the EU’s competitiveness. He said Hungary wanted to see a new EU competitiveness deal signed in Budapest in November.
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The international community must prevent a further escalation in the crisis in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in New York on Tuesday, warning of the “serious impact” that an even deeper crisis would have on global security.
Middle East
Commenting on recent “unsettling reports” from the Middle East, Szijjártó said, according to a ministry statement, that like the war in Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East was moving ever closer to escalation and an expansion of the crisis, “which could also severely undermine global security”.
“The involvement of Lebanon in the conflict, I believe, has significance beyond itself because if one more country becomes involved in the conflict, it will not stop at the country’s borders,” he warned.
“I think the Lebanese people bear no blame for the crisis that has developed, and I really hope that the Lebanese people won’t have to suffer because of it,” he said.
He pointed to the Hungarian government’s close ties with Lebanon’s Christian community, saying they were in constant contact and Hungary would provide them with any help they may need.
“The Hungarian government has carried out roughly 5 billion forints’ worth of development, support, and humanitarian programs in Lebanon in recent years, which were used to build churches and support the operations of schools and monasteries,” he noted.
Szijjártó also expressed hope that “everyone will have the sound judgment in the coming days” needed to prevent a further escalation of the Middle East crisis and “the suffering of further millions.”
Meanwhile, Szijjártó said he is scheduled to meet his Lebanese counterpart on Wednesday, and the Middle East crisis will be one of the topics on the agenda.
Africa strategy
Concerning his bilateral talks scheduled for Tuesday, the minister said he will discuss security matters, including migration pressure, with some of his African and Asian counterparts.
“I think it’s clear to everyone by now that if Europe is unable to draft a comprehensive Africa strategy, it won’t be able to escape a degree of migration pressure that is incomparably greater than what it is experiencing now,” he said.
Szijjártó said Africa’s population is projected to grow by around 750 million over the next two decades, “and these people will have to be given jobs, education, and health care.”
“If we can’t make that happen, we could be faced with the biggest humanitarian disaster in history or the greatest level of migration pressure Europe has ever seen,” he warned.
“It would be good to avoid both, so we’ll be speaking about cooperation on migration and development with the leaders of the African states,” he added.
Honduras
On another subject, Szijjártó said Honduras is joining Hungary’s scholarship programme, with the country set to offer Honduran students the opportunity to study at Hungarian universities. He also welcomed Cuba’s interest in Hungarian water management technologies.
Szijjártó said he would also meet the foreign ministers of Asian countries and that Hungary and Cambodia agreed to open embassies in each other’s countries. The minister said he is set to sign a cooperation agreement on diplomacy training with Uzbekistan and that he will discuss the situation in the Middle East with the top diplomat of the United Arab Emirates.
Jihadists have killed at least 400 civilians in a new spree of anti-Christian violence in Burkina Faso, the state secretary responsible for programmes aiding Christians said on Tuesday.
Azbej said the killings had been clearly anti-Christian. They “leave no doubt that there are Islamist extremists behind it: 26 people were beheaded in a church where they gathered to attend service,” he said.
“We think Christians’ lives and dignity is worth as much as anyone else’s. That is why Hungary’s government was the first to elevate aid for persecuted Christian to the level of a state-funded programme,” he said.
The Hungary Helps programme has provided aid in more than 50 countries, and has launched support schemes in regions of the Sahel suffering violence, he said.
“The persecution of Christians must end and the world must stand by the persecuted innocent instead of showing indifference and suppressing what happened. Let us pray for the survivors … and act to bring an end to violence,” Azbej said.
In the last few hours, there have been several events related to the flooding, summarised here:
Orbán postpones all international obligations
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Monday that he has postponed all of his international obligations due to the extreme weather conditions and the ongoing floods in Hungary.
He posted the announcement on the X social media platform.
Orbán had canceled his speech at the European Parliament, a visit to Vatican City later this week, and will not attend the UN General Assembly in New York. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó will represent Hungary at the latter, he added.
Magyar: PM made the right decision to postpone the Strasbourg trip
“Accepting our recommendation, Viktor Orbán canceled his participation in the European Parliament debate in Strasbourg,” Magyar said in a statement.
“This is the right decision,” he said. “There is no place for political debates in such a serious flood situation, as it calls for total national unity.”
Near-record flood levels
Istvan Lang, the head of Hungary’s Directorate of Water Management, said the recent heavy rainfall has resulted in flood waves in the catchment areas of the Danube and Leitha rivers.
Lang said the flooding of the Leitha is expected to approach or exceed the record water levels. He added that an emergency reservoir will likely have to be opened above the northwestern town of Mosonmagyarovar. The river’s water will be released onto a 140-hectare agricultural area to ease the burden on the town.
Pilismarót, Hungary. Photo: MTI
Pilismarót, Hungary. Photo: MTI
Pilismarót, Hungary. Photo: MTI
Concerning the Danube, he said that water levels at the Szigetkoz island plain in the northwest are expected to reach near-record highs but won’t affect the populated areas. He said the Danube is expected to peak on Thursday and Friday at the Szigetkoz area at Nagybacs near Komarom-Esztergom in the north and Budapest on Saturday and Sunday.
He said the peak water level is expected to be 30-40cm below the 2013 level.
Margaret Island, Budapest. Photo: MTI
Zoltan Gora, who heads the National Disaster Management Directorate, said the operative bodies overseeing the protection efforts were now all up and running.
Levee north of Budapest to be reinforced with 1,000 tonnes of rocks
The government spokeswoman said that the levee along the Danube riverbank at Szigetmonostor, north of Budapest, will be reinforced with 1,000 tonnes of rocks.
According to the latest forecasts, the Danube will peak at Budapest at 860cm, Eszter Vitályos said on Facebook after a meeting of the Pest County defence committee, noting that the river had peaked at 891cm in the 2013 flood.
The spokeswoman said that one of the critical points in the county’s number 3 electoral district, which Vitályos represents, is the levee at the God ferry crossing at Szigetmonostor, which will be reinforced with 1,000 tonnes of rocks. She asked the disaster management authority to intervene on the lower sections of highway 11.
Caritas Hungary, the aid organisation of the Catholic Church, said in a statement on Monday that it is setting aside 10 million forints (EUR ) in emergency aid for the procurement of essential flood protection equipment, mitigating flood damage and supporting those in need.
The organisation is setting up a disaster base at the local parish in Nagybajcs, in north-western Hungary to coordinate the aid efforts.
It also invites donations at www.karitasz.hu and via the donor line 1356.
Hungarian Reformed Church Aid
The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid said in a statement that 30 people are assisting the flood defence work at Dunaalmás and calling on volunteers for the coming days. They will also help out in the village of Tahi, north of Budapest, from Tuesday and in the capital, if necessary. The organisation said it is launching a donation drive on donor line 1358.
Hungarian Baptist Aid
The Hungarian Baptist Aid and the HUBA Rescue24 organisation of firemen and rescue teams have also started flood defence work. The aid organisation is recruiting volunteers and organising donation drives at www.baptistasegely.hu and the donor line 1355.
It appears a new and serious paedophilia scandal is unravelling in Hungary. Father Róbert, a priest from Kecskemét, has been accused of sexually abusing minors over many years. The priest, who had connections with the ruling Fidesz party, was highly regarded within the Catholic Church.
New scandal unfolds
As Szeretlek Magyarország writes, Father Róbert, a parish priest from Kecskemét previously honoured by the Fidesz party, has been suspended following serious allegations of child sexual abuse, according to a report by Népszava. Multiple sources allege that Róbert H. abused minors, including a nine-year-old child, several years ago. Both the Kalocsa-Kecskemét Archdiocese and the Bács-Kiskun County Prosecutor’s Office have launched investigations into the case.
Priest from Kecskemét faces serious accusations
Róbert H., a Catholic priest from Kecskemét, stands accused of sexually abusing minors over a period of many years. It is alleged that some of these abuses took place during events organised by the Nyolc Boldogság Community in Homokkomárom, where youth camps and retreats are held. He reportedly met one of his victims through a church community where clergy and lay believers lived together. Upon learning of the allegations, the Archdiocese of Kalocsa-Kecskemét immediately suspended Róbert H. and initiated a thorough investigation.
Connections to Fidesz
Father Róbert’s links to the ruling Fidesz party have also attracted scrutiny. He was frequently seen in the company of Fidesz politicians and was awarded the Youth for the Community Award by the Fidesz-led Kecskemét municipality in 2017, though he later returned the award. His church was used for Fidesz campaign events, including speeches supporting party candidates
In addition to his political connections, Father Róbert was held in high esteem within the Catholic Church. He was named a titular abbot in July and played a significant role in Pope Francis’ visit to Hungary in 2023. His parish association also received over HUF 100 million (EUR 251,794) in government funding in 2023, some of which was earmarked for sex education programmes.
Why is it problematic if a Roman Catholic priest is gay, participates in gay parties, or maintains intimate relationships with men? Besides church consequences, such facts should remain part of his private life. However, the case of Father Gergő Bese is different. He is one of the flag-bearers of Orbán’s political Christianity, a strong protector of Fidesz from critics from inside the church, an influencer regularly publishing pro-government writings, a public figure, and it seems a financial beneficiary of the Orbán cabinet. Moreover, he kept slamming the LGBTQ movement, supporting and authenticating the government’s campaign by wearing a cassock. UPDATE: the Archbishop of Kalocsa-Kecskemét suspended Bese today. Details below.
On 29 November 2020, József Szájer, one of the founders of Fidesz and closest allies of PM Orbán, also an MEP of the party, submitted his resignation, entering into effect on 31 December. Nobody knew why one of the party’s strongmen resigned.
However, two days later, the Belgian police announced that they caught him fleeing a private 25-man orgy in violation of local coronavirus regulations. According to a statement by the federal prosecutor’s office, Szájer was seen fleeing via a window and a drainpipe.
PM Orbán said they would not forget and refuse his thirty years of work (e.g. drafting Hungary’s new constitution), but what he did did not fit into the values of Fidesz’s political community. Szájer’s departure was followed by opposition slams concerning the government’s anti-LGBTQ measures and attitude.
József Szájer. Source: Fidesz.hu
Flag-bearer of political Christianity participating in gay parties?
It seems September may mark another Szájer-case in Hungary. According to Válasz Online, the new case focuses on Father Gergő Bese, the “star priest” of the Orbán regime. The online portal wrote that there were a series of documents proving that Mr Bese participated in gay parties and maintained intimate relationships with other men.
The Apostolic Nunciature to Hungary acknowledged that they learned about the serious allegations concerning Bese and forwarded the relevant documents to the Archbishop of Kalocsa-Kecskemét. Based on Válasz Online, he will decide in days. Mr Bese will be either suspended or expelled from the clergy.
Photo: FB/Gergő Bese
In government circles, people compare the scandal to Szájer’s, but say it is much worse. Válasz Online heard about the Bese scandal from four Fidesz-KDNP politicians, confirming that Bese took part in gay parties. Among the proofs, there are video recordings and messages. Additionally, some of the videos are available on gay porn sites. The media outlet sent questions to Bese but has not received an answer yet.
They also reached out to Balázs Bábel, the Archbishop of Kalocsa-Kecskemét, but he did not answer. However, Válasz Online learned he was baffled reading about the scandal. He thought he was in a good relationship with Bese but knew nothing about the clergyman’s double life. He will make his decision in days.
The last song as a priest? Photo: FB/Gergő Bese
A public figure slamming Orbán and Fidesz critics
Válasz Online wrote Mr Bese regularly crossed between church and public life. The media outlet said he was a flag-bearer of political Christianity, putting the interests of Fidesz above the Roman Catholic Church. He blessed PM Orbán’s office in Buda Castle’s Carmelite Monastery and the government-close Megafon Centre. He campaigned for the government during the 2022 general elections, writing that those voting for the opposition choose tuition fees in schools, unbearable payments in social institutes and the lockdown of village temples.
Gergő Bese in the government-close Hír FM. Photo: FB/Gergő Bese
He slammed Hungarian singer Gabi Tóth because of her divorce and the drag queens performing at the 2024 Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony. Bese wrote about the LGBTQ ideology and its aim to conquer the world and how difficult it was for a kid living in a single-parent family to find an identity. That is when LGBTQ propaganda can find and “change” them, he argued.
He slammed the demonstration of church school teachers, Péter Magyar, whom he called the Judas of Fidesz, accepting the 30 pieces of silver.
With Hungarian showman Lagzi Lajcsi. Photo: FB/Gergő Bese
His family received millions
Bese is also a financial beneficiary of the Orbán government. In the last six years, they received HUF 41 million (EUR 101 thousand) from a civil fund supporting almost only the Fidesz-close NGOs. Even though the two NGOs applying are officially led by Bese’s mother and sibling, his email address and phone number were given under the contact details. Apart from the subvention, they received more than HUF 60 million (EUR 152 thousand) through different programmes from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Cultural Ministry and the Bethlen Gábor Fund. Moreover, he is renting the Regina Hungarorum in Medjugorje.
UPDATE: Bese suspended
After the publication of Válasz Online’s article, the Archbishop of Kalocsa-Kecskemét issued his official reaction concerning the issue. The brief statement wrote that Dr Balázs Bábel suspended Bese today. Mr Bese has not responded yet to Válasz Online’s questions but his Facebook page and profiles have become unavailable.
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Szájer sex scandal – the former Fidesz MEP is still in touch with the organiser of the orgy
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Christianity and following Christ’s teachings represent Hungary’s moral foundations, President Tamás Sulyak said at the Pannonhalma Archabbey on Monday, addressing a celebration marking the 800th anniversary of the consecration of the abbey built in honour of Saint Martin.
Photo: Facebook/Dr. Sulyok Tamás
Pannonhalma plays an important role in the survival of Christianity and in safeguarding the future of the nation, helping future generations preserve their faith and Christian Hungarian self-identity, Sulyok said, adding that no country could work without moral foundations and order.
“Pannonhalma is a place where they have been using the language of peace for a thousand years, and using this language is something that the whole world badly needs today,” he added.
Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, has promised to restore the damaged decorations of the Holy Crown vandalised on Margaret Bridge a year ago, the St Istvan institute, which petitioned the mayor, said on Monday.
The institute launched an online public petition in cooperation with CitizenGo Magyarorszag for the restoration earlier this month.
It quoted the mayor as saying on public media that
“I condemn every action that seek to desecrate public monuments by removing religious or cultural symbols. Therefore I have ordered the fastest possible restoration of the cross decorations on the Holy Crown on Margaret Bridge.”
“We had to wait an entire year for this to happen but our cooperation has yielded result,” the institute said and thanked some 16,000 signatories for their support.
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Hungary goes beyond talking about solidarity and provides direct help to persecuted Christians, the foreign ministry state secretary in charge of programmes helping Christians said on Thursday, marking the international day commemorating the victims of acts of violence based on religion or belief.
The Hungary Helps international aid scheme launched seven years ago has supported the consolidation of Christian communities in the Middle East, and provided humanitarian help, food and drugs to Christians who lost their home in several African countries, Tristan Azbejtold public television.
Hungary has a vested interest in providing help because it can prevent a new wave of migration, he added.
He cited statistics showing that some 300 million people around the world are subjected to discrimination or get systematically persecuted by terrorist organisations because of their Christian faith. “There is not much talk about this tragedy globally, and especially in the West they try to hide and even deny that the majority of people persecuted because of their religion are Christians,” he added.
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Aurel Perca, the archbishop of Bucharest, noted the “attacks against Europe’s Christian values” in his sermon at a ceremonial mass in Budapest’s Saint Stephen’s Basilica, on the day of the basilica’s name-giver and Hungary’s national holiday on Tuesday.
The archbishop said “Christian culture, which has facilitated welfare and development both for individuals and society, seems to teeter.”
“We are witnessing great battles waged against the Church and God, as if they wanted to wipe out the traces of a Christian Europe,” he said. “As long as some seek to see a Europe without God and Christian values Europe is in jeopardy,” he added.
Orbán’s secretary calls on Hungarians ‘to insist on Christian foundations’
Hungarians “must insist on the Christian foundations of their statehood” and seek alliance with communities that “have the courage to speak up against the desctructive and violent frenzy mocking Christian teaching”, Miklós Soltész, state secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, told a Saint Stephen’s Daycelebration in Szekler Land, in Romania, on Tuesday.
Referring to the remonstrances of Stephen I, Hungary’s sainted king, to his son, Soltész said “it is important to welcome and take care of strangers but only as long as it does not jeopardise the Christian faith, the nation, and the homeland.” He also suggested that law was crucial but it should not be used “to tie up” countries or “to destroy the moral foundations of the created world”.
Soltész lambasted the European Union for what he saw as misinterpreting Christian teachings “for ideological and economic reasons” and for “abusing the patience and good nature of Christians to make them accept its destructive, pro-war ideology”.
The state secretary said it had been a major mistake by Europe’s Christian community “to accept the French Revolution’s ideals of separating church and state”. “We have allowed for the destruction of Judeo-Christian teachings, the foundations of Europe,” he insisted.
“We should bravely confess that we are proud that King Saint Stephen built the Hungarian state on solid foundations a thousand years ago and made Hungary a part of a Christian Europe,” Soltész said.
Culture minister marks national holiday at Esztergom
Balázs Hankó, the minister of culture and innovation, marked the August 20 national holiday at Esztergom, north of Budapest, on Tuesday.
Hankó said the holiday was that of a thousand years of Hungarian statehood, “which reminds us that we Hungarians can decide for ourselves which values to retain even without advice from so called friends.” Those values are “ones shaping and reinforcing the nation”, he added.
The Hungarian nation “does not need to be given directions … we know who we are, where we come from and where our place is in the world: we are at home in Europe,” the minister said.
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István Nagy, the minister of agriculture, handed over state decorations and professional awards at a ceremony held at the Hungarian Agricultural Museum on Monday, the eve of Hungary’s August 20 state holiday.
Hungarian agriculture minister hands over state decorations
In his address, the minister said August 20, “the holiday of [King] Saint Stephen is to celebrate Christian faith, traditions, and culture, a three-fold unity that serves as a foundation for the cohesion and survival of the Hungarian nation”.
“For a thousand years … we have been building our homeland, our shared home; the thousand-year-old Christian Hungarian state is therefore the shared achievement of the whole nation,” he said. “We Hungarians will continue on the path determined by the brave decisions and wise vision of Saint Stephen,” Nagy said. “Freedom and free self-determination, faith, culture, and respect for the traditions,” the minister mentioned as the foundations for that path. “This is the path of survival for us, one which Europe should return to before it is too late,” he added.
In a world torn apart by crises, only nations with communities holding together can survive, the minister for public administration and regional development said in Révfülöp on Sunday, ahead of the August 20 national holiday celebrating Hungary’s statehood.
Navracsics in Révfülöp
Speaking in Révfülöp, at Lake Balaton, Tibor Navracsics said Hungary would remain strong if its “close-knit communities” helped the weak and “if we don’t let us be distracted by fake problems and fake debates.”
“The legacy of St Stephen … was creating a church, a state and a community, providing security not only for those of Hungarian ethnicity but all nations who felt Hungary was their homeland.”
St Stephen, Hungary’s first king and first Christian ruler, “created traditions … that helped us and gave us strength to preserve the nation in the future as well,” Navracsics said.
Nations in the Carpathian Basin can survive only if they cooperate “as the universal successors of King Saint Stephen”, Hungarian parliament speaker László Kövér said in Velke Kapusany (Nagykapos), in southern Slovakia at a commemoration celebrating Hungary’s statehood on Sunday.
Hungarian parliament speaker talks about cooperation
Speaking at a commemoration in the Slovak town with a sizeable ethnic Hungarian community, Kövér cited milestones of Hungary’s history such as noted the settlement in the Carpathian Basin, the foundation of the Christian state. “Throughout history, every generation of Hungarians wanted to live under its own rules and freedom, and faced attempts by various foreign empires to eliminate that freedom, to chase Hungarians away or exterminate them. But even if the country seemed to be on the brink of annihilation, it had the strength to find the path of survival and start again.”
“Withstanding attacks from the east and the west by empires that finally disappeared in history … Hungary always re-emerged on the foundations of St Stephen,” Kövér said. Referring to the current situation in Europe, the house speaker said: “Private global powers concentrating wealth exceeding that of most states are trying to hold European nation states hostage … the same powers are trying to turn our ideals — peace, democracy, prosperity and a culture based on Christianity — into tools of war, dictatorship, impoverishment and anti-Christianity.”
Hungarian parliament speaker László Kövér said that only those states had a chance to survive against the global private powers that protected their national identity. “There is no nation without the sense of belonging together, and without a nation, nation states do not have the right to exist,” the house speaker said. After the commemoration in a local reformed church, participants laid wreaths at the statue of St. Stephen in the nearby park.
Metropolitan Hilarion, the head of the Hungarian Orthodox Church, is a significant figure in Russian-Hungarian church relations, evidenced by his gaining Hungarian citizenship only a few weeks after his arrival in the country. According to a young man who has worked and lived with him, his luxury villa near Budapest has hosted Russian oligarchs and important figures from Hungarian public life alike in recent years. Now, the same man is accusing the leader of sexual abuse.
Metropolitan Hilarion, the right-hand man of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and formerly the second-in-command of the Russian Orthodox Church, has been accused of sexual misconduct, HVG reports. In an interview with the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, his former subordinate revealed details about his dealings in Hungary, including that he lives in a €2.15 million villa and that he has been granted citizenship here.
Who is Metropolitan Hilarion and why did he come to Hungary?
Hilarion (whose secular name is Grigory Valerievich Alfeyev) was long considered the right-hand man of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, seen as his potential successor and the second most powerful leader of the Russian Orthodox Church. However, in 2022, he was suddenly relieved of several of his posts and sent to Hungary without any official explanation. Here, he was appointed Metropolitan of Hungary, becoming the head of the diocese in the country.
“not denied a visa by the Hungarian authorities for political reasons, despite having links to Russian security services. According to [a publication that] specialises in intelligence, he was sent to Hungary because [here] he would be protected from Western European sanctions.”
Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén (right) receives Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk, head of the Office for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, 7 September 2021. Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnökség/Botár Gergely
Georgy Suzuki, then 18 years old, first met Hilarion in 2022 through correspondence and then accompanied him to Hungary as a clergyman. A few weeks later, the metropolitan asked him to move in with him to help with the housework, to which Suzuki agreed.
According to Suzuki, Hilarion forced him to share a room and a bed, in which he had to lie naked. Although they did not have sex, Hilarion had on multiple occasions spent the night in his bed. When Suzuki said that he wanted to leave, the metropolitan threatened that if he did anything, he would get hurt. Suzuki made audio recordings of these events, which he sent to Novaya Gazeta.
In January, Suzuki fled and is now living in Japan. In April, the the Hungarian press reported that Suzuki had stolen large amounts of cash and other valuables from the Hungarian Orthodox Diocese building in Budapest. The man is still wanted by the police for the theft.
The Patriarch’s right-hand man is now a Hungarian citizen?
Hilarion is an important mediator between the Western and Russian Orthodox Churches and has connections to Hungarian politicians too, HVG writes. This is evidenced by the fact that in 2019, he was awarded the Central Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit by Zsolt Semjén, and in 2023, he met Pope Francis during his visit to Hungary. Moreover, according to photos provided by Suzuki, Hilarion received Hungarian citizenship and a passport shortly after his arrival in the country.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán meets Metropolitan Hilarion at the Carmelite Monastery on 6 September 2019. Photo: MTI/Prime Minister’s Press Office
According to Suzuki, Hilarion lived a luxurious life in the country, and they went skiing and sailing together on several occasions, as well as on multiple yachting trips. Suzuki shared photos of these trips with the newspaper.
Hilarion also bought a luxurious home of more than 2,000 square metres on the outskirts of Budapest for €2.15 million. HVG identified the property in the photos of Suzuki as the Castle of Vácduka. The newspaper also published the floor plan of the mansion, showing that it has 14 rooms, a wine cellar, a swimming pool, and a garage for six c
In one of the audio recordings, Hilarion told Suzuki that he had run out of money after buying the mansion, so he had to sell his expensive wine collection for €15,000 to furnish his new residence. However, he kept a few bottles and a watch collection.
“I thought, if I had to give a gift to somebody, I don’t know, like Viktor Orbán or somebody, what would I give?”
says Hilarion in one audio recording.
It is alleged that, although the paper did not name names other than Zsolt Semjén, several high-ranking Hungarian public figures have visited Hilarion at his villa. And, according to the report by Novaya Gazeta, Russian oligarchs, including Russian billionaires hit by EU sanctions, were present at the Vácduka mansion too.
When asked by Novaya Gazeta, Hilarion did not deny that he owned a property in Budapest. He claimed that he bought the house with the royalties he received for his books and that he intended to use the property as a monastery. As for Suzuki’s accusations, Hilarion stated that the young man was incited by his mother to try to blackmail him, that the accusations were unfounded, and that he would sue.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a “nonsensical accusation” against Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on his Facebook page on Thursday.
Szijjártó: This is nonsensical
Szijjártósaid Blinken had criticised Hungary over the freedom of religion, saying officials used “anti-Semitic tropes”.
“This accusation is especially nonsensical from the foreign minister of a country where attacks of intimidation against Jewish people have increased dramatically in the recent period and where anti-Semitic unrest has taken place at universities,” the minister said.
“Meanwhile, Israel’s national team and football clubs will play their matches in Hungary again in the next season because they feel safe here,” he said.
Tristan Azbej, the foreign ministry’s state secretary, has emphasised the importance of the Hungarian government’s support to the rebuilding of a 10th-century Benedictine monastery near Italy’s Norcia which was almost completely destroyed in a devastating earthquake in 2016.
The Basilica of St. Benedict was partially destroyed by earthquakes in 2016. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Starlight~commonswiki
The earthquake claimed close to 300 lives and destroyed several cultural heritage sites and buildings, Azbejtold MTI on Saturday evening, adding that the community of the Benedictine friars had lost almost everything they had possessed.
He said that the Hungarian government had been the first and only foreign government to offer support for rebuilding the monastery, noting that it had provided more than 700,000 euros worth of funding for the project under its Hungary Helps scheme.
In a token of appreciation, one of the monastery’s chambers will be named after Hungary and nurture the memory of King St Stephen, Azbej said.
According to the monastery’s website, it has recently been elevated to the status of an abbey.
Hungary and the Vatican are on an equal footing as regards the issue of war and peace, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said after meeting the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States in Vatican City on Friday, noting that both countries supported making peace in Ukraine as soon as possible.
According to a statement from the foreign ministry, Szijjártó‘s talks with Archbishop Richard Gallagher focused primarily on the war in Ukraine.
“We were in agreement that making peace these days requires enormous courage … as those who want peace and work for it along with pro-peace politicians are under enormous pressure,” the ministry quoted Szijjártó as saying. Those who are exerting pressure “have a legal, psychical and a political tool-kit”, he said.
“The legal tool is being used against Donald Trump on the other side of the Atlantic. The psychical one was unfortunately manifested in the attempt on the life of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico,” Szijjártó said. “The political one is sought to be applied against us in the form of proposals aimed at revoking our voting rights in the EU just to prevent that we could continue to block the spread of the war.”
He said that the war in Ukraine would “only have losers, no winners” and it was hard to predict “how many” because “a threat of escalation is growing by the day”.
The minister criticised a recent decision allowing the Ukrainian army to attack targets in Russia with weapons supplied by the United States and Germany and also criticised a statement on sending French training officers to Ukraine, arguing that those could increase the threat of a world war.
“The Vatican’s foreign minister and I agreed that we need to mobilise the resources of diplomacy,” Szijjártó said, highlighting the need for starting and maintaining dialogue on peace.
He said they spoke about the upcoming peace conference on Ukraine in Switzerland which will be attended by both Hungary and the Vatican. “But we have a kind of sense of absence, regretting that not all warring sides will be present,” he added.
Meanwhile, Szijjártó underscored the importance of strengthening bilateral relations, saying that “we need the closest possible allies who are ready to take action in the interest of peace.”
On another topic, Szijjártó pointed out the Hungarian government’s aim to continue to develop relations with the historical churches also to the benefit of the Hungarian people.
“The fact that the number of students studying in church-run schools has gone up to 184,000 from 74,000 since we took power in 2010 reflects a rather positive opinion by Hungarian families and parents on our church and education policy,” he said.
Szijjártó said that they also discussed the issue of persecuted Christians, noting the government’s continued consultations with the Vatican on the matter. He also noted the launch of 367 programmes under a government scheme that was aimed at improving the situation of persecuted Christians in 64 countries.
At stake in the European parliamentary election will be whether war or peace prevails, Zoltán Kovács, the state secretary for international relations and communications, said during a campaign tour on Thursday.
He said the Vietnam and Cambodian wars started when French military experts were sent out to these countries, and now French trainers “are going to Ukraine”.
Also, when it came to war, a similar situation prevailed as in 2015 in relation to migration, he said, citing a former Economist journalist who told him that everything the Hungarian government had predicted about migration in 2015 was now happening in Britain.
“London has fallen, there’ll be a general election on July 4, there’s an Islamist organisation, and the country’s culture is changing,”
Kovács said, adding that much the same was true in Germany and France and everywhere illegal migration was prevalent.
From the outset the Hungarian government has promoted peace and an immediate ceasefire, while the West had “pushed” Ukraine into a “deadly war”, he said, adding that this could have been prevented.
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