Christmas is a holiday celebrating hope and consolation, which is “demonstrated most clearly in difficult times”, Cardinal Péter Erdő, the head of the Hungarian Catholic Church, told MTI on Thursday. The cardinal said it was “comforting to see that we have been given abilities with which we can fight against new diseases or natural disasters”. Concerning the coronavirus pandemic, Erdő said that “there might now be a light at the end of this dark period” and “if we manage to find a drug against the virus it will be a gift from our Creator”. Christmas this year has brought “a number of challenges, sacrifice and abnegation” but “fighting hardships and making our loved ones happy may make the holiday especially beautiful”, the cardinal said.