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NOVÁK: HUNGARIANS SEE 'MAN OF PEACE' IN POPE FRANCIS

 

Hungarians and millions worldwide see Pope Francis as “a man of peace”, President Katalin Novák said in her greeting to the pontiff at the Carmelite Monastery on Friday. The president expressed hope that Francis could “talk to Kyiv, Moscow, Washington, Brussels, Budapest and everyone without whom there can be no peace”. “Here in Budapest, we ask that you personally take action in the interest of securing an urgent, just peace,” she said. “We believe that the arrival of the Holy Father in Hungary is no accident, but the right time and place to meet, to ring the bells and declare peace,” Novák said. God, when the time is right, brings together and gives strength to those who trust the power of love, unity and peace, she added.
“Hungarians want to rise to the heights where they can find the unity of Christ’s faithful and well-intentioned people seeking peace,” Novák said. She said Hungarians wanted the pope’s apostolic visit to give an impetus to that rise to a height “from where we can get a view of the path to spiritual renewal and peace”. “It is we, Hungarians and Europeans who must stay on the right path,” Novák said. “We can receive encouragement, guidance and affirmation for that, but it is only we European people and leaders who can use the free will given to us in a way that will lead to a more peaceful, more democratic and stronger Europe.”
Novák noted that St. Pope John Paul II visited Hungary when the country needed him most, at the time of the “new beginning” after the fall of communism. This, she said, was also true of Pope Francis’ visit, because “now is the time when Hungary and Europe need him most”. “Your Holiness reaffirms in us that there is a basis for, sense in, and future for life based on Christian values in the 21st century, too,” Novák said. “And we also reaffirm this for Your Holiness. This is what we give each other: life, the protection of the family and the sustaining power of Christianity.”
“We are allies,” Novák said, adding that Hungary and the pope both protected “life, woman, man, our persecuted Christian brethren, as well as the freedom of those who think and act differently.” Novák said this alliance had been made “tragically timely” by the war in Ukraine. She underscored the “exemplary” assistance Hungary was providing to the 1.5 million refugees who have fled to Hungary, saying Hungarians saw the pain of the families who have been torn apart. “But we mothers primarily want to win peace, not the war,” she said. “We don’t want to send our sons and husbands to the frontlines.” As Hungary’s first female president, Novák thanked Francis for his encouragement to women in starting families, raising children, and their role as community leaders.