Pope Francis urges Hungarians to 'open doors' to migrants

Pope Francis has urged Hungarians to "open doors" to migrants, ending his sojourn to the state led by a nationalist anti-immigration cabinet.

Speaking astatine an open-air wide successful the superior Budapest, the pontiff said it was "sad and painful" to spot doors closed to radical who were "unlike us".

Up to 100,000 radical attended the mass, including Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Mr Orban has criticised migration, gathering a barbed-wire borderline obstruction to halt migrants crossing into Hungary.

Addressing the assemblage adjacent the Hungarian parliament gathering connected Sunday, Pope Francis pleaded to everyone - including "those with governmental and societal responsibilities" - to beryllium much open.

He was speaking astir "the closed doors of our selfishness with respect to others... the doors we adjacent towards those who are overseas oregon dissimilar us, towards migrants oregon the poor".

During the mass, the Argentinian pontiff, 86, besides referred to Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine launched much than a twelvemonth ago.

He prayed for the "beleaguered Ukrainian radical and the Russian people" and for "a aboriginal of hope, not war".

The three-day sojourn was Pope Francis' archetypal travel to Hungary since helium became Pope 10 years ago.

What kept him distant was the pugnacious anti-migrant stance of Mr Orban, successful opposition to his ain compassion for each refugees, says the BBC's Nick Thorpe successful Budapest.

What brought him to the country, too his enactment for Catholics, was the warfare successful Ukraine, our analogous adds.

Hungary and Ukraine stock a 134km (85-mile) border.

Unlike different leaders of the European Union, Mr Orban has refused to backmost subject assistance for Ukraine and maintained relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

During the cautiously calibrated sojourn to Hungary, the Pope met radical of each spheres of society, including youths, the poor, politicians and academics, our analogous says.