Ukraine war looms over Pope Francis's trip to Hungary

Pope Francis arrives successful Hungary connected Friday for a three-day pastoral sojourn - his archetypal afloat travel to the state since helium became Pope 10 years ago.

What kept him distant was the pugnacious anti-migrant stance of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, successful opposition to the 86-year-old pontiff's compassion for each refugees.

What brings him present now, too his enactment for Catholics, is the warfare successful Ukraine.

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

But dissimilar different EU leaders, Mr Orban has refused to backmost subject assistance for Kyiv and maintained relations with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

"It volition besides beryllium a travel to the centre of Europe, implicit which the icy winds of warfare proceed to blow," the Pope said up of his visit.

The Argentine Pope has been to eastbound Europe earlier - successful 2019 to Romania and 2021 to Slovakia. On his mode to Slovakia, helium stopped for respective hours to observe wide successful Budapest, the closing lawsuit of the International Eucharistic Congress.

The pontiff promised to return, and cautious Hungarian diplomacy successful Rome led to this visit, which is being portrayed by pro-government media arsenic a diplomatic triumph for the Orban government, adjacent a accidental to extremity its planetary isolation implicit the warfare successful Ukraine.

"The Pope is with us," declared the header successful Thursday's Magyar Nemzet, the flagship regular of the governing Fidesz party. The Pope's visit, the nonfiction suggested, was an endorsement of some the government's alleged pro-peace argumentation successful Ukraine, and its pro-family policies astatine home.

"From Rome, Pope Francis sees precisely this unfair conflict and senseless warfare hysteria," the nonfiction went on. Hungary has refused to either proviso arms to Ukraine, oregon to let Nato allies to present them crossed Hungarian airspace.

On Thursday, however, the caput of the Hungarian equipped forces, Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, was summarily sacked, with nary reasons given. Media speculation centred connected claims by an investigative caller site, Atlatszo, that French subject helicopters were delivered to Ukraine via an airbase successful occidental Hungary.

A antithetic presumption of the Pope's sojourn comes from András Hodász, a erstwhile Roman Catholic clergyman who precocious resigned from the priesthood due to the fact that of differences of sentiment with the church, and the unit helium came nether to stay silent.

"The devil hides successful the details," Hodász told the BBC. "The Hungarian authorities is calling for bid astatine immoderate cost. An contiguous ceasefire which could corroborate existing beforehand lines. That contrasts with the words of the Holy Father, that Russia should propulsion backmost to the aged borders. The Pope recognises Ukraine's morganatic close to self-defence."

The aforesaid nationalist figures who condemned the Pope implicit migration successful the past, helium said, were present welcoming him with unfastened arms. "Public opinion," helium remarked, "seems arsenic fickle and manipulable arsenic the wind".

This is the Pope's archetypal overseas travel since helium was treated successful infirmary for bronchitis astatine the extremity of March. Ahead of the visit, helium met Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who invited him to sojourn Kyiv.

On Friday, Pope Francis volition conscionable Mr Orban and Hungarian President Katalin Novak, the designer of the country's attempts to promote couples to person much children.

These see generous loans and payouts to joined couples who committedness to person children. The policies person had immoderate success, but faltered during the pandemic.

On Saturday, the Pope volition conscionable mediocre and stateless people, and refugees from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan. They see Abouzar Soltani, an Iranian person to Christianity, who spent 18 months successful detention successful a Hungarian "transit zone".

The Hungarian authorities has a peculiar bureau to enactment persecuted Christians astir the world.

The main struggle successful the past betwixt Pope Francis and the Hungarian authorities was the pontiff's compassion for refugees and asylum seekers, contrasted with Hungarian authorities hostility.

While the Pope brought Syrian asylum seekers location with him from the Moria exile campy successful Lesbos, Mr Orban built a razorwire obstruction on a 175km (108-mile) borderline with Serbia, and suggested that each migrants are imaginable terrorists.

To participate Hungary overland, would-be asylum seekers request to petition support to use successful the Hungarian embassy successful Belgrade. In 2022, 16 applications were made, and of these, lone 4 radical were allowed into the country, according to figures from the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a quality rights group.

By contrast, Hungary has been generous to Ukrainian refugees, helping 2.5 cardinal transverse the state successful the past year, and supporting astir 35,000 who decided to stay.

The Pope's sojourn ends connected Sunday, with the solemnisation of wide successful Kossuth square, successful beforehand of the Hungarian parliament. Hundreds of thousands are expected to attend, including Hungarians from neighbouring countries.