Pope meets Orban in worldview clash

Pope meets Orban in worldview clash

BUDAPEST: Pope Francis met yesterday with Hungarian premier Viktor Orban-whose tough views on migration clash with those of the pontiff-at the start of a brief visit to Budapest where he will also celebrate a mass. The head of 1.3 billion Catholics-in Hungary to close the International Eucharistic Congress-met Orban, accompanied by his deputy and the president, behind closed doors in Budapest’s grand Fine Arts Museum.

On the one hand, the Hungarian prime minister is a self-styled defender of “Christian Europe” from migration. On the other, Pope Francis urges help for the marginalized and those of all religions fleeing war and poverty. The pope’s approach to meet those who don’t share his worldview-eminently Christian according to the pontiff-has often been met with incomprehension among the faithful, particularly within the ranks of traditionalist Catholics. “I asked Pope Francis not to let Christian Hungary perish,” Orban posted on his Facebook page following a photo of the two shaking hands. The Vatican in a statement after the meeting described it as “cordial”.

“Among the various topics discussed were the role of the church in the country, the commitment to the protection of the environment, the protection and promotion of the family,” the statement said. Over the