Pope meets Hungary’s strong man and walks a fine line with a contested leader

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban portrays himself as the defender of Christian Europe against migrants and multiculturalism. After years of weakening democratic institutions, the extreme right-wing strongman has prepared for the upcoming elections in predominantly Catholic Hungary by strengthening his ties to Catholic traditionalists in Europe and the United States.

On Sunday, Orban gets a visit from the leader of the Roman Catholic world in person when Pope Francis comes to town to celebrate Mass, face to face with the Pope, and the Vatican has confirmed a private courtesy meeting prior to Mass.

But it is also possible, say those close to Francis, that Orban will get more than he asked for when he meets with Perhs, the world’s leading advocate of migrants and a clear voice against creeping authoritarianism and nationalism in Europe.

“One of my options is not to go around with a script,” Francis said in an interview with Spanish radio station COPE last month when asked what he would say to Orban. “When I stand in front of a person, I look them in the eye and let things come out.”

Regardless of whether Francis Orban reads on his first trip to Hungary – and his first trip abroad after major colon surgery in July – the meeting between two leaders with completely different visions for Europe has already sparked its fair share of intrigue, drama and name – Vocation.

Francis had originally planned to visit Budest for just a few hours before heading on to neighboring Slovakia for three full days, run by a young, environmentally friendly woman.

Hungary’s leading clergy and government officials campaigned longer on behalf of the Vatican, while Orban’s allies used less polite pressure in the news media, where his party is widely influential, and Francis for insulting Hungary, “anti-Christian behavior” and “extraordinary the Christian world.” Cause damage. “

The Vatican sought to bring the temperature down by stifling the notion, first spread by Francis and later reinforced in conservative Catholic media, that a meeting with Orban was ever called into question. According to the Vatican, the visit to Hungary was a stopover as it was of a spiritual nature and the Pope presided over the last mass of a one-week Catholic congress there.

But the difference between the length of trips to Hungary and Slovakia, according to Francis’ allies, is no coincidence.

“One can interpret the fact that he is not visiting for long,” said Pastor Antonio Spadaro, a Jesuit priest and confidante of Francis, who will accompany him. “It’s a short visit. That can also have a meaning. “

Spadaro said he had no idea what Francis was going to say to the prime minister, but he expected the real message to Orban about his government’s policies would come after their private meeting when the pope addressed about 35 Hungarian bishops.

“The confrontation with the country will intensify the moment he speaks to his bishops,” said Spadaro, adding that he will most likely address the context and government in which his bishops should operate. “This is the right place for it.”

After years of burgeoning populism, when Orban and other nationalists seemed on the rise and Francis found himself in the political wilderness, the Pope once again has prominent allies in the US and across Europe on issues such as climate change.

But many of the Hungarian bishops are torn between their Pope, who wants his frontline priests to help migrants and the destitute, and an Orban government that is showering the church with millions in subsidies for restorations and schools; Adopts what the government calls family-friendly “Christian” policy; and set up offices to protect persecuted Christians in distant lands.

“The main problem is that the large amount of government funding is jeopardizing the independence of the church,” said Bishop Miklos Beer, one of the few Hungarian bishops willing to be critical of Orban. “There is silence on the part of the Church on migration and that is the topic we need” to represent what the Pope is saying, he added.

This lack of independence is dangerous, Beer said on Friday, because it might link the fate and financial support of the Hungarian Church to Orban’s election success. He said that Orban was dangerously wrapped in Christian images; appeal to Catholic traditionalists, many of whom oppose Francis; and try to meet the Pope – anything to win the election awaited in Ril.

“I don’t think there’s a question about how he hopes to protect his electorate,” Beer said.

Some Hungarian clergy worked hard to ensure that the meeting took place and that the Pope stayed as long as possible.

When asked about his role in extending the Pope’s journey so that Francis could meet local authorities, Cardinal Peter Erdo, Hungary’s most powerful prelate, said in an email that “the fact that, despite his short time, the Holy Father is the Representatives of the political world ”as well as leaders of other faiths is a“ great sign of his friendship ”.

Monsignor Norbert Nemeth, an adviser to the Hungarian Embassy to the Holy See, said he worked with the Vatican in preparing for the Pope’s trip.

“The Hungarian bishops wanted him to stay longer, for the afternoon and even for the next day,” said Nemeth, who insisted that a meeting with Orban was always on the books because the Pope “could not avoid these protocol meetings “. He added that Francis “does not meet a person who does not accept Christian values”.

He said the Vatican had told Hungarians to center the Pope’s visit next to Heroes’ Square, where Sunday mass is scheduled.

“We wanted to help the Holy Father in this sense because he is older and has just had an operation,” said Nemeth.

After about seven hours in Budest, Francis will spend the next three days on planes and motorcades that traverse large parts of Slovakia, on a busy schedule of talks and meetings. “So we sacrificed his journey a little,” said Nemeth, “according to the wishes of the Holy See.”