BUDAPEST: Pope Francis thanked Hungarians on Saturday for welcoming Ukrainian refugees and urged them to help anyone in need, as he begged for a culture of charity in a country where the prime minister has justified firm anti-immigration policies with fears that migration threatens Europe’s Christian culture.
On the second day of a visit to Hungary, Francis met with refugees and poor people at St. Elizabeth’s church named for a Hungarian princess who renounced her wealth to dedicate herself to the poor as a follower of the St Francis of Assisi.
“The love that Jesus gives us and commands us to practice can help to uproot the evils of indifference and selfishness from society, from the places where we live indifference is a plague and to rekindle hope for a new, more just and fraternal world, where all can feel at home,” he said.