The Pope also mentioned the efforts of PM Viktor Orbán to keep Hungary unique amid uniformity.Continue reading
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén participated in Pope Francis’ funeral in the Vatican as members of the Hungarian state delegation led by President Tamás Sulyok.
The funeral for Pope Francis was both a farewell and an uplifting, hopeful event, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told TV2 on Saturday after the funeral service in Rome. He emphasized that Pope Francis was a personal acquaintance and “instigator, encourager, and inspirer” of peace initiatives, and that he owed him a great deal. “I have lost a friend, and Hungary has lost a friend, because the Holy Father loved us,” Mr. Orbán said.
He pointed out that because there is war now, with hundreds and thousands of people dying every day in Europe and around the world, it is the part of Pope Francis’ spiritual and intellectual legacy and life’s work that relates to peace that embraces us.
Be brave and make peace” was the message of the day,
the Prime Minister summed up.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán paying his respects at Pope Francis’ coffin. Photo: MTI/Miniszterelnöki Kommunikációs Fõosztály/Benko Vivien Cher
When asked whether world leaders understand this message, Orbán replied: “If I understand it, then surely others can understand it too.” The more difficult question is whether they can obey such a command. He added that, at the same time, with the US president finally taking the lead in the peace camp, the chances of more and more people understanding this message have increased.
In Mr. Orbán’s opinion, the next pope will have to take a position on very difficult issues that will reunite the Catholic Church and bring peace to the increasingly divergent factions within the Church. “The next pope faces not an organizational but rather an enormous intellectual task” in order to achieve Catholic and then Christian unity, he pointed out.
️ The Holy Father was an unwavering voice for peace. While many surrendered to the drumbeat of war, he remained by our side advocating for peace. Despite relentless attacks and pressure from the pro-war propaganda machine, his friendship gave us strength. His faith deepened our… pic.twitter.com/OJD38i1Oq4
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) April 26, 2025
Orbán highlighted that
the Catholic Church is the most persecuted church in the world today, and that most of those who die for their faith are Christians.
This “cannot go on, we must defend ourselves, we must defend each other,” and for this we need “a strong sense of belonging” and a pope who can unite us. Someone who can bring our disputes back to a point of calm and strengthen the community, he added.
The Prime Minister also talked about the chances of Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest at the papal conclave. Orbán said that he did not wish to speculate, but added that there were three things he could say with certainty. The first is that Hungary owes a great deal to the Catholic Church. The second is that “Hungary owes a great deal to the head of the Hungarian Catholic Church, Cardinal Péter Erdő,” and the third is that Péter Erdő is “an outstanding intellectual.”
When asked what message he had for Hungarians on the occasion of the national day of mourning announced for the funeral of Pope Francis, Mr. Orbán replied: “Silence, reflection, self-examination, and let us wake up tomorrow morning as better people!”
Pope Francis was an extraordinary man, said President Tamás Sulyok to M1 television in Rome after the Catholic leader’s funeral on Saturday. He added that he always felt that personal relationships were paramount to Pope Francis and that he radiated extraordinary serenity and freedom.
He was a truly free man who, I believe, achieved complete inner peace and freedom through living the truth, which radiated from him,”
Mr. Sulyok explained. As president, he learned from him that personal relationships are very important in international relations and between statesmen.
As for why Pope Francis held Hungarians so dear to his heart, Sulyok recounted that Pope Francis told him that he loves Hungarians. He also outlined a personal reason for this, namely that Hungarian nuns worked alongside the Holy Father in Argentina. “I think he knew a lot about Hungary through his order, the Jesuit order,” said the head of state.
He added that when Pope Francis visited Hungary for the International Eucharistic Congress, he saw certain changes in the pope’s face. “He really did come home to Hungary to a certain extent, and I think that Hungarians will always remember him with great affection and think of him fondly, and we will continue to cherish the connection he had with Hungary in our hearts,” emphasized Mr. Sulyok, who was received in audience by the head of the Catholic Church a year ago.
According to the President, we Hungarians, believers and non-believers alike, must carry on the legacy of Pope Francis’s life and work, which was a love of peace at all costs. This was absolutely characteristic of Pope Francis, who clearly extended this to world politics by proclaiming the peace of Christ, he added.
“This was a very important step and a very important conviction for Pope Francis. But I think we can learn from him the freedom that comes from inner peace and the joy with which he lived his life,” underlined Sulyok.
Via MTI, Featured photo via MTI/Bruzák Noémi