5/1/23, 8:00 PM Pope says church must be 'fluent' in 'language of charity' | USCCB

Pope says church must be 'fluent' in 'language of

charity'
Pope Francis began his second day in Hungary paying homage to Hungarian Catholics'
charitable activities, including their welcome of refugees from neighboring Ukraine.

April 29, 2023

By Cindy Wooden

A child's drawing of Pope Francis between a Russian and a Ukrainian flag hangs in the vestibule of the Church of
St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Budapest April 29, 2023, during Pope Francis' meeting with the poor and refugees.
(CNS photo/Cindy Wooden)
BUDAPEST, Hungary (CNS) -- The vestibule of the Church of St. Elizabeth of
Hungary was decorated with children's drawings for Pope Francis -- many of
them depicting him with a Ukrainian flag, praying for peace.
There also were several that showed the pope wearing his zucchetto and a
soccer jersey with the colors of Argentina's flag, but that was beside the point
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April 29 as Pope Francis met in the Budapest church with Roma, refugees, the
poor and the many Catholics from all over Hungary who assist them.
Before arriving at the church, he visited a Catholic institute for children with
limited vision, mobility issues and other special needs.
The meeting at the Blessed László Batthyány-Strattmann Institute mostly
involved music and prayer -- no speeches were planned. The director of the
institute, though, recited the familiar "Prayer of St. Francis," which includes the
series of petitions: "Where there is hatred let me sow love; where there is injury,
pardon; where there is doubt, faith. ..."
Thanking him for choosing that prayer, the pope described it as "pure Gospel"
because it looks at reality, sees what is missing and asks God to give the
believer the strength to make a difference.
While the pope was at the institute, some 600 people were waiting for him
inside the Church of St. Elizabeth, named for the 13th-century Hungarian
princess who used all her money to build a hospital where she herself cared for
the sick and poor.
Among those waiting was Olesia Misiats, a Ukrainian nurse and mother of
three, who fled Kyiv 14 months ago when Russia started bombing her country.
She went to Holland first, but said it was too expensive, so now she is in
Budapest.
Her oldest daughter is now in Poland with her husband, who is Polish. Mila was
born six months ago in Budapest, and "my daughter Anna, who is 6, is studying
in kindergarten and already speaks Hungarian," Misiats said. "We feel safe
here. Many people help us."
Oleg Yakovlev told Pope Francis about the help he and his wife Lyudmila and
their five children -- Daniel, Maria, Alexandra, Iliya and Elizaveta -- received
when they fled the war in Ukraine. And he thanked the pope for his constant
prayers for peace in Ukraine and "for standing up for the victims of the war."
The variety of needs people have and the way Catholics in Hungary are
meeting them is an example of a living faith, Pope Francis said.
"We need a church that is fluent in the language of charity, that universal
language which everyone can hear and understand, even those farthest from
us, even those who are not believers," the pope said.
Csaba Kovesi and his 15-year-old daughter Napsugár were talking about a
similar idea before the pope arrived. The 50-year-old Roma man has carried a

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crucifix around Hungary and to other parts of Europe for 20 years, praying for
peace between the Roma communities and their neighbors, he said.
"It's just love that it gives me," said Napsugár when asked about her dad's
project. "We try to give love to everyone. When you believe in God, you have
found the way to be happy."
"It is not enough to provide bread to fill stomachs; we need to fill people's
hearts," the pope said in his speech. "Charity is much more than material and
social assistance. It has to do with the whole person; it strives to put people
back on their feet with the love of Jesus: a love that helps them to recover their
beauty and their dignity."
"Engaging in charity means having the courage to look into the other person's
eyes -- it's not charity when you look the other way. To engage in charity, you
must have the courage to touch the person," the pope said, departing from his
prepared text.
Building a real relationship with the poor, he added, "makes you realize how
much you are in need, in need of the gaze and the touch of the Lord."
The theme of the morning turned back to peace when the pope went across the
street to the Eastern Catholic's Protection of the Mother of God Church. About
500 people gathered there chanted an "ektenia" or litany of peace for the pope.
And, returning to the nunciature where he is staying, Pope Francis spent about
20 minutes meeting with Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion of Budapest
and Hungary, formerly head of external relations for the Moscow Patriarchate.
The Vatican press office said the meeting was "cordial" but provided no other
details.

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5/1/23, 8:00 PM Pope says church must be 'fluent' in 'language of charity' | USCCB

Pope Francis kisses the encolpion of Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion of Budapest and Hungary, the former
head of external relations for the Moscow Patriarchate, in the Vatican nunciature in Budapest April 29, 2023. (CNS
photo/Vatican Media)

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