“The Pope has recognized that has been misled a little in many ways before about Hungary, and now he is returning to visit the Christians and Catholics in the country” said Bishop László Kiss-Rigó of Szeged-Csanád in a podcast with Zoltán Kovács, the Secretary of State for International Communication and Relations. Within The Bold Truth About Hungary podcast, State Secretary Kovács invited the Bishop to discuss Pope Francis’ upcoming April 28-30 apostolic journey to Hungary. The Bishop emphasised: need to protect our Christian values in the face of “lunatic” ideologies dominating most of Europe in recent times.

“Pope Francis is visiting the Christians and Catholics in Hungary for the second time in two years, which is a confirmation of our work as Christians, to bear witness to our faith and work for it in today’s society”, emphasized Bishop Kiss-Rigó. He added: they particularly feel encouraged in their efforts to represent Christian values, which are not only Christian values but also Europeans.

According to Zoltán Kovács, Hungary has been in the spotlight of criticism for over a decade for speaking about Christianity, emphasizing that European values are based on Christian values and structures that have been around for a millennium. He said that even the founders of the EU have stated that Europe cannot exist without Christianity.

Bishop Kiss-Rigó believes that in Western Europe, those who proudly claim to live at the highest level of democracy have paradoxically turned their societies into ideological dictatorships of nihilism, and the result will clearly be the abandonment of their identity, leading to self-destruction and societal suicide.

“It seems that many do not realize this. It seems that common sense has simply ceased to exist in these societies,” he said.

The bishop believes that the Pope’s visit is primarily a pastoral visit, to visit the Christians and Catholics living in Hungary, and encourage and strengthen their faith. At the same time, it is also a state visit, providing an opportunity for the Pope to convey a message about values.

Source: The Bold Truth About Hungary