In Budapest's Museum of Fine Arts, Pope Francis met with leaders of the country's twelve other Christian denominations as well as with leaders of the Jewish community.
62% of Hungarians are Catholics, while 20% do not identify with an organized religion. 5% are Protestant, 8% belong to other Christian denominations and less than 1% are Jewish.
A rabbi gave Pope Francis the Torah of a Jewish family that was killed during World War II. 565,000 Jews are estimated to have been murdered in Hungary during the Holocaust. Today, there are between 10,000 and 15,000 Jews in Hungary, of which most live in Budapest.
POPE FRANCIS
'We must commit ourselves to together foster an education towards fraternity, so that the outbursts of hatred that seek to destroy it do not prevail. I am thinking of the threat of antisemitism still lurking in Europe and elsewhere. This is a fuse that must be put out, and the best way to defuse it is to work positively with one another.'
The Pope even joked about his health. It's his first trip after the operation he had in early July.
POPE FRANCIS
'Forgive me for speaking to you sitting down. I am not fifteen years old anymore. Thank you.”
Before leaving to celebrate Mass, the Pope greeted each of the participants, this time while standing up. The leaders present said goodbye with this chant.
JMB
