Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See also spoke at the Vatican conference on Syria Hungarian Courier
The Open Hospitals project, founded with the support of Pope Francis, has provided more than 80,000 free treatments to war-torn Syrians since 2017. At the meeting, the history of the initiative was outlined and its impact was evaluated with testimonies, as well as the next steps were outlined.
The conference began with a press conference led by Cardinal Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio of Damascus. Afterwards, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation of the Oriental Churches and Sister Alessandra Smerilli, Secretary of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, opened the meeting with their speech.
Italian Deputy Minister of Affairs Marina Sereni, Father Leonardo Di Mauro, Director of the Office for the Coordination of Charitable Activities of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, and Sandro Veronesi, President of the Calzedonia business group, spoke, among others.
At the beginning of his speech, Eduárd Habsburg-Loharingiai, Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See, explained the history of the creation of the Hungary Helps Program. Office belonging to the Prime Minister’s Office, which has been dealing with humanitarian assistance to suffering Christians since 2017.
“I immediately understood that this would be an important sign not only for the Christians they support, but also for Hungary and, in a prophetic way, for the world,” the Hungarian ambassador to the Holy See recalled his personal memories of the beginnings. “Although many other minorities in difficulty receive help and media coverage, Christians are almost silent in the press. Today, 8 out of 10 people who suffer persecution for their faith are Christians.”
Since the launch of the Hungary Helps Program in 2017, Hungary has supported a total of 256 humanitarian and rehabilitation projects and a scholarship program in 54 countries around the world, with a total budget of 88 million euros. The program supports more than 500,000 people by providing them with the basic conditions necessary to stay in their country of origin, allowing many to return or stay at home in their country of origin. The State Secretariat coordinates study scholarships for young Christians and the Hungary Helps volunteer program, and conducts awareness-raising activities for the community of persecuted Christians in national and international forums. The total budget of the scholarship program between the first half of the 2017/2018 academic year and the first half of the 2021/2022 academic year was 8 million euros.
From the very beginning, the Hungary Helps Program has provided humanitarian assistance not only in cases of persecution, but also in the event of wars and natural disasters, including in Italy, where the Hungarian government is helping to restore a church damaged by an earthquake in Tolentino, located in the Marche province. Projects have also been launched that support people of other religions who are in difficulties.
In his speech, Eduárd Habsburg-Lorraine talked about Hungarian participation in the Open Hospitals program. In 2018, Cardinal Zenari approached Hungary through the Italian AVSI Foundation to request support for his project, and Hungary immediately committed to providing assistance. “The beauty of the project was that while we reserved it for the Christian hospital, the people it benefited from were mostly suffering Muslims. In fact, this is a project of interreligious dialogue,” the Holy See ambassador pointed out. Hungary has committed to supporting the Open Hospitals project for one year, with a total of 1.5 million euros.
Cardinal Zenari visited Budapest in January 2019; during the meeting, State Secretary Tristán Azbej said in his speech: “In order to help Syria, the Hungarian government is implementing two goals: to save lives and to give people a future.”
“Cardinal Zenari’s visit to Budapest, during which he presented the project’s activities, the sufferings of the Syrian people and met with representatives of Hungarian public life, was an important moment for our country,” emphasized Ambassador Eduard Habsburg. He thanked Cardinal Zenari for his tireless commitment to Syria and the AVSI Foundation for its excellent work and serious cooperation.
In the end, he expressed his hope that many others, private individuals and countries, would help the poor, martyred Syria, to give a small ray of hope to the Middle Eastern country. The Open Hospitals project is an excellent opportunity for this – Eduárd Habsburg-Lotharingiai concluded his speech.
Source: Vatican Radio
Photo: Vatican News
Hungarian Courier