Pope meets Ukrainian refugees during visit to Hungary

Pontiff met 600 refugees in Budapest on second day of visit

Pope Francis addresses young people in the Papp Laszlo Budapest Sports Arena in Budapest. EPA

Pope Francis met Ukrainian refugees on the second day of his visit to Hungary on Saturday, telling them another future was possible after they described the hardships of conflict in their country.

The Pope met about 600 refugees, poor and homeless people in a visit to a Budapest church a day after talking about the dangers of rising nationalism in Europe and telling the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban that accepting migrants along with the rest of the continent would be a true sign of Christianity.

Pope Francis was serenaded by a band of Hungarian Roma singers as he sat in his wheelchair.

Earlier, he listened as one refugee, Oleg Yakovlev, told him how he and his wife, Lyudmila, and their five children had to leave their home city of Dnipro a year ago after Russian bombings.

“We were welcomed here and we have found a new home (but) many have suffered and suffer still because of the war,” Mr Yakovlev told the Pope, describing the family's long trip to safety in Hungary.

Since the start of the war, millions of refugees have fled through Central Europe, including Hungary, and moved to other countries. About 35,000 have applied for temporary protection status in Hungary.

Pope Francis, echoing his speech on Friday, said expressing compassion for those suffering from poverty and tragedy is an integral part of being a Christian, even if those in need are non-believers.

“Even amid pain and suffering, once we have received the balm of love, we find the courage needed to keep moving forward. We find the strength to believe that all is not lost, and that a different future is possible,” he said.

In the afternoon, Pope Francis addressed 12,000 young people at a sports arena, smiling as he was presented with one of modern Hungary's most famous inventions — a Rubik's cube.

In a move significant for interreligious dialogue, the Pope also met Metropolitan (bishop) Hilarion, representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Budapest, who was removed from the No 2 post in Moscow last year following differences over Ukraine.

Patriarch Kirill is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and supports the fighting as a bulwark against a West he describes as decadent.

The EU tried to put Kirill on its sanctions list last year but member states failed to find unanimity on the issue as Hungary opposed his inclusion.

Relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church have been cool since Pope Francis said last year that Patriarch Kirill should not be “Putin's altar boy”.