Cardinal Péter Erdő, the head of the Hungarian Catholic Church, said Jesus “sacrificing his own life restores peace between the world and its Creator and makes peace an obligation for man”. Celebrating Easter, the Cardinal said Jesus had greeted his disciples with shalom, the ancient Hebrew greeting, and said “again and again we are obliged to meet the challenge in Christ’s salutation”. “We must overcome ourselves, reining in our own passions and wishes,” he added.
According to MTI, Cardinal Erdő highlighted the work of the Catholic Charity helping Ukrainian refugees in Hungary and called special attention to children among them. He said it was important that their schooling should not be interrupted “or else their chances in life could irreversibly diminish”. Some 200 teachers in Catholic schools have volunteered to teach Ukrainian children, and several schools in and outside Budapest have now started the classes for children speaking Ukrainian or Russian only, the cardinal said.
Cardinal Erdő noted Pope Francis’s recent calls for peace and said “we believe in the strength of prayer… we allow the people we pray for into our hearts.” The Catholic Church is in an “ecumenical relationship” with both the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox churches; it “has been and will be ready to promote dialogue,” the cardinal said.
Photo credit: MTI