Pope in final Mass urges Hungary to open doors

Asks for Europe to welcome migrants, poor; for end to Russia’s war in Ukraine

Pope Francis urged Hungarians to open their doors to others on Sunday, as he wrapped up a weekend visit with a plea for Europe to welcome migrants and the poor and for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Francis issued the appeal from the banks of the Danube as he celebrated Mass on Budapest’s Kossuth Lajos Square, with the Hungarian Parliament and Budapest’s famed Chain Bridge as a backdrop. The celebration provided the visual highlight of Francis’ three-day visit that has been dominated by the Vatican’s concern for the plight of neighboring Ukraine.

Also read: Russian authorities crack down on more rights groups, raid activists

Citing local organizers, the Vatican said some 50,000 people attended the Mass, more than 30,000 of them in the square on a brilliantly sunny spring morning. Among them were President Katalin Novak and Hungary’s right-wing populist prime minister, Viktor Orban, whose lukewarm support for Ukraine has rankled fellow European Union members. Francis has expressed appreciation for Hungary’s recent welcome of Ukrainian refugees. But he has challenged Orban’s hard-line anti-immigration policies, which in 2015-2016 included building a razor wire fence on the border with Serbia to stop people from entering.

50,000
Attended the mass 

Poland claims Russian school by court order 

Acting on a Polish court verdict, Warsaw authorities Saturday took over a school building that was serving children of Russian diplomats and the military, drawing an angry reaction from Moscow. Poland’s Foreign Ministry said it had asked Warsaw authorities to claim the property which, Poland says, should have been returned by Russia years ago.

The police and a court official came to the building, which is far away from the Russian Embassy and isn’t part of diplomatic premises. They gave the Russian side until Saturday evening to hand the building over, which took place. Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Polish authorities “invaded” the school, saying it is at the Russian Embassy, called it a “blatant violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.”

Ever since breaking away from Moscow’s communist-era dominance, Poland has been seeking to claim back a number of properties used by Russia.

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