VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis condemned gender ideology and abortion rights as part of a “nefarious path” which ends, not in “progress,” but “tragic defeat” during a speech to civil and religious leaders on the first day of his trip to Hungary.
With Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Hungary’s first female president, Katalin Novák, in attendance, Francis praised the Eastern European country’s efforts to restore culture, tradition, and family values. He also lauded Novák, whose controversial pro-family policies as the former State Secretary for Family and Youth Affairs were considered essential to reversing a demographic decline in the country.
“How wonderful … to build a person- and people-centered Europe, where there are effective policies for birth and family. We have countries in Europe with the average age of 46-48 years, carefully pursued in this country, where different nations are a family in which the growth and uniqueness of each is cherished.”
Pope Francis has often lamented the decline in birth rates in Europe, and during his speech, he condemned “ideological colonization” of gender theory and other leftist values.
“I am thinking, therefore, of a Europe that is not hostage to (political) parties, becoming prey to self-referential populism, but neither does it turn into a fluid, if not gaseous reality, into a kind of abstract supranationalism, oblivious to the lives of people,” the pope said. “This is the nefarious path of ‘ideological colonization,’ which eliminates differences, as in the case of so-called gender culture, or puts reductive concepts of freedom before the reality of life, for example, boasting as an achievement a senseless ‘right to abortion,’ which is always a tragic defeat.”
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During his speech, the pope thanked the Hungarian government for its humanitarian work around the globe, including aid to persecuted Christians in Syria and Lebanon. He cited Hungary’s history of suffering during war and prayed for peace in Ukraine.
Pope Francis will continue his three-day journey in Hungary by meeting with more of the country’s leaders and with young people. His visit will culminate in Holy Mass celebrated in Budapest’s Kossuth Lajos’ Square on Sunday.