On Tuesday, the consecration of the Roman Catholic Saint Joseph Church was held in Palad’-Komarivtsi (Palágykomoróc), a village in Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region near the Hungarian border. The church was built with the financial support of the Hungarian Church Renovation Programme.
In his greeting to the guests at the celebration, Ferenc Papp, the consul of Hungary’s Consulate General in Uzhhorod, stated that ‘the more than one-thousand-year-old Christian Hungary has always emphasised and will continue to emphasise its support for the historical churches of the Carpathian Basin and Carpathian Ruthenia.’ Within the framework of the church renovation programme adopted by the Hungarian government in 2021, reconstruction efforts have begun across the Carpathian Basin.
Papp added that in 2021 and 2022, the Hungarian government spent a total of nearly 5.2 billion forints on renovating the churches and religious facilities of Hungarian communities beyond the borders.
Unfortunately, however, even in these celebratory moments, we cannot forget about the war that broke out on 24 February 2022,
which still casts a shadow over our everyday lives. It holds true even in these difficult times that where there is willpower and cooperation, help is not lacking, the consul went on to say.
Papp also stated: the role of churches in providing hope, comfort, and faith in God and the future has become especially important in the current times of war. On behalf of the Hungarian government, Hungarian organisations and the consulate, he thanked the churches for the tremendous help they have provided in the distribution of humanitarian aid.
Ferenc Papp added that a religious community can do the most for the Hungarian nation,
by keeping hope alive even in the greatest trouble or danger. It can also teach everyone how to pray in Hungarian with a hopeful spirit, and come together to set goals and get to work.
He stressed that the Hungarian government and the Hungarian people do condemn Russian aggression, and support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. They are also carrying out their largest humanitarian action in history. ‘As a neighbouring country, Hungary is directly affected, and therefore is interested in the fastest possible resolution of the armed conflict,’ Ferenc Papp said.
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