Hungary is ready to financially support priests of the UGCC. The Head of PMD, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Kyiv Joseph (Milian) was reported as saying after a meeting with the Minister of Human Resources Zoltan Balog of Hungary in Budapest.
Bishop noted that today, according to official data 7.5 thousandcitizens of Ukrainereside in Hungary. The religious community of the UGCC in Hungary is developing and growing, and requires that the UGCC priest stayed in Hungary as well, the Pastoral Migration Department reports.
“At the meeting with the minister, we discussed the possibility of financial aid to our Ukrainian Greek Catholic community in Hungary, which is now well represented in Budapest, Miskolc and Nyiregyhaza. The most active and effective Ukrainian community is in Budapest, which is attended by Fr Damian Gabor, a priest of Kyiv archdiocese, to provide pastoral care to our faithful. But he visits them once a month and on major holidays. Therefore our faithful unanimously state this is not enough. The community needs the catechesiscourses for children, many Ukrainian students study in Budapest and the community wantsthe priest to come every day. Therefore during the meeting we talked about our needs and concerns and asked the Minister to support our pastoral mission. The Minister said that Hungary has a friendly attitude towards the Ukrainian state;it tries to help the national minorities and is ready to support us. They are ready to allocate us money, even already this year,” said Bishop Joseph.
The bishop said that during the meeting they talked about the need of permanent buildings for worship, but the issue should be decided by the Metropolitan of the Hungarian Greek Catholic Church.
The Bishop noted that the Minister of the Hungarian ruling coalition reacted very positively and quickly responded to the spiritual needs of Ukrainians. “As a result of our meeting, the Minister said in a very friendly manner: “Tell Ukrainians that Hungary loves Ukraine", said the PMD chairman.
Bishop noted that currently the allocation of funds for a UGCC priest in Hungary is being discussed. However, today 2-3 pastorsare required to provide spiritual care to all our faithful.
During a visit to Hungary Bishop Joseph (Milian) also celebrated the Sunday Mass and then met with the Ukrainian community in Hungary.
In addition, the PMD chairman visited the Hungarian parliament.