(ZENIT News / Rome, 30.04.2023).- As usual, on the return flight from Budapest to Rome, Pope Francis answered questions from the journalists who accompanied him on the plane in the afternoon of Sunday April 30, 2023.

The first question, from a Hungarian journalist, was about her experience of meetings in Hungary. The pope first spoke about the history of his relationship with the Hungarian community, which dates back to the 1960s when many Catholics were persecuted under the communist regime: “I was very affected by the pain of being a refugee and not being able to go home. ” said the Pope. And to the journalist’s response on whether his impression had changed and also on the way they communicated, the Pope said that it had not changed. Regarding the language, he replied: “Hungarian is not spoken outside of Hungary. Only in heaven, because they say it takes forever to learn (laughs)…”, so they spoke in German or English.

Regarding the Pope’s meeting with Prime Minister Orban and Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion (former number two of the Russian Church), a journalist from an Italian agency asked him if he had asked Orban to reopen the borders of the Balkan route that Supposedly Orban had closed. And about Hilarion, she was incisive: “Can Hilarion and Orbán himself become opening channels to Moscow to speed up a peace process for Ukraine, or make possible a meeting between you and the President Putin?

Pope Francis said that peace is made by opening channels. Then he considered the fact that five countries are responsible for receiving migrants and not all of Europe, which is why it looks more like a problem for Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Italy and Spain , so the problem for these countries is understandable. Concerning Hilarion, François states:

“Hilarión is someone I respect a lot and we have always had a good relationship. He was kind enough to come and see me, then he went to mass and I also saw him here at the airport. Hilarion is an intelligent person to talk to, and you have to have those relationships, because if you’re talking about ecumenism – I like it, I don’t like it… – you have to reach out to everyone, even get a helping hand [de ellos…]. I spoke only once to Patriarch Cyril since the beginning of the war, 40 minutes to get closer, then through Antonio, who is now in place of Hilarion, who comes to see me: he is a bishop who was parish priest in Rome and who knows the environment is good, and through him I am still in connection with Kirill”.

The journalist insisted on the question of whether Hilarión and Orban could speed up the peace process and to this the pope was frank and ironic in replying that it was not about the “little tale of red riding hood”. But The insistence of the journalist from the AGI agency deserved an exclusivity that the Pope expressed as follows: “I am ready to do everything that must be done. Also, there is now a quest in progress, but it is not yet public. Let’s see how… When it’s public I’ll say it.”

The theme of health was mentioned in connection with the trip that the pope will make to Lisbon on the occasion of World Youth Day. A Portuguese journalist asked about it and the pope replied: “I spoke with Monsignor Américo (Américo Manuel Alves Aguiar, auxiliary bishop of Lisbon and president of the WYD 2023 Foundation, ndr) who came to see how the things are going on there, I’ll go, I’ll go I hope to do it, you see it’s not the same as two years ago, with the cane, now it’s better, for the moment the trip is not cancelled. And then there’s the trip to Marseille, then there’s the trip to Mongolia, then there’s the last one that I can’t remember where… even the program keeps me moving”.

From the AP they asked him – unrelated to the apostolic journey – for fragments of the Parthenon in Athens which were kept in the Vatican museums and which the pope had sent back to Greece. The Pope was challenged by the question of the restitution of the pieces which are kept in museums and which were transferred there during the colonial period. Francis was asked about “if he is also available for other restitutions, I am thinking of the indigenous peoples and groups of Canada who have requested the return of objects from the Vatican collections, as part of the process of repairing the damage suffered during the colonial period. “, in the words of the one who questioned him.

To this the pope replied:

“But it’s the seventh commandment: if you have stolen, you must give back. But, there is a whole story, that sometimes wars and colonization lead to making the decision to take the good of others. It was a right gesture, it had to be done: the Parthenon, give something. And if tomorrow the Egyptians come to ask for the obelisk, what will we do? But there, we have to make a discernment, in any case. And then the restitution of the Indigenous things is going on, with Canada, at least we have agreed to do it. Now I’m going to ask how it’s going. But the experience with the aborigines in Canada has been very fruitful. Even in the United States, the Jesuits are doing something with this group of natives in the United States. The general told me that the other day. But let’s go back to restitution. Insofar as it can be restored, that it is necessary, that it is a gesture, that it is… better to do it. Sometimes it’s not possible, there is no political, real, concrete possibility. But to the extent that you can give back, do so; It’s good for everyone. Don’t get used to putting your hand in other people’s pockets.

Finally, a Spanish journalist asked him if, as the Ukrainian Prime Minister had asked him during a recent visit, he would intervene so that the Ukrainian children taken by force to Russia return to their country. The pope replied: “I think so because the Holy See acted as an intermediary in certain prisoner exchange situations, and through the embassy it went well, I think it can as well happen. It is important, the Holy See is ready to do it because it is right, it is a right thing and we must help, so that it is not a casus belli, but a human case. This is a humanity issue rather than a war booty or war transfer issue. All human gestures help, but cruel gestures do not help. We must do everything humanly possible.