ROME – Pope Francis on Tuesday flatly rejected the use of the cross as a political tool, an apparent blow to nationalist forces in Europe and beyond that have used images of Christianity for personal gain.
“We do not reduce the cross to an object of devotion, let alone a political symbol, to a sign of religious and social status,” Francis said in eastern Slovakia during a four-day visit to that country and Hungary, his first trip since undergoing bowel surgery in July.
The statements came two days after Francis stopped in Budapest, where he met Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has made Hungary’s Christian roots and identity a hallmark of his political and political messaging, including anti-immigrant and nationalist measures.
“The cross is not a flag to wave, but the pure source of a new way of life,” Francis said, adding that a Christian “sees no one as an enemy, but everyone as a brother or sister.” .
Francis has a history of speaking more freely and critically about a country after leaving it. In 2017, he spoke in support of the persecuted Rohingya minority in Myanmar after leaving that country for neighboring Bangladesh.
On Sunday, he urged bishops in Hungary to adopt diversity. And after celebrating Mass there, with Mr. Orban in the front row, he said strong Christian roots allowed a nation to “reach everyone.”
But the pope’s statements in Slovakia on Tuesday were more forceful. He seemed to extend his criticism to politicians and activists who use Christian references and symbols to gain ground in so-called cultural wars.
“How often do we long for a victorious Christianity,” he asked, “a triumphalist Christianity that is important and influential, that receives glory and honor?”
Francis spoke to about 30,000 faithful in Presov, eastern Slovakia, where he presided over a Byzantine rite known as the Divine Liturgy, which is used by the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox churches.
He then added to his message of inclusion by traveling to meet with the country’s gypsies, who have long experienced discrimination and poverty, in the degraded and segregated settlements of Kosice.
In his Tuesday homily, Francis spoke at length about Christian identity, lamenting that the cross and crucifix had too often become mere ornaments, diluting its true meaning.
What is the value, he asked, of hanging a crucifix from a rear-view mirror or from the neck if a person has no significant relationship with Jesus? “What’s the use of that,” he said, “if we don’t stop to look at Jesus crucified and open his heart?”
In recent years, some politicians in Europe have used religious symbols as part of campaign messages focused on identity politics.
In Italy, Matteo Salvini, the leader of the populist League party, often campaigned with rosaries in his hand. At a rally with far-right leaders from France, Germany and the Netherlands, he also invoked the protection of the Virgin Mary over Italy.
Some conservative Vatican cardinals – many of whom are very critical of Francis – spoke brilliantly of Mr. Salvini and have also expressed sympathy for Mr. Orban.
In interviews prior to the pope’s visit on Sunday, several Hungarian priests and other Catholics in Budapest echoed Mr Orban’s emphasis on Hungary as a Christian country. They said the prime minister had been unfairly criticized for opposing waves of predominantly Muslim migration, which he has compared to an invasion.
On Sunday, Mr Orban and Francis were summoned to a courtesy meeting that lasted 40 minutes and the prime minister urged the pontiff “not to let Christian Hungary perish”.
Francis spent only seven hours in Hungary, despite calls from his bishops for him to stay longer.
The Vatican said the pope’s visit to Budapest was purely spiritual, to celebrate the closing mass of a week-long Catholic congress. But other people close to the pope allowed there to be a tacit message to Mr Orban in the discrepancy between the time spent in Hungary and what was happening in Slovakia, which is led by a progressive president who, like Francis, is critical of nationalism.