The most important thing is to go there personally

I know that a significant number of Hungarian professional foster parents treat their children as if they were their own. At the same time, unfortunately, there are also Cinderellas among us, who have very little chance of the glass slipper.

When I write this article, Pope Francis can still look at the clouds above the sea in the air, his plane is just entering the airspace of Zadar. Obviously, he will have a lot of programs, a series of protocol events await him, which he doesn't really like, but they are mandatory. He likes to be among the poor, to follow Christ. Béla Bárány, parish priest of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Budapest-Zugló, who visited Argentina, writes about him :

"Pope Francis did not live in the bishop's palace, but in an apartment. He is like that. As bishop and archbishop, he lived there just like anyone else. He usually went alone by public transport. He spent more time in hospitals, poor neighborhoods, and people's workplaces than in the church - since many people - who do not go to church - can be reached there. There, too, he had a nurturing and caring disposition towards the poor. It wasn't ostentatious, it was simple. Perhaps they did not appreciate him as much, since this was not typical of the Argentine Church. They took it for granted that he was like that. I don't know if the country has such a high priest these days, who would live so simply. He was out of line from the start.

The simplicity, humility, openness and honesty of Pope Francis are touching. He still wears the same ring and pectoral cross that he wore after his consecration as a bishop."

Jesus was also the king of the poor who said, let the children come to me! And now, in connection with the papal visit, I want to talk about the children. About the 22 thousand boys and girls who are orphans or social orphans in our country. They are the truly poor.

Recently, two little ones were dragged around in the trunk of a car by their foster parents, one of them was found dead, the doctors are fighting for the other. In connection with the case, numerous complaints overwhelmed the Facebook universe, new posts appeared written by orphaned children in care, as well as comments reporting on fraudsters who make money from the misery of the vulnerable. In vain: "he who is poor is the poorest!" (JA)

Quote from a little girl:

"It was good for a while with the... foster parents, but unfortunately recently they don't treat us well, they teased us, there is another little girl there who was constantly abused, they starve us, but... I had to run away with my brother because I couldn't take it anymore!"

One comment:

"A foster parent is still better in many cases than being in an Institute. Helping with housework is not a chore, your own children also have tasks, everyone has a task in a family. It's real if you've been treated badly recently (because you feel like it), you're not behaving properly either, you're a teenager, everyone is bad at this time..."

Another comment:

"Unfortunately, there are many foster parents who are only driven by money"

Then:

"he constantly refers to the children ( the biological father - the editor ) and squandered the money...the work stinks for him"

Father Böjte brings a hundred orphans from Transylvania to the papal visit. I visited a few Böjte houses in Transylvania, Székelyföld. Sitting in the grass with the children, we listened to the Franciscan Father's holy mass celebrated under the trees, and I looked at the faces and eyes of these teenagers. At first I saw a bit of wild defiance in them, which was then resolved by prayer and especially the dinner of love after Mass, where they bustled around as hosts in their new and clean home, like children of a large family at a family party. They came, they danced, they laughed!

Of course, I also saw people who were withdrawn, who ended up in this new community after God knows what kind of trauma. And obviously everyone has the desire, the unquenchable thirst for parents. They are forced to carry this throughout their lives. Their cross. In any case, I felt the father's attention to everything, his understanding, but also his strictness.

Christ is our future! This is the motto of the papal visit. And who does the future belong to, if not the children?

On Saturday morning, Pope Francis will pay a private visit to the Blessed Batthyány-Strattmann László Otthon, which cares for blind children. After that, he meets the poor and refugees in the Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet Church in Róssák Square in Budapest. He cares about the protection of the fallen.

What Father Böjte shows is a very important sign for him: the message of helping orphaned children, whether in Transylvania, in the motherland, or even all over the world.

The Hungarian childcare network is overburdened and, moreover, two-thirds of the professional foster parents live in settlements with less than 5,000 people, where the infrastructure, health care, and child psychological care are not exactly at their peak. In these places, local Christian churches and communities can play a very important apostolic role. One must go often, like Pope Francis, among the poor, among the orphans, not necessarily expecting them to go to church. Of course, I know that there are many good religious youth communities operating here and beyond our borders, but they mainly educate children from normal families. Children whose parents/guardians do not go to church should also be approached and supported. If necessary, follow the example of Father Böjte by building institutions, if necessary with a kind of pastoring.

And of course, the local governments and social systems must pay more attention to the healthy upbringing of these 22 thousand children and souls.

I know that a significant number of Hungarian professional foster parents treat their children as if they were their own. I also have a family member like that, one of the children was so loved that he was adopted. They fought for it. She is slowly becoming a grown-up girl, she has a real family. At the same time, unfortunately, there are also Cinderellas among us, who have very little chance of the glass slipper.

And I know that there are many, many non-governmental organizations that embrace children (SOS Children's Villages, Ágota Foundation, Maltese Charity, etc.), the state also cares about their fate as a priority, but there is still a lot to be done. Especially when we consider that abroad, in Transcarpathia, the situation is even more critical due to the war. It is no coincidence that the wife of former head of state János Áder Anita Herczegh - who together with her husband also supports the Covid orphans - recently visited Transcarpathia, because she is its main patron and since its establishment in 2015 has been supported by the Good Samaritan Reformed Church in Nagydobron, which currently educates more than eighty orphaned girls. Children's Home, as well as the family-type Szent Mihály Children's Home in Rát.

His example also shows that the most important thing is to go there personally. Even among the many, many children, you always know that everyone is a wonderful, unique and nurturing soul who wants to hold the hand of someone who takes care of them. Whoever takes care of him!

Christ is our future! He is also the future of our children. The boy God, who personally experienced suffering and human cruelty, but also practiced forgiveness, embraced the children. By doing this, he showed that he accepts them in his mercy and grace. Then he laid his hands on them and blessed them.

By the time this article is published, we will be making preparations for Pope Francis' Sunday Mass on Kossuth Square. And the hundred children will be there with Father Böjte, who will perhaps take the message of the apostolic blessing to the many poor orphans.

Featured image: Magyar Kurír