“Pope Francis Criticizes Consumerism and Communism in Hungary Farewell”
Pope Francis warned against the dangers of consumerism during his tenure at the Faculty of Information Technology and Bionics of Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPKE) on Sunday. He said that the common feature of communism and consumerism was the false idea of freedom. Pope Francis called for self-knowledge, recognition of limits, and curbing of hubris. He added that by recognizing oneself as a creature, one becomes a creator in the world, rather than a master of it. During his three-day apostolic visit to Hungary, Pope Francis focused on meeting young people, representatives of academic and cultural life. He called on all universities to be a center of universality and freedom, a fertile laboratory of humanism, and a laboratory of hope. The meeting was attended by Hungarian leaders and church representatives, including President of the Republic Katalin Novák, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén, and Cardinal of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary Péter Erdő. On his departure from Hungary, the Pope was greeted by about 100 volunteers with Vatican and Hungarian flags. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán thanked the Pope for his visit in a social media post.
