Balog: ‘Trust the joy of resurrection’

The bishop told MTI that “despite all appearances, life has the last word”. “Jesus was there on the cross alone so that nobody should ever be alone, that each person could feel the presence of Jesus, who will share his suffering,” he said.

Concerning wars, Balog said “the church now thinks differently than in earlier centuries”. The principle of the “just war” has “changed in the times of weapons of mass destruction — war can never be justified”, he said, adding that “the primary task for the church is not to bless the weapons but to provide spiritual aid to the soldiers forced into war and to the victims”.

“We have learnt that we must turn to neighbouring nations with gestures of peace and the will to cooperate even if those intentions are not always reciprocated,” Balog said.