On 2 August, Memorial Day of the Porajmos (Holocaust of Roma and Sinti during World War II), the Community held a prayer in the Church of St. Teresa of Avila in Budapest. Bishop János Székely, Bishop of Szombathely, presided over the ceremony.
Péter Szőke of the Community of Sant'Egidio evoked the Porajmos and a series of murders against the Roma minority in Hungary between 2008 and 2009, when six innocent people were murdered and many others seriously injured. Indeed, in our age marked by forms of egocentrism, the 'death of the neighbour' is evident. The perpetrators of these racist crimes considered that the neighbour had already died, so it was easy to kill. Such atrocities are symptoms of a broken society. Tikkun olam, i.e. repairing the world, must be the answer, especially through prayer.
During his homily on the book of Exodus, the bishop recalled that God appeared to Moses when the suffering of the people of Israel had become unbearable under the rule of the Egyptians. God had taken compassion on his people in the burning bush and has been present ever since among all those who are tortured, humiliated and condemmned to death, like the Roma. Life as a Roma should not be perceived as a curse, but as a blessing.
The names of the victims of the 2008 and 2009 attacks were read out in the presence of some of their relatives. Members of the Youth for Peace lit candles.
Chief Rabbi Zoltán Radnóti prayed that we would have the gift of kind and wise words, the strength and the ability to act against dark ideologies, hatred and social exclusion. He quoted King Solomon from the book of Proverbs: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who make it a friend shall eat its fruit (18:21)".
Gábor Smidéliusz, a Lutheran pastor, meditated on the words of Revelation, when God "will wipe away every tear" (21:4). He implored God to give justice to the afflicted and to give hope even when we feel discouraged in the face of so great inhumanity.
Szabina Sztojka, Reformed pastor and responsible for the pastoral care of gypsies, herself a member of the Roma minority, prayed that the Lord would heal the wounds caused by discrimination and also heal our churches and communities. Invoking God's blessing for her own people, she asked that their dignity be restored and strengthened and that Gypsies, especially children, be freed from suffering daily humiliations.
