Light rust shouldn't make much difference and the pistol should still be safe to fire. Heavy rust that reduces bore diameter is dangerous; this is the same as a bore obstruction. Once the rust have been removed, you should be good to go.
Once you remove the rust you will be left with pitting. Heavier the rust the deeper the pitting. Light to moderate pitting will increase pressure and velocity slightly because the bore is rougher, but should still be safe to fire. Deep pitting decrease the pressure due to the bore getting bigger. I think it should be safe enough to fire. Your friendly gunsmith should be your guide in that case.
There are plenty of well-abused examples out there that still shoot without exploding. Failures are usually due to mechanical parts.
Use a phosphor-bronze brush with a thin oil of your choice. Paraffin, WD40, Q20, diesel and/or Ballistol all work. Use copious quantities. Brush until the rust is gone. Do not reverse brush direction inside the barrel. Patch until barrel is dry inside. Then patch with a slightly oiled patch with gun-oil of your preference. I prefer Ballistol.