Folia Theologica et Canonica 5. 27/19 (2016)
SACRA THEOLOGIA - Szabolcs Anzelm Szuromi, O.Praem., Cardinal Mindszenty and the Hungarian bishops against the communist dictatorship (1947-1974)
CARDINAL MINDSZENTY AND THE HUNGARIAN BISHOPS... 75 Between 1945 and 1947 the political transformation basically had been done in Hungary - except the question about the ecclesiastical educational system - which is well represented by the scandalous parliamentary election on August 31" 1947.'' I. Cardinal Mindszenty’s activity between 1947 and 1950 It is not our intention to describe Card. Mindszenty’s personality and his detailed biography, which were explained indeed by himself6 7 and many other authors. Nevertheless, we have to understand those acts, decisions, letters, proclamations, preaches which belong to one firm, spiritually and morally very strong person, if we like to get an objective overview on those facts which evolved his role in the revolution of 1956. Card. Mindszenty - called originally József Pehm - was born in Csehimind- szent on March 29,h 1892. After his graduation in the Norbertine high school of Szombathely, he entered into the priestly seminary of Szombathely in 1911 and he was ordained a priest in 1915. He became diocesan bishop of Veszprém in 1944, nominated by Pope Pius XII. When he returned from the national socialist captivity on April 20th 1945 he began the restoration of his diocese, including the so called diocesan visitation. The Holy Father nominated him Archbishop of Esztergom and Primate of Hungary on August 16lh 1945 as successor of Jusztinián Card. Serédi, then Mindszenty had received the cardinal dignity on February 18lh 1946. As the first representative of the Catholic Church in Hungary - because the country was in ruins after the war, in both senses: physically and spiritually - he - like in Veszprém - had begun to rebuild the Catholic daily life. It is represented well by the Year of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was opened on August 15lh 1947. In the same time he organized the faithful mission in the entire country. These two steps show that in Mindszenty’s mind the spiritual restoration had primary importance in order to heal those wounds which had arisen during the war. The Primate composed a moving pastoral letter on October 1st 1947, wherein he condemned the deportation of the German minority in Hungary, but the Slovakian deportation too. After these occurrences the focus of the Bishop Conference, including the Cardinal turns toward the debate of the secularization of ecclesiastical schools, which 6 Cf. Gergely, J., A Katolikus Egyház Magyarországon 1944-1971, Budapest 1985.42-59. Gergely, J., Az. 1950-es egyezmény és a szerzetesrendek felszámolása Magyarországon, Budapest 1990. 6-11. In detailed: Gyarmati, Gy., A Rákosi-korszak. Rendszerváltó fordulatok évtizede Magyarországon, 1945-1956, Budapest 2013. 7 Mindszenty, J., Memoirs, New York 1974.
