Amerikai Magyar Szó, 1978. július-december (32. évfolyam, 27-50. szám)
1978-12-21 / 49. szám
Thursday, Dec. 21. 1978. WHEN A HUNGARIAN COULD AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN ELECTED POPE------------------------------------------------AMERIKAI MAGYAR SZO The election of Pope John Paul II. was hailed as the election of the first East European to the throne of Saint Peter. It was duly pointed out that it was the first time in 455 years that a non-Italian was so honored. What is not generally known is that 465 years ago another East European was nearly elected. And his election would have made Pope John Paul II. the SECOND East European pope. The bypassing of a Hungarian cardinal in 1513 had devastating consequences for the Church, for Hungary, for the whole western civilization. Such are the conclusions that one can draw upon a new and closer scrutiny of the obscure and hitherto not sufficiently analyzed events that transpired during the conclave of 1513 which resulted in the elevation of Giovanni Medici to the papal throne as Leo X. ***** By the time Pope Julius II.died on February 20, 1513 the arena of history has dramatically expanded with the discovery of the New World. Throughout Europe a new social and economic order was emerging from the womb of feudalism amidst tremendous upheavals and social dislocations. The corruption of the Church reached unprecedented heights resulting in widespread bitterness, dissatisfaction, criticism and ever more open rebellion against the authority of Rome. It was the seedtime of the Reformation. In the Eastern part of Europe the Turks, having severed the main arteries of European commerce by the occupation of Constantinople, were beginning to threaten the Eastern bastions of Europe, primarily the kingdom of Hungary. The times have unquestionably called for the election as the head of the Catholic Church - then a powerful political, military as well as spiritual force in Europe - a man of the highest integrity, dauntless spirit, broad vision, compassion, not to mention generalship, both politically and militarily. Among the cardinals that gathered in Rome after the death of Pope Julius II. to elect a new pontiff there was one who possessed most of the above qualifications more pronouncedly than any of the others. That man was the Primate of Hungary, Thomas Cardinal Bakócz of Strigonia /latin name of Esztergom, Hungary/. One must state at the outset that Cardinal Bakócz was not without blemish. By today’s standards he might not be considered totally qualified. But the standards of his times, the close of the Middle Ages, were basically different. The Church at that time was an ecumenical power, it was a state of considerable size and political weight and its princes were subject to the disciplines and practices essential to the effective functioning of a state. Cardinal Bakocz was a typical son of his age. He was a man of the Renaissance. He was immensely ambitious, had an almost limitless desire for self- aggrandizement. When he deemed it necessary to attain his aims, he was not above deceit. But in his personal life he was above reproach. As a man of humble origin, the son of peasants, he had great compassion for his fellow men. Thomas Cardinal Bakócz, Primate of Hungary in 1513. His contemporaries as well as almost all the Church-historians agree that of the chief contenders for the Papacy in 1513, that is Cardinals Riario, Grimani and Flisco, Bakocz was the most likeliest and possibly the most deserving to be elected. There was a popular song chanted in Rome during the tense days of the election about the chances of the leading candidates. It went something like this: “De chi si parla? Chi e ehe piu si noma Per farsi Papa, senza fraude e inganni Strigonia, Flisco, San Zorzi et Grimani El primo e di valor, rico et potente....” “Who is being talked about? Who do they think Will be elected Pope without fraud or deceit? The Strigonian, Flisco, Riario or Grimani? The first is valiant, rich and powerful....” The Strigonian was the Hungarian Cardinal. Note that his name was first on the list. It is also noteworthy that the Roman man on the street subconsciously expressed the fear of fraud or deceit entering the election process. The limitations of a single article preclude a detailed description of the involved, intricate maneuvers that resulted in the elimination of Bakocz and other main contenders and assured the election of Giovanni Medici, 37 year old second son of Lorenzo, the Magnificent. At the time of the conclave Giovanni was not even a priest. He was ordained a priest on the 13th, a bishop on the 15th, and crowned pope on the 17th. An analysis of the intricate negotiations, maneuvers transpiring during the Conclave, provides substantiations for the conclusion that the election of Giovanni Medici, ENGINEERED THROUGH THE ACTIVITESof Giovanni’s secretary, Bernardo Dovizi, might have been fraudulent morally if not technically for the following reasons: 1. )Dovizi spread the rumor among the conclavists that Pope Julius II. expressed a wish on his deathbed that Bakocz should NOT be elected in his place. /“Si dice Papa Julio ha ditto a li Cardinali non fazino per niun modo el Cardinal Strigonia in suo loco”. Sanuto: Diari, Vol.XVI. p. 54./ 2. ) Dovizi improvised a fake emergency concerning j the health of Giovanni Medici to reassure the older cardinals who did not want to see a very young man ! elected. He invited a surgeon to perform a minor operation on young Medici. ' 3. ) Dovizi so manipulated the proceedings that his candidate became the deacon of the conclave entrusted with the counting of the votes, as a committee of one. To no one’s great surprise he announced that he was elected pope. These are the bare outlines of the bizarre events that transpired during those fateful March days in Rome in 1513. ' We have historic documents showing that subsequently Giovanni Medici paid Dovizi 2000 gold ducats “sub die XII Mártii conclavistis pro precio cam et bonor” /Sanuto, Vol. XVI. p. 19/. Six months later Medici, then as Pope Leo X, appointed him cardinal /Bibbiena/. Dovizi’s influence over Leo X. was so overwhelming that he was openly and generally called “alter Papa” /the other Pope/. Pope Leo X.was a man who appreciated art, literature and loved luxury. But he lacked vision,never comprehended the grave problems of the Church and of the world around him. To get Bakocz out of Rome who lingered there not expecting Leo’s reign to last, he appointed him Papal legate to Hungary and commanded him to organize a crusade against the Turks, undoubtedly upon the advice of Dovizi. Bakocz did issue the proclamation for a Crusade. The call was answered mainly by embittered, exploited peasants. Soon they turned their arms against the landlords; Hungary went up in flames. The nobility eventually succeeded in drowning the rebellion in blood, massacring 70.000 peasants, the flower of the nation. When a decade later the Turks attacked Hungary, there was no effective resistance. The King’s army was destroyed at Mohács, the King himself died and with him the independece and viability of Hungary for 150 years. But this was merely the first of the fateful consequences of the tainted election of 1513. Others followed: the peasant revolt in Germany, the grabbing of Hungary by the Habsburgs creating a base for reaction and German expansionism for the ensuing centuries. DID YOU LIKE this ^ssue of “HERITAGE” ? Would* you be interested in receiving future issues? Then please fill out this coupon^also we will gladly send free sample copies to yourlriend.and relatives. YouFname and address....,.................................... Your friend’s name and address..............V........... (You may send as many names as you wish) Subscription $ 2.- per year ©■ He should have been elected
