Egyháztörténeti Szemle 14. (2013)

2013 / 2. szám - SUMMARIES IN ENGLISH - Petrás Éva: The Social Teaching and the Social Question - The Reception of the Catholic Social Teaching among the Hungarian Catholic Intelligentsia, 1931-1944

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Egyháztörténeti Szemle XIV/2 (2013)

leaders, which were very active during those events, because they had a very important role in that issue.

Spiritual Struggles of a Catholic Prelate. Endre Hamvas bishop of Csanád and the state power between 1961 and

1964

Sági, György

Endre Hamvas bishop of Csanád (1944-1964) in 1961 after death of József Grősz archbishop of Kalocsa (1943-1961), he became president of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops since he was the senior prelate. At this time the head of the Hungarian Catholic Church, József Cardinal Mindszenty archbishop of Esztergom, Prince-Primate of Hungary he lived in embassy of United States of America; he could not free to leave because have been arrested by the communist state’s people. The archiepiscopal sees of Kalocsa and Eger were vacancy.

The reports from János Rátkai the Church Affairs general rapporteur of Csongrád County show well it was how difficult of bishop Hamvas if he wanted to serve faithfully the Church but in addition had to show loyalty to the atheist state, too. This was necessary, - if possible -, do not prevent the main pastoral work. Rátkai and the Church Affairs Office (ÁEH) did everything to interact with the prelate of Csanád. This is more or less successful, even though the communists had to admit that it is not so easy to control the bishop, such was previously thought. Rátkai and others tried to around the bishop with priests who was faithful to communist state but the bishop’s was a confidant of many who could classify into the group of ‘reactionaries’.

The old bishop Hamvas - hard to convinced at him, but supported by the state - could deliver a speech at the World Congress for Peace and Disarmament in Moscow in 1962. He led the delegation of Hungarian conciliar fathers in the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council between 1962 and

1965 but the last — the 4th - section of displaced to return home due to illness. His successor as head of the delegation became Pál Brezanóczy apostolic administrator of Eger. Since 1964 Hamvas was the archbishop of archdiocese of Kalocsa (1964-1969). The archiepiscopal appointment - by other newly appointed and/or reinforced bishops - was a result of Agostino Casaroli’s negotiations. He died in 1970 at the age of 80 than titular archbishop of Arse in Numidia and archbishop emeritus of Kalocsa, already at the time of archbishop József Ijjas.