Egyháztörténeti Szemle 17. (2016)

2016 / 3. szám - SUMMARIES IN ENGLISH - Sági György: ’Vacantia sedis’ of Kalocsa in 1961

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Egyháztörténeti Szemle XVII/3 (2016)

‘Vacantia sedis’ of Kalocsa in 1961

Sági, György

In the study the author examined the events from the death of Archbishop József Grősz, through the election of Imre Várkonyi Titular Provost of Géder for Vicar Capitular, to the unsuccessful appointment of Senior Master Canon and Auxiliary Bishop János Bárd as the Apostolic Administrator of Kalocsa and Bács.

Archbishop Grősz died on the 3rd October 1961 after a mass that he celebrated in the Archbishop’s Palace of Kalocsa. The author wrote about these events and the organization of the funeral. He dealt in his study also with the will of Grősz that the aulists didn’t find when he died (He only found the testament’s draft in Kalocsa).

Besides, he wrote about the tragicomic election of Várkonyi for Vicar Capitular on the 4th October 1961. He unfolded in detail the process of election with the help of the Chapter Protocol and the reports of Ministerial Commissioner Gyula Szakács, who was the Church Affairs general rapporteur of Bács-Kiskun County. Through them the reader can see the strong pressure of state power on the election and the Church leadership of Kalocsa. The canons couldn’t do what they wanted. Várkonyi was regarded to be the perfect leader in the Archdiocese of Kalocsa and Bács by the State Office for Church Affairs (ÁEH) because he was a „peace priest” who served the demands of the state. From the study it can be get also a good picture about his functioning in the archdiocese and about the relationship between he and the priests and the men of state.

Pope John XXIII on the 20th November 1961 appointed Auxiliary Bishop Bárd as the Apostolic Administrator of Kalocsa and Bács, as the interim successor of Grősz. This was unexpected for Várkonyi but it wasn’t a surprise. Endre Hamvas Bishop of Csanád - who became president of the Hungarian Catholic Bench of Bishops after József Grősz’s funeral - wanted the state to accept the person of Bárd, but it didn’t succeed for him. That was neither a surprise for János Bárd. The anticlerical state with Imre Várkonyi’s help removed him from Kalocsa to Kerekegyháza near Kecskemét and Bárd wasn’t allowed to practice his bishopric tasks. So Várkonyi remained Vicar Capitular of Kalocsa until 1964, when Bishop Hamvas became Archbishop of Kalocsa and Bács. Pope Paul VI transferred him from the Diocese of Csanád to the head of the Archdiocese of Kalocsa and Bács as a result of Agostino Casaroli’s negotiations with the state.

In addition to this, in the study the author quoted Mr György Kujáni and Reverend Ferenc Tölgyes as witnesses. The former is the nephew of Grand Provost Ferenc Kujáni, whom was intended to elect vicar capitular by the chapter after the death of Grősz, but it was not allowed by the state. The latter, Father Tölgyes was one of those priests who were last ordained by Archbishop Grősz in i960. He was made archbishopric councillor by Archbishop József Ijjas in 1984 and now he’s a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Kalocsa and Kecskemét. In the appendix of the study, the reader can find also some publication of sources.