scholarly journals Arrest and Conviction of Cardinal József Mindszenty 1948–1949. Part 1. “He wants to be a martyr, but I would not do him this favour”

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 73-88
Author(s):  
Margit Balogh ◽  

As a result of the intense political struggle after the Second World War, the Catholic Church, led by Cardinal József Mindszenty, Archbishop of Esztergom, remained the only independent institution in Hungary. This study deals with the political process against Mindszenty and his show-trial. On 26 December 1948, Cardinal Mindszenty was taken into police custody, having been accused of treachery, espionage, foreign currency manipulation, and conspiring to overthrow the republic. All of these charges were stereotypical accusations made by totalitarian regimes. There were seven defendants in the Mindszenty case, comprising three groups: “legitimist conspirators”, “traitorous spies”, and the “foreign currency speculators”, who were the alleged fi nanciers of the conspiracy. The world was shocked to hear of the arrest of the Hungarian primate, Cardinal Mindszenty. The Holy See imposed the gravest discipline on Catholics. Mind- szenty was interrogated immediately after his arrest. He initially stood fi rm. The subse- quent interrogation records clearly refl ect, however, the methods of the State Protection Authority: a series of self-accusatory and factitious sentences are to be found in the manipulated texts. This article is based on documents held by the Hungarian National Archives, the Historical Archives of the State Security Services, the Esztergom Primate Archives, the Archives of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation, the National Archi- ves and Records Administration (USA), and others.

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 53-68
Author(s):  
Margit Balogh

As a result of the political struggle that unfolded in Hungary after the Second World War, the only independent institution remaining in the country was the Catholic Church headed by the Archbishop of Esztergom, Cardinal József Mindszenty. Part One of the article reconstructs the investigation and political process against the primate, who was arrested on charges of high treason, preparing a coup aimed at overthrowing the republican system, espionage, and currency speculation. Part Two deals with the political process and show trial of Mindszenty. The hearings began on 3 February 1949 at the Budapest People’s Court, and, on 8 February 1949, the guilty verdict was announced. The facts were so cleverly manipulated that Mindszenty’s hopes for a change in the political system in the country were qualified as a political conspiracy. The cardinal was sentenced to life imprisonment, deprivation of civil rights, and complete confiscation of property. While preparing for the court of second instance, Mindszenty put forward new projects aimed at reconciling the state and the Church. Deeply disappointed, the cardinal signed his letters “condemned”, “prisoner”, and “condemned archbishop”. The show-trial and long prison confinement only strengthened the cardinal’s faith. This article is based on documents held by the Hungarian National Archives, the Historical Archives of the State Security Services, the Esztergom Primate Archives, the Archives of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation, the National Archives and Records Administration (USA), and others.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-176
Author(s):  
Mária Csatlós

With the available archival resources and through exploring the life, work and political actions of Endre Ágotha, the dean and parish priest of Nyárádselye I trace the unfolding and failing of the schismatic catholic peace movement legitimated in Marosvásárhely in the period 1950-1956. The state backed “Catholic Action” did not succeed in severing the Catholic Church in Romania from Rome by settling the “pending cases” between the church and the state and only a small portion of the clergy joined the movement, yet it has made significant moral damages by dividing the believers and the clergy. The Holy See condemned the movement and it’s key figure Endre Ágotha has brought upon himself the harshest punishment of the Catholic Church: excommunicates vitandus. He received absolution only on his deathbed.


2020 ◽  
pp. 43-62
Author(s):  
Paweł Borecki

From time to time, there is a proposal in the public debate in Poland to break the 1993 concordat, and this has also recently been the case. However, in the current systemic and political reality of contemporary Poland, the issue of the invalidity or expiry of the Polish concordat is one purely for theoretical (academic) discussion. It is worth analyzing this through the prism of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969 and the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997. The only hypothetical grounds for an annulment of the 1993 Concordat would be the allegation that it was concluded in violation of Art. 46 of the Vienna Convention, i.e. in breach of the rules of national law concerning the competence to conclude a treaty of fundamental importance. The Government of the Republic of Poland did not raise this objection within a reasonable time. There are also no circumstances that could constitute obvious reasons for considering the Polish concordat of 1993 as expired. One might try to defend the position that the concordat may be terminated unilaterally, despite the fact that it does not contain an appropriate clause in this regard. It can be compared to a friendship treaty. Such contracts are, by their very nature, subject to termination. It also seems that if need be, the Polish side might be able to terminate the concordat due to a fundamental change in circumstances, e.g. by referring to the rapidly progressing secularization process of Polish society. A very serious barrier to the termination of the concordat by the Polish side is the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997. In Art. 25 sec. 4 it provides for the obligation to define the relations between the state and the Catholic Church, especially in the form of an international agreement with the Holy See. The hypothetical termination of the 1993 concordat would require prior appropriate amendment of Poland’s constitution and the consent of a number of state bodies. In the current legal situation in Poland, the termination of the treaty with the Vatican is very difficult in procedural terms, and is politically unrealistic.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-210
Author(s):  
Edyta Włodarczyk

The Ministry of Public Administration was established pursuant to the Act of 31 December 1944 on the appointment of the Interim Government of the Republic of Poland. The matters arising from the relations between the State and the Churches and religious denominations were handled by Department V, which in 1946 consisted of two sections addressing Christian and non-Christian denominations, respectively. The Socio-Political Departments in the Provincial Offices, which employed officials responsible for matters relating to religious denominations, were subordinate to Department V. The same held true in Starostwa Powiatowe [County Offices]. In 1947, Department V was divided into three units addressing matters of the Catholic Church, Christian Denominations and Non-Christian denominations, respectively, and one year later still one more department, i.e. the Department of General Matters, was established. Since 1947 matters relating to religious denominations fell within the competences of Department IV. The Department of Religious Denominations in the Ministry of Public Administration from its beginnings was responsible for shaping the policy of the State towards religious denominations. The aforementioned policy was supposed to be concordant with the directives and principles of the communist party. The socio-political reforms conducted by the Ministry of Public Administration in relation to the Churches and religious associations were one of the means of repression, which within the years 1944-1950 was in its initial phase based on the trial-and-error method. However, it was the cooperation of the Ministry with Urząd Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego [Public Security Office], and later the establishment of Urząd ds. Wyznań [Office in charge of Religious Denominations] in 1950 which changed and regulated actions of the communist authorities towards the Churches and religious associations in Poland regarding the matters concerning the relations between the State and the Church and religious associations. From then on the competences to date of Department IV of the Ministry of Public Administration were transferred onto the Office in charge of Religious Denominations.


2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-114
Author(s):  
Ivica Mladenovic

In the article, the author deals with the political and social influences of the relationship between the state and religious communities in France. The first part of the paper is an analysis of historical context and the construction (evolution) of laicism in France through its local characteristics, values and social strengths, contributing to its formation. The fact that Catholic Church was one of the main legitimizing pillars of ?the old regime?, permanently determined the relationship between church and state, most importantly - it?s subsequent social exclusion under the Republic. The 1789 French revolution in conjunction with the 1905 law on the Separation of church and state, up until present time, have been seen as the most important events in defining the relationship between political and religious entities in France. The second part of the paper continues in outlining the founding logic and principles of the contemporary relationship between religious communities and the French state. The article concludes in suggesting that through its persistence of a purely Laicistic model of state-church affiliation, view of the nation as a community of citizens, Weberian definition of the State, and the acceptance of the public sphere as common space in which communal interests are negated, France today represents an isolated island on the European continent.


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 467-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Jarska

Through an analysis of archival documents and the published writings of experts, this paper explores the relationships between the emerging field of sexology, the state, and the Catholic Church in post-1956 Poland, as these relationships play an important role in the history of sexuality under state socialism. In the period in question, experts in sexuality, mainly medical doctors, focused on how to improve sexual relations within marriage. They developed a notion known as the ‘culture of sexuality’ based on progressive values such as equality, rationality, and psychological health. Experts drew a connection between an improvement in people’s marital sex lives and the health and welfare of both society and the nation. The Party-State supported these developments and also used them to their advantage in their political struggle with the Catholic Church. However, the experts’ proposal to restrict access to abortion (in 1961) was met with decisive resistance on the part of the Party-State.


Via Latgalica ◽  
2009 ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Vladislavs Malahovskis

The aim of the paper is to reflect the political activities of the Roman Catholic Church in two periods of the history of Latvia and the Roman Catholic Church in Latvia – in the period of First Independence of the Republic of Latvia, basically in the 1920s, and in the period following the restoration of Latvia’s independence. With the foundation of the independent state of Latvia, the Roman Catholic Church experienced several changes; - bishops of the Roman Catholic Church were elected from among the people; - the Riga diocese was restored the administrative borders of which were coordinated with the borders of the state of Latvia; - priests of the Roman Catholic Church were acting also in political parties and in the Latvian Parliament. For the Church leadership, active involvement of clergymen in politics was, on the one hand, a risky undertaking (Francis Trasuns’ experience), but, on the other hand, a necessary undertaking, since in this way the Roman Catholic Church attempted to exercise control over politicians and also affect the voters in the elections for the Saeima. The status of the Church in the State of Latvia was legally secured by the concordat signed in the spring of 1922 which provided for a range of privileges to the Roman Catholic Church: - other Christian denominations in Latvia are functioning in accordance with the regulations elaborated by the State Control and confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior, but the Roman Catholic Church is functioning according to the canons set by the Vatican; - releasing the priests from military service, introduction of the Chaplaincy Institution; - releasing the churches, seminary facilities, bishops’ apartments from taxes; - a license for the activity of Roman Catholic orders; - the demand to deliver over one of the church buildings belonging to Riga Evangelical Lutherans to the Roman Catholics. With the regaining of Latvia’s independence, the Roman Catholic Church of Latvia again took a considerable place in the formation of the public opinion and also in politics. However, unlike the parliamentarian period of the independent Latvia, the Roman Catholic Church prohibited the priests to involve directly in politics and considered it unadvisable to use the word “Christian” in the titles of political parties. Nowadays, the participation of the Roman Catholic Church in politics is indirect. The Church is able to influence the public opinion, and actually it does. The Roman Catholic Church does not attempt to grasp power, but to a certain extent it can, at least partly, influence the authorities so that they count with the interests of Catholic believers. Increase of popularity of the Roman Catholic Church in the world facilitated also the increase of the role of the Roma Catholic Church in Latvia. The visit of the Pope in Latvia in 1993 was a great event not only for the Catholic believers but also for the whole state of Latvia. In the autumn of 2002, in Rome, a concordat was signed between the Republic of Latvia and the Vatikan which is to be classified not only as an agreement between the Roman Catholic Church in Latvia and the state of Latvia but also as an international agreement. Since the main foreign policy aim of Latvia is integration in the European Union and strengthening its positions on the international arena, Vatican as a powerful political force was and still is a sound guarantee and support in international relations.


Author(s):  
Vira Burdiak

The article analyzes the political process in the Republic of Bulgaria and a number of elections to the National Assembly,which in 2021 were already in April, July and announced for November.The factors, which influenced the need to hold parliamentary elections three times in a row.This shows, that the state is going through a difficult period of instability and turbulence.Building a democratic state governed by the rule of law in Bulgaria,despite its membership in the EU, it is still in its infancy. The author emphasizes that the state is growing alienated from democratic political processes and despair of their effectiveness.This requires legal regulation of the following issues:ensuring universal suffrage;the possibility of campaigning and outreach among voters on others,in addition to the state (Bulgarian) languages,after all, large minorities live in Bulgaria (Turkish, Roma, etc.);improving the financing of election campaigning and the mechanism for appealing the results of parliamentary electionsbased on the transition from indirect to direct appeal by election participants to the NZB of their results. Solving the main problem of Bulgaria – reducing corruption,in fact, it did not happen.Positive success in the fight against corruption can be achieved with the support of the population,his belief that the state will be able to defeat corruption,clear enforcement of anti-corruption measures in various government agencies and institutions.The growth of political consciousness of citizens,which is expressed in a broad protest movement,in the medium term may become the internal basis for the formation of real,rather than a formal electoral system organized according to European standards.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-41
Author(s):  
Roman V. Fedoseev

Introduction. The study of the processes that took place in the post-reform era in the noble economy is one of the main foundations of the analysis of the capitalist evolution of the agrarian sphere of the late XIX – early XX centuries. After the reform of 1861, the local nobility, adapting to the needs of the time, switched to new forms and methods of management, which led to significant changes in the production structure of their estates. Materials and Methods. The study was carried out on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of the valuables contained in the files of the Kazan branch of the State Noble Land Bank, extracted from the fund of the specified credit institution, located in the vaults of the National Archives of the Republic of Tatarstan. Results. The information contained in the appraisal list makes it possible to successfully consider the structure of estates, their material base, as well as the degree of profitability of the main branches of economic activity. Of course, not all inventories contained detailed information about the pledged property, many of them lacked some elements, in particular, there could be no listing of income and expenses and other valuable information, but in general they revealed the structure, degree of capitalization and profitability of the noble households Kazan province of the period under review. Discussion and Conclusions. As a result, the study showed that, by the end of the 19th century, noble economies were rather large economic complexes with a well-developed material and production base, where labor was most often carried out on the job of civilian workers, or wasp processing, most of the estates had a variety of agricultural machines and inventory, horse breeding was quite developed, livestock breeding was less developed.


Author(s):  
Larisa B. Mandzhikova ◽  

Introduction. In the article, the author examines the history of archives in Kalmykia within the 1962-1980 chronological framework. In 1962, the Archive Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the KASSR and the State Archives of the Republic were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Council of Ministers of the KASSR; and in 1980, the Archive Department under the Council of Ministers of the Kalmyk ASSR was reorganized into the Archive Department of the Council of Ministers of the Kalmyk ASSR. The article aims at examining the history of archives and archiving in this period, focusing on the impact of changes in the administrative-territorial division of the Republic on the formation of a network of archival institutions in Kalmykia. This has involved the study of issues of archival acquisition in the state archives, methods of preservation of archival records at the stage of departmental storage and in the state archives, and the use of archival documents for the purposes of national economic and scientific research. Data and research methods. The sources for the research were archival records of the National Archives of the Republic of Kalmykia, many of which are introduced for the first time. Results. The study indicates that the period under consideration saw radical changes in the archival organization in Kalmykia. The archival institutions of the Republic organized their work in accordance with the adopted normative legal acts, the instructions of the higher organizations, and the state of local archiving. In general, during this period, the archivists of the Republic succeeded in reaching the standards required in their professional field in the country at large, and, also, in creating the foundation for further improvement in the field.


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