9. Memorandum of Conversation0
SUBJECT
- Letter from Cardinal Mindszenty Regarding His Situation of Refuge
PARTICIPANTS
- Monsignor Egidio Vagnozzi, Apostolic Delegate
- EE—Harold C. Vedeler
- WE—August Velletri
Upon authorization of the Acting Secretary an informal meeting was arranged with Monsignor Egidio Vagnozzi, Apostolic Delegate, for the purpose of leaving with him a communication from Cardinal Mindszenty for transmission to the Holy See.
Mr. Vedeler said that we had called to bring a copy of a letter from His Eminence Josef Cardinal Mindszenty.1 The background of this communication was a statement of Gyula Kallai, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Hungarian regime, at a press conference concerning the status of [Page 15] Cardinal Mindszenty. The Deputy Foreign Minister had been asked at this conference on December 4 by a correspondent whether the Government of Hungary would discuss the Cardinal’s future and on what basis the problem might be settled. The reply was that the Hungarian Government was prepared to discuss the matter only in connection with any US-Hungarian negotiations on the improvement of relations between the two countries. The Cardinal had learned of this statement and had prepared a letter to Secretary Rusk in which he expressed his views concerning his situation of refuge. The Cardinal had asked that a copy of the letter be brought to the attention of the Apostolic Delegate so that his views could be made known to the Holy See.
Mr. Vedeler then outlined briefly the following substance of the letter. The Cardinal had discussed three possibilities of change in his status: (1) freedom and resumption of ecclesiastical functions in Hungary; (2) release under conditions imposed by the regime which would include the taking of an oath of loyalty to the regime; and (3) departure from Hungary and resignation of his functions. All of these alternatives were excluded by the Cardinal who indicated he did not seek a change in his status under the existing circumstances. Principal reasons for his stand were the imprisonment suffered by Bishops in Hungary, by many members of the clergy and by thousands of the faithful; the deportation of Hungarians and the lot of their families; the damages to the Church caused by the regime and the interference in religious affairs in Hungary. The Cardinal also made the point that the Hungarian regime in any event had no serious intentions in his case and was only using his name as a decoy. He mentioned further that the Primate in Hungary could not be used as a counter or for barter purposes even when the end might be desirable. The letter thus gave as a whole a clear indication that the Cardinal considered the only course open to him for the present was to remain in refuge in the Legation.
The Apostolic Delegate suggested that there was a fourth alternative which the Cardinal had not mentioned. This was for him to depart from Hungary to establish residence abroad without giving up his ecclesiastical functions although not exercising them in practice. The Apostolic Delegate’s belief, however, was that the best course was for the Cardinal to remain in Hungary in the existing situation since he was needed there as a source of inspiration and encouragement to the Hungarian people. In response to a question Monsignor Vagnozzi indicated that he believed the Holy See preferred this course. He said that the continuation of this situation depended to be sure on the attitude of the US toward the Cardinal’s refuge in the Legation. He recognized that this presented some problems for the US and asked about the attitude of the US concerning its willingness for the Cardinal to remain.
[Page 16]Mr. Vedeler replied that he was authorized by the Department to say: (1) it was agreeable to the US for the Cardinal to continue his refuge in the Legation in the present circumstances; (2) the present time and situation were in our view not favorable for the US to take any initiative which would have the purpose of resolving the problem of the Cardinal’s refuge; and (3) we believed that any efforts of this nature should be deferred until developments in US-Hungarian relations would open up a prospect of success for such efforts. Mr. Vedeler then passed a copy of the attached letter from Cardinal Mindszenty to the Apostolic Delegate on a confidential basis. In accepting the communication Monsignor Vagnozzi said that he would send it to the Holy See and if there were any reply he would communicate with us.
There was some discussion thereafter of the health of Cardinal Mindszenty at the present time. Mr. Vedeler said that the Cardinal was in reasonably good health in view of his age and his present circumstances. The US had arranged for visits of doctors from time to time for examination of his health and there had been no serious problem so far. If the Cardinal became ill so that he required continuing medical attention a problem would arise and we hoped that this might be avoided so long as the Cardinal remained in the Legation.
With this the visit came to a conclusion and the Apostolic Delegate thanked us for coming.