A Mindszenty-per
On December 26, 1948, Cardinal Mindszenty, Archbishop of Ersztergom and Prince-Primate of Hungary, was arrested by the Communist government. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, deprivation of political rights and confiscation of all personal property on February 8, 1949. His trial and condemnation were meant to send multiple messages: the exclusion of Catholics from public life and the political isolation of the Catholic Church; the issuing of a threat to the priests of Hungary and other Eastern-European countries; the general demonstration of the fact that no ecclesiastical establishment or member of the clergy is safe from Communist power; to disclaim the moral authority of the US and the West by showing that the beneficiaries of political power can violate religious freedom with impunity, they can ignore public opinion and infringe upon the rights of citizens.
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