There are “political reasons” behind the new accusation made to a Hungarian cardinal, of having been a “spy priest” during the Hungarian communist regime. It is the opinion of Msgr. András Veres, secretary of the Hungarian Bishops’ Conference, who commented the publication, in the last few days, of an article in the political literary weekly “Élet és Irodalom”. The article mentioned Cardinal László Paskai as agent operating during the communist era. About that, these were the words spoken to the Hungarian catholic agency Magyar Kurír: “That article was not surprising – said Msgr. Veres, – but it is clear that the choice of the time was due to political reasons. It must be pointed out that even the author of the text himself said that the person called “teacher” only talked about “benevolent relationships”. He also said that qualifying that person as “agent” was a definition depending just on the appearance. And the judgment formulated at the end of the article reflected just the opinion of the author”. “Some time ago, the Hungarian Bishops’ Conference recalled Msgr. Veres – decided to set up a historical research committee, not to enquire single persons, but with the aim of clearing up the persecution suffered by the Church in the communist era”.
