Pope John xxiii came to the Vatican as an ‘interim’ occupant of the Holy See in 1957 and he was already over eighty when the seismic Second Vatican Council opened in 1962. Scholars, it seemed, had examined every aspect of this event over the past half-century, so there was nothing left to research – until this book revealed what the Communist archives had concealed.
The exhaustive commentaries over the years study both the voluminous official documents and the unofficial testimonies of hundreds of participants, observers and journalists (both accredited and informal). Piotr H. Kosicki, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Maryland, has brought together a galaxy of researchers to peer ‘behind the Iron curtain’. They study Hungary, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Poland, each chapter revealing remarkable new insights and presenting its conclusions in texts readily assimilated by the non-specialist. The absence of a chapter on the USSR is probably explained by the refusal of the regime to sanction the presence of a single bishop from Lithuania or Ukraine (while encouraging observers from the Russian Orthodox Church).
In his introductory chapter the editor quotes Pope John Paul xxiii as still using the phrase ‘Church of Silence’ in 1959, but the Council, as a matter of policy, issued no blanket condemnation of Communism. Considering that at this time Nikita Khrushchev was venting a new period of persecution on religion in the Soviet Union, not least on the Catholic Church (both Roman and Eastern Rite), this was a considerable feat of restraint. It is possible that the release of the Ukrainian Archbishop Josyf Slipyj in 1963 was offered to the Vatican as the ‘prize’ for non-confrontation, or indeed to mask the new persecution, but this is far from certain and will remain so, as long as Vatican diplomatic records remain closed. Two years earlier the Kremlin permitted the Russian Orthodox Church to join the World Council of Churches, which, in effect, bought the silence of international ecumenical leadership. Kosicki's conclusion is different: ‘Slipyj's story attests to the ability of Soviet and American diplomats to work with the Church in the spirit of aggiornamento to temper Soviet confessional policy and to achieve concrete results through international dialogue and peace.’ Be that as it may, the secret negotiations probably saved the life of a man who had suffered abject prison conditions for nearly twenty years. Gerald P. Fogarty, in a general introductory chapter on ‘Vatican II and the Cold War’, recounts the release of Slipyj; he goes into more detail, but emphasises that this in no way eased Khrushchev's continuing persecution of religion, not least of Catholics.
Árpád von Klimó reflects on how remote the events in Rome apparently seemed to a closed society such as that in Hungary. The tendency, in the face of continuing overt persecution, was for believers to cling on to what they had, regarding any change as a potential threat. They also lacked leadership, Cardinal Mindszenty having found refuge in the American embassy in Budapest in 1956. In a brief chapter the author presents a devastating picture of a Church weakened not only by the universal infiltration of lay collaborationist administrators into the structure, but also the presence of some 170 renegade priests. The vast majority of priests held their peace, not daring openly to contradict the necessity of presenting a loyal face towards the regime. The Hungarian embassy in Rome ensured that ‘twenty secret agents supervised’ the conduct of the delegates to the Vatican Council. Gradually, however, but only after the conclusion of the Council, such figures as Fr Gyórgy Bulányi began organising local ‘basis’ groups where conscience and honesty predominated.
Ivo Banac presents a very different picture of Croatia, with Slovenia the focus of the Catholic presence in Yugoslavia. The authorities permitted publication of an uncensored newspaper, Glas Koncila [Voice of the Council], which was able to inform the faithful of the changes which were being promulgated by Vatican II. This did not prevent Tito from inflicting an anti-Croat purge in December 1971, a prelude to the devastating civil war which followed the dictator's death.
Only the Czech Cardinal Tomášek and three Slovak bishops received exit permits from Czechoslovakia to attend the first session of the Council. Surprisingly, the Communist authorities released the aged Archbishop (later Cardinal) Beran from imprisonment and he reached Rome in time to attend the final session of the Council and deliver a passionate speech in support of religious liberty. James Ramon Felak puts on record the inspiration which these events in Rome directly contributed to the Prague Spring of 1968, which in turn was suppressed.
In some ways Kosicki's concluding chapter on Poland, some twice as long as each of the other contributions, presents the most surprising conclusions. This major re-evaluation of the complexity of the role of the Roman Catholic Church is worthy of expansion to a full monograph. He charts, step by step, Church–State relations during the early years of Communism. Despite nagging away at the sway which the Church held over the souls of almost all the people, the State never felt itself strong enough to embark on total suppression of the Church.
Polish representation at the Council was substantial. No fewer than sixty-one bishops and twelve journalists attended at various times during the four sessions, a total which exceeded that from all the other Communist countries combined. Furthermore, it was the crucible where the personality and strength of Karol Wojtyla would eventually be recognised. Kosicki notes with surprise that the complex events relevant to the Council have not received more attention.
The received view (conservative Polish prelates against a progressive Council) is far from accurate. Pope John Paul ii claimed that, for him, the Council was ‘the constant reference point of every pastoral action’. There was, of course, deep anger against the Communist authorities on the part of the participating bishops, but there was also a vein of discomfiture towards the aggiornamento. There was also another strand – perhaps two strands. The complement of Polish journalists maintained a commentary beyond the confines of the formal debate. Moreover, some commentators represented the heartland of the Church but clamoured for reform, while others represented the government and voiced more conservative opinions. There was much more, so a careful reading of these packed pages yields rewards, far too rich to designate here.
This is a book which, on almost every page, opens new perspectives on the Catholic Church in Eastern Europe.
