László Német: My nomination as cardinal may be related to my commitment to the synodal renewal of the Church
The ambassador of Megújul.hu was in the Vatican when he was informed that Pope Francis had chosen him as one of his closest advisors. The Archbishop of Belgrade gave his first Hungarian interview from the heart of the Catholic Church, too.
– How did the news reach you that your name is included in the list of the 21 newly appointed cardinals?
– I was in my room after a midday walk, and roughly twenty minutes after twelve o’clock, I received the first congratulation via SMS from my friend who lives in Brussels, saying „you will have much more work to do”. I didn’t really understand what it was about, but one minute later three people called me one after the other to congratulate me, and then I understood that something really happened. I quickly looked at the Vatican media, but the Pope’s speech had already ended. I looked back for the announcement in the video, and it was really there as the Pope announced my name. By that time, the other ambassador of Megújul.hu, Klára Csiszár, had also called me, after Cardinal Schönborn’s media representative had informed her. This also shows that the Pope did not inform us in advance, and I know from the other appointed new cardinals that everyone was very surprised. But Pope Francis is a man of surprises, and we know that lately, that in the case of cardinal appointments he just reads the names in St. Peter’s Square.
When I started to understand what had happened – I’m not ashamed to say – I started to cry. I was very touched. This does not happen to people every day.
– We cannot talk about the ongoing Synod of Bishops itself, as we respect the Holy See’s request for media silence. What can be said, however, is that the Catholic Church is on the way to change its focus from a former European dominance to other continents, especially the southern hemisphere, which focus can also be recognized in the selection of new cardinals. As a few days have already passed since the announcement, perhaps you had time to think about why you were chosen as a European, and also as a Hungarian cardinal, who is one of the pastors serving in another country, Serbia. What do you think, what was the logic of the Pope with your nomination?
– To be honest, I don’t know the answer, and I don’t think I ever will. Many people are trying to interpret the list of newly nominated cardinals, many things can be read from it, there are many different points of view. You see: what you said, that I serve in Belgrade as a Hungarian, this is also an interpretation of the papal decision. I am the archbishop of Belgrade, and I assume that Pope Francis wanted one of the new cardinals to be the archbishop of Belgrade. I don’t know if he knows I’m Hungarian. I don’t think this influenced the decision, but my appointment as cardinal may be related to my commitment to the synodal renewal of the Church. I think my active presence in the synodal process matters. Many of the new cardinals are here at the synod for the second year already. And before Covid, we held a diocesan synod in the Diocese of Nagybecskerek, which I led as a bishop at the time – so we can say that even before the Pope started the synodal renewal of the universal church, we already learned in Nagybecskerek, what this would be. Sixty percent of dioceses worldwide have not yet held a diocesan synod. Back home, we can be proud, since the Archdiocese of Belgrade has already finished its diocesan synod. Being in Belgrade, we cannot forget the relationship with the Serbian Orthodox Church and the loving effort that Pope Francis is making to promote the unity of Christians. I am very grateful that as archbishop of Belgrade, I have a brotherly relationship with our Orthodox brothers, and I especially thank Patriarch Porfirije for the brotherhood he shows to me. Of course, if we were to read the interpretations given by the Croatian and Serbian papers on my appointment, we would come across a lot of political ideas: some are happy, some are not.
I am a member of the diverse Catholic Church, which does not exclude or stigmatize, but values diversity.
Even Pope Francis thinks only in terms of church politics, he does not conform to the general, everyday political logic.
– You shared a video on social media, where you express your gratitude for the many kind greetings and congratulations. Did you receive any message from Hungarian church leaders, can they reach you during the synod?
– I received from many of them: congratulations from friends, colleagues, and relatives… I couldn’t even answer them all, since most people want to call me, and of course it’s impossible to answer all the calls. I also express my thanks to those whom I could not speak to directly. Cardinal Péter Erdő, Primate of Hungary called me a few minutes after 1:00 p.m. on the day of the announcement, and he warmly congratulated me and wished me all the best. This is very important to me. Other Hungarian bishops also approached me and congratulated me kindly and lovingly. I can’t suddenly list everyone right now, but Csaba Ternyák, archbishop of Eger is among them, archbishop of Kalocsa-Kecskemét, Bábel Balázs, Bishop Ferenc Palánki from the Diocese of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza, and Bishop Miklós Beer, who is also a committed supporter of synodal renewal. I have not yet noticed that anyone from the leadership of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference has contacted me, even though I was the secretary of this institution for almost two years. Anyway, I got a lot of greetings. But let’s talk about Serbia too, since I am the archbishop of Belgrade: the Serbian president called immediately after the announcement, and the prime minister also called that afternoon. The Serbian Patriarch is currently in Montreal on his apostolic journey, he sent a fantastic, beautiful message from there, several Orthodox bishops also congratulated me, the Croatian Catholic Bishops’ Conference greeted me. I was especially greeted by my Croatian bishop friends, among them Cardinal Josip Bozanić, archbishop emeritus of Zagreb, the entire Albanian episcopal community, Bulgarian, Romanian and Bosnian bishops… What can I say: the kindness of the former Yugoslavia and the surrounding states flows towards me, but I also constantly receive kind messages from many other European and non-European countries. A man is a man. I have joy and gratitude in my heart.
– You arrived at the current synod of bishops as an archbishop, and you will leave as an appointed cardinal at the end of October. What is changing in your life?
– For now, all I can say is that I have no idea. After the cardinal creation to be held on December 7., and after we celebrated together with the Pope, I will receive my titular church in Rome, and the decisions will come from Pope Francis as to where – if he wants – to use my experience, my cooperation in the various curial offices. Today it would be useless to dream about what awaits me. In two months, I will know more about my new tasks in the future.
– What would you like to tell Hungarian readers from the location of the synod?
– I warmly welcome all dear readers.
I think it would be important for as many of us as possible to enter into a dialogue with each other.
There are many good things here at the synod, and there are many good things in Hungary as well. It would be so nice to bring different insights and experiences closer together, and to jointly reduce the amount of hatred and fear that currently reigns in Hungary.
Written by István Gégény