"If You Cooperate"

The Communist battle for control of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary raged last week throughout the country. In schools and homes, factories and offices, Hungarians were asked to sign petitions demanding the death penalty for Josef Cardinal Mindszenty because he had "insulted and damaged" the people's republic (TIME, Jan. 10).

At village mass meetings, those known to be deeply religious were commanded to read aloud fiery denunciations of the cardinal. If they refused, police were waiting to drag them away. Workers were threatened with instant dismissal for failure to sign anti-Mindszenty petitions. In Budapest, the Reds pressed six-year-old children into service, handed them placards which read: "Down with Mindszenty! Down with the black reactionary!"

Under heaviest fire have been those priests in whom the shrewd Communists recognized the qualities of leadership which could-make their fight easier. One such priest on their list was Father Boldizsar Koczan, of busy Szombathely (pop. 45,000), only seven miles from the Austrian border.

"A Pretty Big Order." In 1930 Father Koczan returned to Szombathely after four years' service with Hungarian immigrants in Ohio. First he organized a new parish. Next he built a new church, one of the city's best. The passing years brought white to his crew-cut hair, and townsfolk of Szombathely placed their faith in him. The day after Cardinal Mindszenty was locked up, the Communist iron claw reached out for Father Koczan.

Summoned to Szombathely Communist headquarters, he was told of Mindszenty's arrest. Now, all priests would have to declare themselves for "democracy," i.e., Communism. Was he prepared to cooperate? "That's a pretty big order," Koczan replied. "I'll have to think it over."

Two nights later, he was roused from his bed. Communist officials showed him a photograph of two priests holding a long metal cylinder. In this, they said, were found the documents which incriminated the cardinal. "The case has blown wide open," said one Red. "Now you'll have to prove yourself." Then they gave Koczan a handwritten petition and told him to sign it. The text denounced Mindszenty for his "treasonable, underhanded" activities.

From Threats to Rewards. "This petition will soon be typed," explained an official. "You will sign it first. On Friday evening a car with two of our Communist friends will call for you. All priests will be home then, and you will persuade them to sign . . . You'd better not hedge," he added, pointing to the chief of political police. Then, shifting his line from one of threats to rewards, the Red official promised: "If you cooperate, you'll be made head of the Church in Hungary."

The next day, members of Father Koczan's congregation pleaded with him to escape. The night before the Friday deadline he slipped across the border into Austria. Unable to stomach a Communist-ruled clergy, he was headed back for Cleveland. Last week in Vienna, 48-year-old Father Koczan recalled the scene in the Red headquarters. He said: "I left without committing myself. If I were younger and healthier, I'd have resisted right there. But I would never have survived."

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