ABSTRACT
The Roman Catholic Church numerically constituted only 68% of the population, Jozsef Cardinal Mindszenty became a symbol of the Hungarian people, a fountain of Hungarian nationalism, additionally, he was a hero for millions of people in Western countries. Though Cardinal Mindszenty is often represented by foreign commentators in the West as a defender of the old regime, he was in fact a consistent defender of human rights and liberties, both against the Nazi and Communist tyrannies. The heritage of Mindszenty hangs heavily upon Hungary and upon the Vatican's policy of compromise with Communist governments. George Schopflin, for example, writing a eulogistic review of Mindszenty's Memoirs, claimed that the Cardinal was a man of principle, of courage, and one who suffered hideously at the hands of the Communists but, "in the final analysis, he achieved nothing."
