Cardinal Erdö Delivers Masterful Address to Synod
Cardinal Péter Erdö This man, Cardinal Péter Erdö, is known for his efforts to combat secularisation. Much has been said about his opening speech at the Synod on the Family. In this important post , Damian Thompson explains: Cardinal Péter Erdö is Primate of Hungary and a much-admired canon lawyer who received his red hat at the age of 51. He’s still only 63. As ‘general relator’ of the 2014 and 2015 synods, it has been his job to deliver an opening address setting out their goals. Though emollient in manner, he is unquestionably a conservative — but, last year, his speech was full of liberal platitudes. What went wrong? The journalist Edward Pentin claims in his book The Rigging of a Vatican Synod? that Erdö had his arm twisted by Baldisseri, who forced him to rewrite his 2014 address to make it more Francis-friendly. ‘Baldisseri wanted a lot of mercy, less truth,’ says Pentin’s source. This week, by contrast, Erdö gave the opening address that conservatives wer...