Religion: Freedom for Mindszenty

A sick, haggard old man walked out of a Hungarian prison last week, a startling anachronism amid the Communist campaign of sweetness and light. After more than six years of imprisonment on charges of treason, espionage and black-market dealings, Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty, 63-year-old Roman Catholic Primate of Hungary, had his freedom.

The cardinal, sentenced to life by the Communists in February 1949, had been “allowed to interrupt his term of imprisonment,” said the Budapest radio, “following a petition submitted by the Hungarian bishops because of his bad health condition and his age.” The government announced that he would live in a “church “building selected by the Hungarian bishops,” i.e., probably a monastery.