“Christianity Is Not an Opinion but Good News” – A Pentecost Interview with Cardinal Peter Erdo

Pentecost is not only the birthday of the Church, but also a celebration of the courage given by the Holy Spirit, says Cardinal Peter Erdo, who spoke to Magyar Nemzet about the message of the feast, apostolic mission, the legacy of Pope Francis, and the challenges of the new papal era.

Cardinal Peter Erdo (Photo: Attila Polyak)

Pentecost is the culmination of the Easter season. It celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church, which may explain why for people outside the Church or those who don’t actively practice their faith, this feast seems harder to relate to than Christmas or Easter. What does Pentecost teach to those inside the Church and those outside it?
It may seem like an abstract feast, yet it might be the one that resonates most closely with modern people. If there is a God who transcends the material world but is also the Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of the universe, then His presence and influence manifest mysteriously in the world. And if we believe – and as Christians, we firmly do – that this influence is personal, then the Holy Spirit is here among us. The Book of Genesis begins by saying that the Spirit of the Lord hovered over the waters. The Holy Spirit expresses and brings to life the relationship between the universe and the Creator and governing God. This also provides deep encouragement for our personal human relationships. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that the apostles locked themselves away out of fear. That fear vanished the moment the Holy Spirit descended on them in the form of tongues of fire. This image of the Spirit descending and being compared to fire or flames also appears in the Old Testament—for instance, when seventy chosen leaders received a portion of Moses’s spirit, much like the disciples who received the Spirit later on. We also read that in baptism, people are born again through water and the Holy Spirit. So every baptized person, in some way, receives the gift of the Spirit, which is then received in its fullness through the sacraments of confirmation and holy orders. When we talk about being faithful to our faith, we must understand what that means today—and we must also have the courage to share our joy and hope with the whole world. In this, we trust that the Holy Spirit will help us.

Photo: Attila Polyak

With the conclusion of the Easter season, the Church enters Ordinary Time, which symbolizes the time for proclaiming the Word and bearing witness in the world. In an era of free expression, how can a Christian bear witness to their faith in a way that rises above simply being one opinion among many? Should we even aim for that, and if so, how?
Christianity clearly professes that in Christ came the complete and liberating truth—that Christ is God's final and full revelation to humanity. We have good news—the Gospel—that we must share with everyone. That good news is this: Christ rose from the dead, and He calls us to share in the eternal joy of the resurrection after our own death. That’s why Christianity has been a missionary faith from the very beginning. It’s precisely the miracle of Pentecost that allows the apostles to overcome their fear and step out to speak publicly about the Good News.

Today, we say we live in an era of freedom of speech, but that’s not true everywhere. In many parts of the world, the freedom of religion and even the freedom to practice religion are restricted. In some countries, although religious freedom is officially recognized, there’s still no true freedom of conscience. That means people cannot convert from one religion to another. A grown adult cannot say, "according to my conscience, this is what I believe to be true and right, and so I now choose a different faith from the one I held before." In most Western countries, this kind of freedom is guaranteed, but in many parts of the world—let me be a little globalist here—it is not permitted. Here in Budapest, and in many Western countries as well, we encounter adults seeking baptism who have come from their home countries specifically because they want to become Christians. And it’s not just happening here. France, for example, published joyful statistics this Easter about adult baptisms. Many of those individuals could not have become Christians in their own countries without facing punishment. We need to recognize this and stand up for the value of religious freedom wherever we can.

This year, instead of the usual location of Mariaremete, the Festival of Charisms will be held in Esztergom. Your Eminence will participate, and three auxiliary bishops will celebrate mass at the chapel of reparation at Anna-ret.
This year, we invited everyone who is able to make the trip to come to Esztergom for the Festival of Charisms. At 10:30 am, we will celebrate mass in the basilica, followed by the presentation of awards and recognitions. Then, at 2:00 pm, we will hold a roundtable discussion at the Saint Adalbert Center.

How the rest of the day unfolds will depend on how many communities wish to introduce themselves and offer programs. This is the first time we’re holding it here, as the festival has always taken place in Mariaremete before. We’ll see how well this new location works—it’s something of a debut. Pentecost Monday is an ideal time and opportunity for this, because after experiencing the celebration, we can reflect on how the Holy Spirit is working in the life of our own communities. We can take stock of our charisms, our communities, and Church institutions to see how many treasures exist in our Church, and we should share these with one another.

Why was Esztergom chosen this year instead of Mariaremete?
Esztergom is the heart of the archdiocese. The rector of the seminary in Esztergom also currently serves as the archdiocese’s pastoral vicar, and he wants to make better use of the opportunities the the city of Esztergom provides. Mariaremete is a great venue, but it doesn’t currently have a structure suitable for larger indoor gatherings or shared meals, whereas Esztergom does. With a festival, much depends on the weather and other conditions, so we’ll see how this new location works out.

Pope Francis was seen in many different ways both inside and outside the Church. He was perhaps most often considered unconventional and innovative. Would you say that this description is accurate?
It’s certainly accurate when it comes to conventions. Right after his election, the way he greeted the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square broke with tradition. He rejected the traditional red mozzetta and the papal stole bearing the images of Saints Peter and Paul—he didn’t wear them at all. He stepped onto the balcony in a simple white cassock, and instead of the usual formal greeting, he simply said, 'Good evening'. Some liked it, others felt that he should have mentioned Jesus Christ right at the start. Nonetheless, through his later actions, he showed that he paid close attention to the world. One of his favorite words was 'listening', and he truly practiced it. He tried to respond in his papal addresses to current events and the concerns of people. There will still be much to study and reflect on in the future based on his statements. He also had what I would call prophetic gestures—like the small white car he used for transportation, and his general modesty. These were not calculated decisions made on paper to see what was cheaper. Rather, they symbolized the community he felt with ordinary people, showing that he did not want to belong to society’s upper classes, but to be united with everyone. His time is full of these prophet-like actions. I believe many people understood this or at least sensed it. This was clear at his funeral, where large crowds gathered and accompanied his coffin to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, and people still line up to pay their respects at his tomb.

Photo: Attila Polyak

Your Eminence, you played a key role in Pope Francis’s 2023 visit to Hungary.
I did indeed invite him several times, because I believed that his visit would give new momentum and inspiration not only to the Hungarian Catholic community but to the whole of Hungary. I also felt that the Holy Father himself might be strengthened by encountering the love of the faithful here. I believe this was confirmed.

Robert Francis Prevost accompanied Pope Francis during that 2023 visit, at the time still as archbishop. Do you have any personal memories of him?
Among the members of the entourage, he was the one with whom I was able to have the most meaningful and thoughtful conversations. There were large crowds and a lot of movement, and not all members of the papal entourage had time to talk. But with him, we were able to discuss serious matters in a beautiful way, which I greatly appreciated. I also felt that he was genuinely interested in how people here think. He was able to see beyond the general narrative of the Western media, which was a hopeful sign for us.

What direction might Pope Leo XIV bring to the Church? And what does his choice of name tell us?
He was asked to explain his name—not only in public addresses but also privately to us cardinals. He definitely intended to pay tribute to the legacy of Pope Leo XIII and, in some way, sees himself as operating in a similar historical context. A pope at a turning point in history—one who must take into account the great challenges facing humanity and seek answers to them in the light of faith. One of his special concerns is the issue of human labor. Pope Leo XIII addressed the dignity of work and opposition to exploitation in deeply spiritual and religiously grounded documents. He was the first to give a major summary of the Church’s social teaching. Pope Leo XIV also sees—and is outraged by—the continued exploitation of labor in the world today. This includes the exploitation of specific individuals and groups, but also a kind of structural exploitation of entire regions and even entire nations. In addition, he sees a new threat: the one posed by technological advancement and artificial intelligence. Recently, a serious danger has emerged—that the labor of hundreds of millions of people could become unnecessary. But neither human work nor the human person can be considered unnecessary, because that would be an offense against the Creator. When we proclaim hope to humanity, we also proclaim that God created humanity for a valuable and purposeful mission. In this new, technologically advanced world, we must find a rational way of living that fulfills the mission God has entrusted to us. It is a great challenge—and also a defining realization—that our Church has a responsibility to address this situation.

Can Hungarian believers expect a visit from Pope Leo XIV in the near future?
In general, inviting the Holy Father for a visit right away is not impossible, but that kind of invitation is usually not very effective. Such a gesture expresses affection—that we love the Pope and would be glad to welcome him—but that alone is not a sufficient reason for him to travel anywhere. There needs to be a significant event or occasion, as well as a formal, official invitation from both state and Church leaders. In such cases, there’s a real chance he might come. What his travel policy will be and how he approaches apostolic visits is still yet to be seen. So far, the only specific travel plan we've heard is his intention to visit Turkiye for the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea. (This is the council where the Church proclaimed the consubstantiality of Jesus Christ with God the Father.) That’s a very important occasion because it brings us once again to the heart of Christianity. For us, Jesus Christ is not just a great prophet or a noble historical figure—He is both God and man. The divinity of Jesus lies at the very core of Christian teaching and faith.

Photo: Attila Polyak

We live in the era of second-by-second news updates, which also poses a spiritual danger, as one of the temptations that can pull us away from a life of faith. How should Christians relate to this, so that our souls don’t suffer harm—and how can we use these tools to spread the Good News effectively?

This is a huge major question, because these tools are often no longer just tools—they press down on us and start to dictate all our activities. We have to handle them with caution. Naturally, we cannot reject them outright, because they offer great opportunities. But it’s also true that the intense and rapidly shifting audiovisual stimuli we receive today condition us to respond instantly to impulses, without reflection or conceptual thinking. Quick reactions are important, something even animals and plants rely on to survive. Humans also have this ability, but we’re capable of more. That’s why it’s so important not to remain on that level. We must learn to think, to seek understanding of the whole and to see the connections between things. Because if we don’t see the bigger picture, we won’t feel responsible. Without that sense of responsibility, there is no morality—perhaps not even respect for law. Professor Urbano Navarrete once said that a canon lawyer (which was his profession as well) who only chews over paragraphs and focuses solely on the details of laws is not a true jurist. You must understand the whole system in order to be a law-abiding citizen. And how much more must you see the whole picture when it comes to morality, to social behavior, to the ultimate purpose of human life! Seeing the whole is what enables us to recognize our personal responsibility. We must fight to preserve this capacity—because we are also living in a time of anthropological change.

This is where the concept of human dignity is rooted. The Christian tradition teaches that human dignity lies in the fact that we are made in the image of the Creator God. Specifically, this means we have intellect, free will, and immortal souls. To exercise our intellect and free will, we need this broader perspective. If we simply react without thinking, we aren’t using our reason. If we cannot lay out alternatives for ourselves, we cannot choose—and if we cannot choose, our human freedom does not function. Human dignity demands that we confront this issue and this challenge seriously.