Born June 25, 1952 in Budapest Hungary, Peter Erdo was born as the eldest child of what would become a family of six children. He was raised by devout Catholic parents in a family which the faith was "woven into the fabric of our life." Peter grew up under communism and his family was forced to flee their home in 1956 when Soviet troops invaded the country.
Peter was educated at a Piarist boys' school in Budapest. It was there that the "reality of God" began to attract him with Peter becoming an altar boy. After much prayer, he entered the seminary believing that helping people toward salvation was so important that it required dedicating one's whole life to it. After Peter was ordained to the priesthood in 1975, he spent two years in parish before being sent to Rome where he earned degrees in theology and canon law at the Pontifical Latern University in 1980.
In the following years, he taught on various faculties of canon law and theology in Hungary and abroad. This includes Buenos Aires where he served as an ecclesiastical clerk and judge. During this time he published manuals and articles on canon law. He spent time in the United States in 1995 and 96 as a research fellow at the University of California, Berkeley.
Peter then spend time as the rector of the Hungarian College in Rome while teaching at the Gregorian and Lateran Universities. Then in 2000, Pope John Paul II consecrated Peter bishop. In 2003, he was made primate of all Hungary as ordinary of the Esztergom-Budapest Archdiocese and became a cardinal later that same year.
In 2005, Cardinal Peter Erdo was elected President of the Hungarian Catholic Episcopal Conference and President of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE). He was reelected to the latter in 2011. That year, also saw Peter's appointment to help oversee the Secretariat of State's "Second Section," which is responsible for diplomatic relations.
Since 2003, Cardinal Peter Erdo has participated in all the assemblies of the Synod of Bishops. Plus he was given the special honor of serving as relator for the synods of 2014 and 2015 by Pope Francis. Finally, he is the author of more than 250 articles and 25 books.
Why him? Thanks to the hardships of atheistic communism, Cardinal Erdo is widely regarded as a great intellect and a man of culture. He is a prolific and supremely well-read author, a proficient teacher, and highly accomplished canonist and Scripture scholar. This includes honorary doctorates from several institutions including Institut Catholique de Paris in 1996 and the Vox Canonica Award in 2023 which is awarded to distinguished canonists.
Peter does have a love for the post-Vatican II liturgy thanks to the emphasis on Old Testament readings though he will support the traditional Latin Mass when needed. He sees the Eucharist and the priesthood as closely related to the point that celibacy is required for priests. He supports the New Evangelization and ministering to youth. Missionary work is central to his pastoral approach, and has shown great concern for the Church's vocation crisis.
On immigration, Peter has recognized the right to migrate, but he is also aware of the dangers of integrating refugees without endangering political stability. Finally he supports dialogue with non-Christian religions.
Cardinal Peter Erdo is basically a conservative on most issues but his support for the synod might be troublesome. However, his history with communism and the learned scholar he is make Cardinal Peter Erdo the Pope the world needs even though it isn't the one they want. Besides, his ministry underlines the importance of having a personal relationship with Jesus. Peter firmly upholds the existence of natural law while his experience with communism shows the importance religion has in filling a void and the fact that a relationship with Christ brings true freedom and happiness.
Why Not Him? The conservative leanings might do Cardinal Peter Erdo in regarding as the possibility of becoming the next Pope. It would mark the 2005 conclave as the second conclave to include three future popes. Honestly, Peter would love to do away with the synod, and that is the fear of liberals in the conclave. He would also support the right of education and help grow the church, which is something liberals don't want. If we are looking at a long conclave, it could likely be a long stalemate between other cardinals and Cardinal Peter Erdo.
Name he would pick as Pope: One of the reasons why Peter Erdo is Papabili is due to his name. This is found in the alleged prophecy of St. Malachy. The last name is Petrus Romanus which predicts the end of the church despite the fact that the document is a late 16th century forgery according to some. But I am going to select Paul VII as the name as Peter Erdo's ministry and Paul's ministry are similar in view.
Catholicism = bad
Protestantism = fake and gay rock concerts for worship, the rise of LGBTQ and a bajillion people following completely different things with no organized structure, worship of Israel. I could go on.
Things do tend to devolve. Christianity itself has devolved from its origins, and I don't think one can either blame it all on the Catholics or all on the Protestants. Martin Luther in particular, and other reformers were not originally trying to end the Catholic Church, just reform some of the more egregious practices of some of the indulgence sellers. One thing that Catholics do deserve credit for is maintaining unity, even though it has its own price. It's easy to judge both sides and see them as monoliths, which is why we see comments like @TrumpFan2000's above. But one needs to recognize both the good and the bad in whatever system, whether Catholic or Protestant. We see priests like Father Vigano and Father Frank Pavone stand up for pre-born life. We see Protestants like John McArthur and Chuck Smith standing for the right to worship in person, which was confirmed by SCOTUS, even in a pandemic. (when churches were held to a far more strict standard than businesses or other groups)
Yawn