New pope and old Argentine dictatorship

Meanwhile, a bit more about the new pope Francis I, and the old Argentine military dictatorship, than in my earlier blog post.

Translated from NOS TV in the Netherlands:

Pope associated with junta

Added: Wednesday 13 Mar 2013, 22:46
Updated: Wednesday, 13 Mar 2013, 23:03

Jorge Bergoglio made ​​a career in the Argentine church in the nineteen seventies. His emergence coincided with the years of the Argentine junta, the military dictatorship of the years 1976-1983.

Bergoglio in recent years has been associated with the junta a number of times. The Argentine investigative journalist Horacio Verbitsky claims that two Jesuits, who were kidnapped and tortured by the junta, then deliberately were not not protected by Bergoglio.

One of these Jesuits even says that Bergoglio then handed them over to the military. In 2005, shortly before the conclave then, Bergoglio because of this was indicted by a human rights lawyer. Bergoglio denied and no evidence was found. …

Baby

There are more accusations against the new pope. Bergoglio is said also to have done too little for a woman whose baby was stolen by the regime. That happened in that time to hundreds of children. They were given away to supporters of the regime.

The woman says she asked Bergoglio for help when she suspected that her child would be taken away. Bergoglio himself said in 2010 that he knew nothing about the stolen children.

The Argentine bishops in 2012, led by Bergoglio, collectively apologized to the Argentine Roman Catholics. The church then protected its faithful insufficiently, the bishops admitted.

By Alejandro Lifschits:

Bergoglio’s vocational success coincided with the bloody 1976-1983 military dictatorship, during which up to 30,000 suspected leftists were kidnapped and killed — which prompted sharp questions about his role.

The most well-known episode relates to the abduction of two Jesuits whom the military government secretly jailed for their work in poor neighbourhoods.

According to “The Silence,” a book written by journalist Horacio Verbitsky, Bergoglio withdrew his order’s protection of the two men after they refused to quit visiting the slums, which ultimately paved the way for their capture.

Mr Verbitsky’s book is based on statements by Orlando Yorio, one of the kidnapped Jesuits, before he died of natural causes in 2000. Both of the abducted clergymen survived five months of imprisonment.

“History condemns him. It shows him to be opposed to all innovation in the Church and above all, during the dictatorship, it shows he was very cosy with the military,” Fortunato Mallimacci, the former dean of social sciences at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, once said.

Those who defend Bergoglio say there is no proof behind these claims and, on the contrary, they say the priest helped many dissidents escape during the military junta’s rule.

New pope elected as Catholic Church tries to stem crisis: here.

Pope Francis Against Gay Marriage, Gay Adoption: here.

It’s probably the first — and last — time someone who is both Muslim and gay will be the one to bring them [priests] news of a new Pope: here.

Related articles

• FLASHBACK – Argentine Cardinal Named in Kidnap Lawsuit (articles.latimes.com)
• First Argentine pope elected (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Hard questions from the new Pope’s past (anclas.net)
• Bergoglio Has Ties To A Dark Period For The Catholic Church (businessinsider.com)
• ‘Dirty War’ Questions for Pope Francis (consortiumnews.com)