New pope's role during Argentina's military era disputed

[OldDem2012]

New pope's role during Argentina's military era disputed

QUOTE:

Estela de la Cuadra's mother co-founded the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo activist group during the dictatorship to search for missing family members. She was at first astonished, then appalled when a friend texted the news that Bergoglio had been chosen as the new pope.

"It is unthinkable, horrifying given what I know about his history," she said, recalling the disappearance of her sister.

The last time they saw each other was in January 1977 when they were members of leftwing groups formed among the students at La Plata University, then one of the most radical in Argentina.

Her sister, Elena, was three months pregnant and in hiding in Buenos Aires from military snatch squads that had already seized her husband. She "disappeared" a month later and was later seen by survivors in a concentration camp run by the navy.

Desperate, the family used a connection with the global head of the Jesuit order – the "black pope", Pedro Arrupe – to lobby for her release. He put them on to Bergoglio, who provided a letter of introduction to a bishop with connections to the military dictator.

The only answer that came back, said Estela, was that her sister's baby was now "in the hands of a good family. It was irreversible." Neither mother nor child were heard from again.

For Estela, Bergoglio did the bare minimum he had to do to keep in line with the black pope. She says the story underlines the close connections between the Catholic church and the military junta, as well as what she sees as lies and hypocrisy of a new pope who once claimed to have no knowledge of the adoptions of babies being born in concentration camps and then adopted by families close to the regime.

"I've testified in court that Bergoglio knew everything, that he wasn't – despite what he says – uninvolved," said Estela, who believes the church worked with the military to gather intelligence on the families of the missing.

She is also furious that Bergoglio refused to defrock another priest, Christian von Wernich, who was jailed for life in 2007 for seven killings, 42 abductions and 34 cases of torture, in which he told victims: "God wants to know where your friends are."

Disgusting. Meet the new pope, same as the old pope.

[TommyCelt]

1. Oh please...

The article on the side of this was "I was Pope Francis's teenage love". Tabloid garbage.

Total hearsay, and note the use of the "black pope" term to make everthing seem a tad more sinister. Nope...no agenda here.

[OldDem2012]

2. I'll take your comment under advisement and file it appropriately. Thanks for your concern. nt.

[formercia]

3. Where are the survivors who will speak on his behalf?

More likely the victims curse him from the grave.

[baldguy]

4. There is a difference: Ben was a child soldier of the Third Reich

While Frank was an adult during the Dirty War.

[OldDem2012]

5. But, the old Pope later was involved in attempting to cover up the massive child abuse....

...scandal of the Catholic Church.

All of the Catholic Church scandals going back in time to attempting to cover up their role in the Holocaust create an overall sense that the Church is more interested in protecting the image they're projecting to the outside world than they are in doing what's right. The hypocrisy in all of this is extreme to say the least.