ARGENTINA
PolicyMic
Jeff Raines
Unfortunately, we live in a world where tragedy, death, and violence continue to hurt those around us. And when these events happen we are left wondering in what ways could we have done more, what we could have done better, and who we can blame for a lack of greater action. This time the target of blame is Pope Francis I, the 266th pontiff on the Catholic Church, and a man formerly known as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina.
It is unfair to say Bergoglio did not do enough during a military regime so terrible that as many as 30,000 people disappeared or were killed during the “Dirty War.” From 1976-1983, the military junta that controlled Argentina sponsored terrorist activities for fringe military groups in support of the regime. This led to those who openly disagreed with the regime, as well as those suspected of disagreement to be taken from their homes to never been seen again.
During this time period Bergoglio was the head of the Jesuit order in Argentina, and accusations about his actions revolve around events he could not control. The first of these is how the regime stolen the infants to place them in regime-supporting families. In 2010, he testified in a trial about these stolen babies that he only knew about the practices after the country returned to a democratic state. Instances in which Argentines did reach out to him for help about missing relatives he did give them a name of another Bishop that might have more information – but this by no means a contradiction or admission of knowing more of these heinous acts, he was just trying to supply what information he could.
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