IRELAND
Irish Times
Mon, Mar 18, 2013
Joanne Hunt
An Irish priest who worked under Pope Francis in Argentina has said allegations that he did not do enough to help victims of the military junta were “unfair”.
The claims relate to 1976 when the then Fr Bergoglio was Jesuit provincial in Argentina and two priests were kidnapped by the military. Released after five months, it is alleged he did not do enough to help free them.
Fr John O’Connor, now parish priest of Shankill, worked in Buenos Aires from 1973 for 31 years. He says the new Pope, his superior at that time, was “wonderful at defending priests”.
Not yet a bishop at the time of the kidnappings, Fr O’Connor said of Fr Bergoglio: “Was there anything he could have done, number one, and what did he actually do? What he could have done is speak out and look for them and according to him, that’s what he did.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.