Vatican already defending Pope Francis, as accusations of his support for Argentine military dictatorship swirl

Critics say Cardinal Bergoglio failed to stand up to military junta during Argentina's "Dirty War"


Guadalajara -
Less than two days after the Roman College of Cardinals elected him the first Latin American pope in the history of the Catholic Church, the Vatican found itself forced to defend Pope Francis from growing accusations of silent acquiescence, if not active support, for the brutal right wing military dictatorship which ran Argentina in the 1970s.

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a Jesuit priest and former archbishop of Buenos Aires, was chosen Wednesday to be the spiritual leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. Bergoglio is the first member of the prestigious Society of Jesus, one of the Church's many distinct religious orders, ever to be named pope.

Bergoglio entered the Jesuits in 1958 and was ordained a priest in 1969, earning advanced academic degrees along the way. Jesuits are typically the most highly educated priests of the Catholic Church. It's not uncommon for them to hold masters degrees and doctorates, even in secular fields such as law, business, the sciences and medicine. Jesuits, who often teach in high schools and universities, are sometimes attorneys, physicians and professors, as well as ordained clerics of the Church.

Between 1973 and 1979 Bergoglio served as the Jesuit Provincial for Argentina, the highest ranking member of the order in that country. During most of that time the nation was under the harsh grip of a military government which seized power in a March 1976 coup d'état. In the ensuing Guerra Sucia, or Dirty War, tens of thousands died as leftist guerrillas sought to seize control of the government and were bitterly resisted by forces on the right. Many young activists were tortured, killed or disappeared. It was a period of extreme brutality, with vicious excesses by both sides.

Yesterday the Vatican rejected accusations Bergoglio had remained silent in the face of systematic violations of human rights by the military dictatorship, calling them "scandalous and defamatory."

In unusually harsh language, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi, himself a Jesuit and director of the Holy See Press Office, said the claims are the work of "leftist anti-cleric elements accustomed to attacking the Church."

Critics of Pope Francis insist, however, that he did nothing to protect fellow priests who publicly spoke out against the junta, telling them instead to focus more on prayer and less on politics.

Lombardi rejected the allegation. "Nothing concrete or credible has ever been presented" against Bergoglio, he argued. "In fact, there's much evidence that he tried to help people during the military dictatorship." But Lombardi noted that when Bergoglio was appointed archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998, "he asked forgiveness for the Church for not having done enough" during the Dirty War.

As is the case in many Latin American countries, the Roman Catholic Church in Argentina has long been accused of an excessive tolerance for, if not close links with, right wing forces. Bergoglio critics have been coming out of the woodwork since his election, arguing he lacks the moral credentials to speak for the Church, especially in developing nations which are contending with oppressive regimes. Some have accused him of direct links to the disappearance of a French priest in the 1970s, and the kidnapping and torture of two fellow Jesuits. Supporters dismiss all the allegations as groundless.

Experts disagree on how many people were killed or disappeared during the Argentine conflict. But some say as many as 30,000 died at the hands of the warring forces. And at least one cleric did work directly with the military junta.

Father Christian von Wernich, an Argentine Roman Catholic priest of German origin, was prosecuted in 2007 for participating in the torture and murder of political prisoners during the Dirty War. He served as a Buenos Aires police chaplain at the time. An Argentine war crimes court convicted him of being an accessory to seven homicides, 42 kidnappings and 32 cases of torture. Fr. von Wernich, who was not a Jesuit, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Pope Francis, as Jesuit Provincial of Argentina, had no direct or indirect control over von Wernich, nor is there evidence they knew each other at the time.

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