CNBB denies that the Pope was complicit with the Argentine dictatorship.
The president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB), Dom Raymundo Damasceno, said that Jorge Mario Bergoglio was a Jesuit priest during the dictatorship and that suspicions about his support for the regime do not correspond to his temperament; Argentine organizations released accusations on the matter this Wednesday.
Renata Giraldi
Special Correspondent EBC/Agência Brasil
Vatican – The president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) and archbishop of Aparecida, Dom Raymundo Damasceno, denied today (14) that Pope Francis was negligent or complicit with the dictatorship in Argentina, between 1966 and 1973. The archbishop said he had interacted with Pope Francis at various events, such as a meeting of Latin American bishops in Aparecida do Norte (SP).
According to Bishop Damasceno, during the dictatorship, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was a Jesuit priest, and suspicions about his support for the dictatorship do not correspond to his temperament. "That version certainly doesn't align with the truth," he said. "He is a true shepherd, a man of solidarity."
In Argentina, however, human rights organizations released information on Wednesday (13) that Pope Francis invoked the right under Argentine law to refuse to appear in courts that were judging torture and murder committed by the Argentine dictatorial government.
The Argentinian newspaper Clarín reported that the Pope, contrary to what human rights organizations claim, took risks to save those fighting against the dictatorship. An authorized biography of the current Pope has been written and is called The Jesuit.
The Brazilian archbishop stressed that the moment calls for looking at the Pope "from now on." Dom Damasceno said he did not know the details of the Argentine dictatorship, but that the fundamental thing is to observe the Pope's actions since his election.
Editing: Denise Griesinger