An Historic Confession by the Argentine Catholic Church
By Piere-Louis Le Goff

A defining characteristic of Argentina’s last military dictatorship was its ultra-conservative Catholicism.  Indeed, one of its stated objectives and justifications for its murderous campaign against subversion was the defence of “western civilisation and Christianity.”[i]

While much light has been shed on the military’s clandestine crimes, there still remains a great deal of darkness surrounding the role played by the Argentine Catholic Church, which has remained largely silent on the issue for over three decades.

Official statements regarding the clergy’s involvement in the military’s Proceso de Reorganización Nacional (Process of National Reorganisatio—known simply as el Proceso), which disappeared up to 30,000 people between 1976 and 1983, has been limited to apologizing for “not doing enough to stop the repression.”[ii]

This silence was recently shattered, however, when the Conferencia Episcopal Argentina (Argentine Episcopal Conference – hereafter Episcopate) officially recognized the authenticity of a document from 1978, detailing a meeting between members of its Executive Committee and Jorge Videla, the then de facto president.

The report, which was written and sent to the Vatican following the meeting, was “surreptitiously obtained” and published in Página/12 by the revered investigative journalist Horacio Verbitsky.[iii]  The formal recognition of the document came about when Judge Mariana Forns, who is overseeing the open court hearing charged with establishing the whereabouts of the remains of Roberto Santucho, requested a copy of the minutes from the Episcopate.[iv]

Its authentication confirms that at the time, the Episcopate and the Holy See were both fully aware of the systematic assassination of those detained by the military.  But further than this, and perhaps more disturbingly, it provides evidence that the Church’s highest authorities were actively collaborating with the dictatorship in covering up information as to the whereabouts of the detained-disappeared at a time when families were turning to the Church for help.[v]

Given the pact of silence that has surrounded this facet of the Proceso, this is nothing short of an historical admission.

The revelation comes only four months after Videla confessed to his collaboration with the Church hierarchy in an interview for the Spanish magazine Cambio 16, in which he described their relationship as ‘excellent, very cordial, sincere, and open.’[vi]  Indeed, the report shows just how close the relationship was.

The document summarizes the discussion between Videla, Cardinal Raúl Primatesta, Archbishop of Córdoba; Vincente Zazpe, Archbishop of Santa Fe; and Cardinal Juan Aramburu, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, the President and Vice Presidents of the Episcopate, respectively.

The meeting concerned how best to handle the demands for information by the families of the disappeared.  Videla believed that it would be difficult to admit they were dead because it would lead to further questions: “Are they in mass graves?  If so, who put them there?”  This represents a series of questions that the government cannot answer truthfully because of the consequences it would have on people,’ he comments.[vii]  As Verbitsky points out, the ‘people’ he refers to are the kidnappers and murderers that were obeying orders, whom Primatesta agreed should be protected.[viii]

For his part, Aramburu explains that “the problem is how to answer people so they don’t keep arguing about it.”  He suggests to Videla, “at least tell the [families that the authorities] aren’t in a position to give any information – say that they are disappeared.”[ix] This suggestion the president seems to have heeded, as seen in a press conference Videla made the following year when he declared, ‘Es un desaparecido.  No tiene identidad.  No está.  Ni muerto, ni vivo.  Está desaparecido’.[x] The revelation merely confirms the numerous accusations that have been made against the Church over the past three decades, accusations to which it has never responded.[xi]

Despite the pact of silence, Horacio Verbitsky is one journalist who has been at the forefront of uncovering the crimes of the dictatorship.[xii]  His 2005 book El Silencio provides a damning insight into the complicity of senior officials with the Catholic Church.[xiii]

Court trials have also been instrumental in exposing the Church’s crimes.  In 2007, former Catholic priest Cristian Von Wernich was sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in the torture and murder of the military’s prisoners.[xiv]  Indeed, this episode displays the vital role judicial proceedings play in uncovering the crimes committed under the dictatorship; had Judge Forns not requested a copy of the document, it is extremely doubtful that its authentication by the Episcopate would have occurred nevertheless.

The document exposes for the first time the degree to which senior figures within the clergy were active in helping the junta cover up information concerning the fate of those it had disappeared.

The revelation also serves to delineate the extent of the pact of silence surrounding the Church’s role during this time.  As can be seen in the document first published by Verbitsky,[xv] in the top right-hand corner there is the large size of the number under which it is filed (10949). This gives an idea of the magnitude of the Church’s archive, which denies the document’s existence.  As is visible on the copy released by the Church,[xvi] the number has been removed, suggesting an effort to cover up the sizable number of documents in its possession.

Despite the significance of the admission, neither the Argentine Church nor the Vatican has commented.  The pact of silence is still maintained by the majority of the media: neither Clarín nor La Nación, Argentina’s two most widely-read newspapers, reported the story.

Nearly three decades after the fall of the dictatorship, the painstaking process of uncovering the truth continues.  Unfortunately, for the time being it continues to be an uphill battle.  Nevertheless, thanks to the work done by figures such as Verbitsky and the vital role of judicial trials, truth and justice slowly can be achieved.

 

 

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