{"id":680,"date":"2012-10-28T12:58:47","date_gmt":"2012-10-28T17:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/library.brown.edu\/modernlatinamerica\/?page_id=680"},"modified":"2012-10-28T12:58:47","modified_gmt":"2012-10-28T17:58:47","slug":"an-historic-confession-by-the-argentine-catholic-church","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/chapters\/chapter-9-argentina\/moments-in-argentine-history\/an-historic-confession-by-the-argentine-catholic-church\/","title":{"rendered":"The Role of the Church in Argentina"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Historic Confession by the Argentine Catholic Church
\n<\/strong>By Piere-Louis Le Goff<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner meets with the Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio. December 19, 2007. Photo: Casa Rosada<\/p><\/div>\n

A defining characteristic of Argentina\u2019s last military dictatorship was its ultra-conservative Catholicism.\u00a0 Indeed, one of its stated objectives and justifications for its murderous campaign against subversion was the defence of “western civilisation and Christianity.”[i]<\/a><\/p>\n

While much light has been shed on the military\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Official statements regarding the clergy’s involvement in the military’s\u00a0Proceso de Reorganizaci\u00f3n Nacional\u00a0<\/em>(Process of National Reorganisatio\u2014known simply as\u00a0el Proceso<\/em>), which disappeared up to 30,000 people between 1976 and 1983, has been limited to apologizing for \u201cnot doing enough to stop the repression.\u201d[ii]<\/a><\/p>\n

This silence was recently shattered, however, when the\u00a0Conferencia Episcopal Argentina\u00a0<\/em>(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\u00a0de facto\u00a0<\/em>president.<\/p>\n

The report, which was written and sent to the Vatican following the meeting, was \u201csurreptitiously obtained\u201d and published in\u00a0P\u00e1gina\/12\u00a0<\/em>by the revered investigative journalist Horacio Verbitsky.[iii]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0The 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]<\/a><\/p>\n

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. \u00a0But 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]<\/a><\/p>\n

Given the pact of silence that has surrounded this facet of the\u00a0Proceso<\/em>, this is nothing short of an historical admission.<\/p>\n

The revelation comes only four months after Videla confessed to his collaboration with the Church hierarchy in an interview for the Spanish magazine\u00a0Cambio 16<\/a><\/em>, in which he described their relationship as ‘excellent, very cordial, sincere, and open.’[vi]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Indeed, the report shows just how close the relationship was.<\/p>\n

The document summarizes the discussion between Videla, Cardinal Ra\u00fal Primatesta, Archbishop of C\u00f3rdoba; Vincente Zazpe, Archbishop of Santa Fe; and Cardinal Juan Aramburu, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, the President and Vice Presidents of the Episcopate, respectively.<\/p>\n

The meeting concerned how best to handle the demands for information by the families of the disappeared. \u00a0Videla believed that it would be difficult to admit they were dead because it would lead to further questions: \u201cAre they in mass graves? \u00a0If so, who put them there?\u201d \u00a0This represents a series of questions that the government cannot answer truthfully because of the consequences it would have on people,’ he comments.[vii]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0As Verbitsky points out, the \u2018people\u2019 he refers to are the kidnappers and murderers that were obeying orders, whom Primatesta agreed should be protected.[viii]<\/a><\/p>\n

For his part, Aramburu explains that \u201cthe problem is how to answer people so they don’t keep arguing about it.\u201d \u00a0He suggests to Videla, \u201cat least tell the [families that the authorities] aren’t in a position to give any information \u2013 say that they are disappeared.\u201d[ix]<\/a>\u00a0This suggestion the president seems to have heeded, as seen in a press conference Videla made the following year when he declared, \u2018Es un desaparecido. \u00a0No tiene identidad. \u00a0No est\u00e1. \u00a0Ni muerto, ni vivo. \u00a0Est\u00e1 desaparecido<\/em>\u2019.[x]<\/a>\u00a0The 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]<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite the pact of silence, Horacio Verbitsky is one journalist who has been at the forefront of uncovering the crimes of the dictatorship.[xii]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0His 2005 book\u00a0El Silencio<\/em>\u00a0provides a damning insight into the complicity of senior officials with the Catholic Church.[xiii]<\/a><\/p>\n

Court trials have also been instrumental in exposing the Church’s crimes. \u00a0In 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]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Indeed, 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The revelation also serves to delineate the extent of the pact of silence surrounding the Church’s role during this time. \u00a0As can be seen in the document first published by Verbitsky,[xv]<\/a>\u00a0in 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\u2019s existence. \u00a0As is visible on the copy released by the Church,[xvi]<\/a>\u00a0the number has been removed, suggesting an effort to cover up the sizable number of documents in its possession.<\/p>\n

Despite the significance of the admission, neither the Argentine Church nor the Vatican has commented. \u00a0The pact of silence is still maintained by the majority of the media: neither\u00a0Clar\u00edn\u00a0<\/em>nor\u00a0La Naci\u00f3n<\/em>, Argentina’s two most widely-read newspapers, reported the story.<\/p>\n

Nearly three decades after the fall of the dictatorship, the painstaking process of uncovering the truth continues. \u00a0Unfortunately, for the time being it continues to be an uphill battle. \u00a0Nevertheless, thanks to the work done by figures such as Verbitsky and the vital role of judicial trials, truth and justice slowly can be achieved.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
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[i]<\/a>\u00a0Cited in Patricia Marchak,\u00a0God\u2019s Assassins: state terrorism in Argentina in the 1970s<\/em>\u00a0(Montreal: McGill-Queen\u2019s University, 1999), p.3<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[ii]<\/a>\u00a0Lourdes Heredia \u2018Church sorry for role in \u201cdirty war\u201d\u2019\u00a0BBC News<\/em>, 9 September 2000, accessed 19 June 2012, http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/americas\/917266.stm<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[iii]<\/a>\u00a0Horacio Verbitsky \u2018Preguntas sin respuesta\u2019\u00a0P\u00e1gina\/12<\/em>, 6 May 2012, accessed 15 June 2012, http:\/\/www.pagina12.com.ar\/diario\/elpais\/1-193425-2012-05-06.html<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[iv]<\/a>\u00a0Horacio Verbitsky \u2018Donde mueren las palabras\u2019\u00a0P\u00e1gina\/12<\/em>, 27 May 2012, accessed 28 May 2012, http:\/\/www.pagina12.com.ar\/diario\/elpais\/1-194987-2012-05-27.html<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[v]<\/a>\u00a0The attempts by Emilio Mignone, a devout Catholic, outspoken lawyer in defence of human rights, and whose daughter was disappeared in 1976, to find out information through the Church are documented in\u00a0Witness to the Truth: The Complicity of Church and Dictatorship in Argentina, 1976-1983<\/em>\u00a0(Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1988)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[vi]<\/a>\u00a0Ricardo Angoso \u2018\u201dEn Argentina no hay justicia, sino venganza, que es otra cosa bien distinta\u201d\u2019\u00a0Cambio16<\/em>, 12 February 2012, accessed 27 June 2012, http:\/\/cambio16.es\/not\/1250\/_en_argentina_no_hay_justicia__sino_venganza__que_es_otra_cosa_bien_distinta___\/<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[vii]<\/a>\u00a0All translations are my own.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[viii]<\/a>\u00a0Verbitsky,\u00a0Preguntas sin repuesta<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[ix]<\/a>\u00a0Idem.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[x]<\/a>\u00a0Excerpts of this press conference are available at: http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9czhVmjeVfA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[xi]<\/a>\u00a0Emilio Mignone\u2019s further work is of particular interest. See:\u00a0Iglesia y dictadura: El papel de la iglesia a la luz de sus relaciones con el r\u00e9gimen military<\/em>\u00a0(Buenos Aires: Ediciones de Pensamiento Nacional, 1986);\u00a0Derechos humanos y sociedad: El caso argentino<\/em>\u00a0(Buenos Aires: Ediciones del Pensamiento Nacional, 1991).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[xii]<\/a>\u00a0See, for example:\u00a0El Vuelo<\/em>\u00a0(Buenos Aires: Planeta, 1995), which documents the pubic confession by a member of the military (Adolfo Scilingo) that the junta had engaged in killing prisoners by throwing them alive out of planes into the\u00a0R\u00edo de la Plata<\/em>. An online version in Spanish can be found at: http:\/\/www.elortiba.org\/elvuelo.html<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[xiii]<\/a>\u00a0Horacio Verbitsky\u00a0El Silencio<\/em>: De Paulo VI a Bergoglio: las relaciones secretas de la Iglesia con la ESMA<\/em>\u00a0(Buenos Aires: Sudamericana, 2005).\u00a0 A translated excerpt can be found at: http:\/\/www.opendemocracy.net\/democracy-protest\/catholicchurch_2709.jsp<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[xiv]<\/a>\u00a0\u2018\u201dDirty War\u201d priest gets life term\u2019\u00a0BBC News<\/em>, 10 October 2007, accessed 14 June 2012, http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/americas\/7035294.stm<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[xv]<\/a>\u00a0Availble to view in Verbitsky,\u00a0Preguntas sin respuesta<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[xvi]<\/a>\u00a0Available to view in Verbitsky,\u00a0Donde mueren las palabras<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An Historic Confession by the Argentine Catholic Church By Piere-Louis Le Goff A defining characteristic of Argentina\u2019s last military dictatorship was its ultra-conservative Catholicism.\u00a0 Indeed, one of its stated objectives and justifications for its murderous campaign against subversion was the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"parent":621,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"sidebar-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-680","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/680\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/modernlatinamerica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}