Pope a Victim of a Defamation Campaign in Argentina

The agency cath.ch explains this questioning of the pope, by the opposition between former president Mauricio Macri, then mayor of the capital, and Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who was then archbishop of Buenos Aires. This tense relationship continued during the presidency of Mr. Macri (2015-2019), and the one who had become pope under the name of Francis.

While on the contrary, the climate between Cardinal Bergoglio and Cristina Kirchner, opponent of Mr. Macri, president then vice-president of the country, once very tense, has notably improved. This polarization has led to more or less strong accusations against the pope, concerning his action – or his inaction according to some – in the Ukrainian conflict.

Faced with these attacks, the bishop of Nueve de Julio, Msgr. Ariel Torrado Mosconi, came to the defense of the pope, highlighting his various interventions. He expresses his astonishment at reading that certain media “sometimes designate him as an accomplice to the crimes and atrocities” committed in this war.

He takes the opportunity to report some of the words the media have used: crime, atrocity, barbarism, or sacrilege. Most of the time it targets the very fact of war, but also and especially the death of civilians and children in particular.

It must also be admitted that his interventions seek to preserve the very special situation that the Holy See must have in a conflict. It suffices to consider the attitude of a St. Pius X at the beginning of the First World War, that of Benedict XV during this last conflict, or even that of Pope Pius XII during the Second World War, to perceive this difficulty.

We know the reproaches made in particular against Pius XII and the response that was given. And, before further information or more detailed analysis, it is possible to say that Pope Francis seeks not to deviate from the attitude that a pope must have in these circumstances that are so difficult for the Holy See.

The Sovereign Pontiff thanked the journalist for his support, in the context of the attacks he has been subjected to by the media. The pope expresses his deep concern about the current state of Argentine journalism.

“In this news, you always find some of the sins into which journalists tend to fall: disinformation, slander, defamation, and coprophilia [morbid attraction to excrement]. And I'm told that some of the article writers get paid for it. Sad! A vocation as noble as that of communication thus sullied,” wrote Francis, disillusioned.

Francis also notes his desire to visit the country in the near future: “Certainly, I would like to visit Argentina, especially when I remember the failed visit of November 2017, when due to the elections in Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay had to be left out…. Only God knows when I will be able to make this trip,” the pope says.

Francis ends this letter by thanking Sylvestre: “Thank you for cleaning up the information. I wish you a holy and happy Easter. May Jesus bless you and may the Blessed Virgin watch over you. Fraternally, Francisco.”