Is The Pope Italian?

It is by now an old joke. For much of my life, a response to an obvious question (one to which the answer might be: "duh?") would be, instead, "is the Pope Catholic?" The joke was modified after the first Polish Pope, to: "Is the Pope Italian?" To which, of course, the right answer was no longer "yes!" That continued to be the case after Cardinal Ratzinger was elected to the Papacy.

Now things are a bit more complicated. Pope Francis I (nee Bergoglio) is the son of Italian immigrants to Argentina. In at least the sense of ethnicity, the Pope is Italian.

More worthy of concern is that the Pope is Argentine. Remember the "disappeared" and Argentina's "dirty war" of kidnapping, torture and murder of leftists? There has long been information that the hands of Argentina's Catholic hierarchy were not clean in this matter. How about Bergoglio?

Today, Pope Francis I is being described as more concerned than many of his predecessors about poverty and injustice. Let us hope this is so.

The brutal Argentine military dictatorship ended thirty years ago. Many Argentine institutions were compromised by their actions during that period, not least the Argentine Navy. Maybe Francis I can lead Argentines in a final refutation of that period. That would be a good thing.

Here are a few links to articles about Argentine Catholics, including Bergoglio, during the dictatorship:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/jan/04/argenitina-videla-bergoglio-repentance

http://gregmitchellwriter.blogspot.com/2013/03/new-pope-and-shame-of-argentina.html

http://en.mercopress.com/2012/07/24/argentine-military-dictator-confirms-catholic-church-hierarchy-was-well-aware-of-the-disappeared

http://americasouthandnorth.wordpress.com/2013/03/13/on-the-selection-of-jorge-mario-bergoglio-as-pope-francisco/

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/pope-francis-is-known-for-simplicity-and-humility.php