One of Argentina’s most high profile human rights campaigners is to visit Pope Francis at the end of this month, ending decades of tension. Hebe de Bonafini, a leader of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo group, has long been critical of Francis, calling for him to speak about the Argentine Church’s involvement with the “Dirty War” and dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s.
Bonafini wrote to the Pope last year querying his call for prisoners to direct their thoughts and prayers to God “who is able to transform bars into an experience of freedom”. Bonafini, who lost three children during the Dirty War, asked why God had “arrived so late” and where he was when political prisoners were being tortured in Argentina during the dictatorship. “Where was God when planes dumped our living children into the sea?” she asked.
Bonafini has accepted an invitation to the Vatican on 27 May, where she said she hoped to discuss those who had disappeared during the Dirty War as well as the wider problems in Argentina. She will also mention the political upheaval in neighbouring Brazil where President Dilma Rousseff faces an impeachment trial on corruption charges, amid allegations that she is the victim of a coup d’etat.
Meanwhile the Argentine bishops have called for "a climate of dialogue" to overcome the country’s problems, which they characterise as "regions without resources and impoverished, homeless families, with many Argentines unemployed".
During the presentation of a document marking Argentina’s bicentenary, the bishops also said there was a failure to see the long term picture in Argentine politics, with small, short term projects embarked upon rather than projects which would reap rewards in decades to come.
“The debt of dialogue is as important as the debt to our international creditors,” said Cardinal Mario Poli, making reference to Argentina’s economic difficulties.
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