Pope Francis was Runner-Up in 2005 - Smeared by Rivals?

[Octafish]

Last edited Thu Mar 14, 2013, 09:56 PM - Edit history (1)

The Pope Emeritus won out.



Someone, back during the last Conclave, made certain the following story surfaced:

Dirty War

Allegations against Cardinal Bergoglio

Encyclopedia II

On April 15, 2005, a human rights lawyer filed a criminal complaint against Argentine cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, accusing him of conspiring with the junta in 1976 to kidnap two Jesuit priests. So far, no hard evidence has been presented linking the cardinal to this crime. It is known that the cardinal was the superior figure in the Society of Jesus of Argentina (Jesuits) during 1976 and had asked the two priests to leave their pastoral work following conflict within the Society over how to respond to the new military dictatorship, with some priests advocating a violent overthrow. Bergoglio's spokesman has flatly denied the allegations. (4)
It should be noted that Bergoglio was a key figure in securing the priests' release following their abduction by an Argentine navy squad, as he pressured Navy Chief of Staff Emilio Eduardo Massera.

The complaint was filed as the Roman Catholic Conclave prepared to convene to select a new pope, likely as a means of protesting Bergoglio's candidacy.

SOURCE: http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Dirty_War_-_Allegations_against_Cardinal_Bergoglio/id/1328078

Yet, after more than 7 years, the corruption, etc., has not been weeded out, let alone excised.

Quiet thunder in Argentina

This profile of Cardinal Bergoglio first appeared in The Catholic Herald on October 7 2005

By JOSE MARIA POIRIER on Wednesday, 13 March 2013

José Mariá Poirier explains why the self-effacing Archbishop of Buenos Aires may well be the next pope

What a surprise: it turns out that the main opponent to the unstoppable Joseph Ratzinger in the April conclave was none other than the severe, shy figure of the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. The revelation comes in the “secret diary” of one of their colleagues in the Casa Santa Marta – a cardinal’s account of the election published recently in an Italian magazine.

The spotlight the news has placed on Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio – whether or not it is true – will be agony for this notoriously media-shy Jesuit, whose face will have gone even redder with the speculation by vaticanisti that Bergoglio should now be seen as the leading contender to replace Benedict XVI when his time comes: the first Jesuit, and the first Latin American, in Church history to occupy the See of St Peter.

For Bergoglio’s enemies, the revelation will come as no surprise. It only proves, they will say, what we thought all along: that behind all that humility what Bergoglio really cares about is ambition.

But for almost everyone else it does seem remarkable that a relatively obscure South American cardinal should have been an obstacle in the path of the great German theologian and former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The “secret diary” suggests that Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, the former Archbishop of Milan and the standard-bearer for the progressive cardinals, asked not to be taken into consideration for reasons of age and health. His votes (around 40, according to the diary) went instead to Bergoglio, who was seen as the best hope for those who wanted, for whatever reason, to stop Ratzinger. Although the Bergoglio vote was not enough to stop Ratzinger, it prevented the German sweeping the board in the first two rounds.

SNIP...

What is certain is that he is not loved by most of his Jesuit companions. They remember him as their provincial during the violence of the 1970s, when the army came to power amid a breakdown in the political system after the death of General Peron. Apart of the Church in Argentina was involved in the theology of liberation and opposed the military government. Bergoglio was not. “After a war,” he was heard to say, “you have to act firmly.”

SNIP...

Where do his political sympathies lie? Certainly not on the Left. Those who know him best would consider him on the moderate Right, close to that strand of popular 
Peronism which is hostile to liberal capitalism. In the economic crisis of 2001-2002, when Argentina defaulted on its debt, people came out on to the streets and supermarkets were looted, Bergoglio was quick to denounce the neo-liberal banking system which had left Argentina with an unpayable debt.

CONTINUED...

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/features/2013/03/13/quiet-thunder-in-argentina/

Gee? A Pope who can control the Curia? Now that sounds like a guy who might really be interested in peace and poverty.

FYI: The Curia -- or Church administration hierarchy and central governing body of the Church -- is the same group that banks and does business with BNL, BCCI and the BFEE? Please note: The "Gonzalez" referred to at the link is the late U.S. Rep. Henry Gonzalez, (D-Texas). He was a real Democrat, one who used the powers of government to make life better for ALL Americans. The George Herbert Walker Bush administration did all it could to derail his Congressional investigations of their many and various treasons. Here's an important example, courtesy of the late William Safire.

[cloudythescribbler]

1. who was the runner-up this time? just curious

=

[Octafish]

2. Analysis: Papal vote pits power blocs

Can't find the answer to your excellent question, yet, cloudythescribbler.

I believe it would have been the ''Curia's Insider Candidate'' but this from a couple days' back seems to say otherwise:

Analysis: Papal vote pits power blocs

By Laurie Goodstein and Elisabetta Povoledo
The New York Times
Published: Monday, Mar. 11, 2013 - 12:00 am | Page 5A
Last Modified: Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2013 - 6:34 pm

VATICAN CITY – The cardinals who enter the papal conclave on Tuesday will troop into the Sistine Chapel in single file, but beneath the orderly display, they are split into competing lineups and power blocs that will determine which man among them emerges as pope.

The main divide pits the cardinals who work in the Vatican, the "Romans," against the "reformers," the cardinals who want the next pope to tackle what they see as the Vatican's corruption, inefficiency and reluctance to share power and information with bishops from around the world.

But the factions in this conclave do not break along geographical lines, and in fact, they have produced surprisingly counterintuitive alliances: The Romans' top preference appears to be a Brazilian, and the reformers are said to want an Italian.

SNIP...

The last conclave eight years ago presented a far simpler scenario. There was one dominant candidate to beat going in, and that was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the longtime head of the Vatican's office on doctrine and the close collaborator of the previous pope, John Paul II. He was elected on the conclave's second day after just four ballots and took the name Pope Benedict XVI.

The alignments then were animated by theological differences, with the dwindling pool of liberal cardinals backing alternatives to Ratzinger whom others might find acceptable. But this time, there are not enough theological liberals among the cardinals to create a viable bloc.

CONTINUED...

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/11/5252072/papal-vote-pits-power-blocs.html

Like in Washington, conservatives seem to get ahead in the Vatican. I pray for Pope Francis.

[HiPointDem]

3. interesting.