Pope Urges Reconciliation in Argentina

Pope John Paul II on Tuesday urged Argentines to forgive those who offended them in the past, but he did not specifically mention the seven years of divisive military rule that ended in 1983.

He also heard an outspoken local bishop imply that Argentina’s Roman Catholic establishment did not do enough to defend human rights during that period, when thousands of suspected government opponents were reportedly tortured or killed by security forces.

The Pope’s remarks were made to a crowd of several thousand near the airport of Viedma, a town of over 30,000 on the northern edge of the vast Patagonian scrubland. It was the second stop in his tour of Argentina’s vast interior.

In his welcoming speech, Viedma’s Bishop Miguel Hesayne said that the church in Argentina “does not always identify itself with the poor, the needy and the persecuted.”

The crowd applauded as Hesayne said, “Let us never again have to lament the deaths of young people--soldiers or civilians, ‘disappeared ones’ or torture victims.”

People who were kidnaped by the former dictatorship’s forces, summarily executed and buried clandestinely are known here as “the disappeared ones.”

The Pope did not respond directly to Hesayne’s statements.

In his plea for reconciliation, John Paul stated: “Dear Argentines, I ask you for a profound, fraternal reconciliation which plants its roots in the reconciliation of each person with God.

“Dignity signifies magnanimity, openness of heart, to desire that everyone without discrimination of any kind forgive those who have offended them,” he said.

Four years into democratic rule, Argentines are still deeply divided by the trials of military officers for human rights violations during military rule.

In the Viedma audience were some of Argentina’s 30,000 Mapuche Indians, generally underprivileged in a country where most inhabitants are descended from European immigrants. John Paul greeted them in their native language.

Then he said in Spanish: “I wish to send a special salute to my beloved Mapuche brothers and sisters. Thank the Lord for the values and traditions of your culture and make efforts to promote it. . . .”

The pontiff also urged the Argentine government to encourage equitable economic development of the region. In an action designed to spur local development, the democratic government of President Raul Alfonsin plans to transfer the national capital from Buenos Aires, with 10 million people, to Viedma.

After his stop in Viedma, the Pope traveled to Mendoza, a northwestern wine-growing region, and made his first direct comments about divorce, which is expected to be a major topic during his six days in Argentina.

“How is a country able to exist peacefully where . . . they accept the disintegration of marriage?” he asked the crowd.

The House of Deputies passed a bill legalizing divorce last August, but last month the Senate postponed consideration of it until John Paul leaves for home next Sunday.