The honeymoon that Pope Francis has enjoyed since his remarkable election hit a bump today (March 15, 2013), with the Vatican lashing out at what it called a defamatory and "anti-clerical left-wing" media campaign questioning his actions -- or lack of them -- during Argentina's murderous military dictatorship, according to the Associated Press website.
On Day 2 of the Francis pontificate, the Vatican denounced news reports in Argentina and beyond resurrecting allegations that the former Jorge Mario Bergoglio failed to openly confront the junta responsible for kidnapping and killing thousands of people in a "dirty war" to eliminate leftist opponents.
Bergoglio -- like most Argentines -- did not publicly confront the dictators who ruled from 1976-83, while he was the leader of the country's Jesuits. Human rights activists differ on how much blame he personally deserves.
Top church leaders had endorsed the junta and some Catholic priests even worked alongside torturers inside secret prisons. Many activists are angry that as Archbishop of Buenos Aires for more than a decade, he didn't do more to support investigations into the atrocities.
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