Full Statement From Jesuit Kidnapped by Argentine Junta on New Pope

BERLIN â€" The Vatican rejected accusations on Friday that the newly appointed Pope Francis had failed to stand up for two Jesuit priests who served under him when they were kidnapped by the military in 1976, during the so-called Dirty War in his home country of Argentina.

One of the priests, Franz Jalics, also known in Argentina as Francisco Jalics, now lives and works in Germany. The German branch of the Jesuit order posted a statement from Father Jalics about the events surrounding his kidnapping online on Friday. He declined tocomment in the statement on the newly appointed pontiff’s role, if any, in the case.

Here is an English translation of Father Jalics’s complete statement:

Starting in 1957 I lived in Buenos Aires. In the year 1974, moved by an inner wish to live the gospel and to draw attention to the terrible poverty, and with the permission of Archbishop Aramburu and the then-Provincial Fr. Jorge Mario Bergoglio I moved together with a confrere into a “Favela,” one of the city’s slums. From there we continued our teaching at the university.

In the civil-war-like situation back then, the military junta killed roughly 30,000 people within one to two years, leftist guerrillas as well as innocent civilians. The two of us in the slum had contact neither with the junta nor with the guerrillas. Partly due to the lack of information and through targeted misinformation our situation was also misunderstood within the church. At this time we lost our conne! ction to one of our lay coworkers who had joined the guerrillas. After he was taken prisoner nine months later by the soldiers of the junta and questioned, they learned that he had been connected with us. Under the assumption that we also had something to do with the guerrillas we were arrested. After five days of interrogation the officer who led the questioning dismissed us with the words, “Fathers, you were not guilty. I will ensure that you can return to the poor district.” In spite of this pledge, we were then inexplicably held in custody, blindfolded and bound, for five months. I cannot comment on the role of Fr. Bergoglio in these events.

After we were freed I left Argentina. Only years later did we have the chance to discuss what had happened with Fr. Bergoglio, who in the meantime had been named archbishop of Buenos Aires. Afterwards we together celebrated a public mass and solemnly embraced. I am reconciled to the events and view them from my side as concluded.

I wish Pope Francis od’s rich blessing for his office.

Thomas Busch, a spokesman for the Jesuits, said that the meeting between Father Jalics and then-Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio had taken place in 2000.

According to his official online biography, Father Jalics was an officer’s candidate in Germany in 1944 when, at the age of 17, he had a deep religious experience during the bombing of Nuremberg. He returned to Hungary, according to the biography, but was forced to leave “under pressure from the Communist government.” He continued his studies in Germany, Chile and Argentina.

Father Jalics is an author and gives spiritual exercises in retreats in Germany and abroad. He is currently at a spiritual retreat in Hungary and could not be reached directly.