Pinochet and the Finger Wagging Pope

The TV news, inexplicably, chose not to run with footage of General Augusto Pinochet proudly standing on his balcony (God, how fascists lover their balconies) beside 'Santo Subito' Pope John Paul II back in 1987.

"Why bring up the late-great Pope when discussing the death of Pinochet? cries the devil's advocate from stage left. "After all, wasn't that visit in '87 a great stride forward for human rights in Chile?"

JPII, addressing his Bishops, told them :

"Never hesitate to defend always, before all, the legitimate rights of the person, created in the image and likeness of God. Proclaim your preferential love for the poor...." He defended the Church's right "to pass moral judgment even in political matters" ¹

Quite. Funny how that moral judgement never seemed to get passed on an evil bastard who overthrew a democratically elected government, and proceeded to round up, torture, kill, and hide the bodies of thousands.

Not only did JPII not manage to wag his finger at Pinochet - something which he managed succesfully to do at liberation theologians in El Salvador - instead he gave a moral boost to the general, appearing with him.

Would it be worth pointing out that JPII appointed Opus Dei member Angelo Sodano as his secretary of state. Sodano was the Vatican's ambassador to Chile during the 1973 coup, and became a friend and advisor to Pinochet.

Would it be worth pointing out the letter sent by the Vatican to the British authorities when Pinochet was awaiting extradition proceedings in London? The letter's contents have remained secret, but one guesses that 'moral judgement' was conspicuously absent.

Should we mention the stance of Cardinal Javier Errázuriz Ossa, nominated just today as one of the Presidents of the fifth Latin-American Episcopal conference, who suggested that lawsuits against Pinochet should be dropped because "excessive justice could be detrimental to reconciliation and social peace[emphasis added]". Excessive justice - brilliant...

The list, sadly, goes on. It's worth quoting Brazilian Bishop Helder Camara here on the Church's position in Latin America:

"When I called for the role of the Church to be with the poor, I am called a saint; when I'm asked to do something about the causes of poverty, I am called a communist."

Human rights in Latin-America, at least for the boys in the Vatican, is written with the emphasis on right. Hence their continued and unfailing support for the bulwark against communism.

After all this, though, Pinochet's death has left me questioning my credentials as an atheist. There must be a God, and she's got a sense of humour - Pinochet's heart gave out, unexpectedly, on international human rights day.

(As a side note, it's vaguely heartening to see that no-one here in Italy, at least yet, ranging from the Vatican through to the neo-fascist apologists for Mussolini, has seen fit to make the case for the deceased dictator)

Suggested Reading:
A Profoundly Rightwing Pope by Vicente Navarro
Beautiful Horizons
Farewell to the perpetrator of one of the most shocking crimes of the 20th century. - by Christopher Hitchens
Tinker Bell, Pinochet and The Fairy Tale Miracle of Chile by Greg Palast

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