Born in 1936 in the Argentinian working-class district of Flores, Jorge Bergoglio initially worked as a porter and laboratory assistant before joining the Jesuit order at the age of 21.
He was ordained a priest in 1969, soon became a novice master and only four years after his ordination, at the age of 36, provincial of the Jesuits in Argentina (1973 to 1979). It was a time of tension and growing mistrust.
Argentine Jesuits later described his leadership style as dictatorial. At that time, he still preached "conservative" and popular piety.
His role during Argentina's Dirty War (1976-1983)
During the military dictatorship of the 1970s, Father Bergoglio tried to keep the Jesuits out of the political fronts.
In May 1976, Buenos Aires Jesuits, Father Orlando Yorio and Father Franz Jalics were kidnapped by a naval commando - they were considered too critical of the government. Both were under the jurisdiction of their provincial, Father Jorge Bergoglio. After their release, after five months in prison and alleged torture, they accused their Provincial of having "handed them over" to the government. Internally, he had described their work as "left-wing radical". After a personal meeting with Pope Francis in 2010, Father Jalics declared that the accusations were unfounded. A shadow remains.
Bergoglio's only comment was to his authorized biographer, Sergio Rubin, claiming that he had done nothing wrong and had worked "in the background" for their release.
Rift Between the Jesuits and Father Bergoglio
In 1980 Father Bergoglio became rector of the theological faculty of San Miguel. His leadership style has been described as unyielding, authoritarian, and difficult to approach.
In 1986, he was sent to Germany, officially to write a dissertation on the 20th-century German theologian, Rev. Romano Guardini. He never completed the project.
Sent into internal exile (1986-1992)
Father Bergoglio ended up on the periphery: as a simple confessor in Córdoba. This appointment was considered a punishment. Bergoglio hardly mentions these years in his biographies.
The reasons for this exile have never been clarified.
Sudden Rise in the Church Hierarchy Post-Exile
In May 1992, Bergoglio was appointed auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires.
The Superior General of the Jesuits, Father Hans Peter Kolvenbach, warned John Paul II not to consecrate Bergoglio as a bishop because of his "destructive style of leadership.
Then-Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires, Monsignor Héctor Aguer, called Bergoglio in Córdoba to congratulate him. Bergoglio replied: "Cardinal Quarracino pulled me out of twenty meters of water".
From then on, Monsignor Bergoglio demonstratively avoided the Jesuit House during his visits to Rome.
He was named coadjutor archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1997 and succeeded Cardinal Antonio Quarracino in February of the following year. John Paul II created him a Cardinal in February 2001.
What happened in the Conclaves of 2005 and 2013
Cardinal Bergoglio was considered the second most favored candidate in the 2005 conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.
In the conclave following Benedict's resignation in 2013, a dossier of warnings against Bergoglio circulated, but was largely ignored.
When Cardinal Bergoglio spoke at the General Congregation in 2013, he stressed the need for evangelization, otherwise the Church would become self-referential and sick. He later sabotaged evangelization, calling it proselytism.
As pope, Francis has been careful not to disappear into the office. Small examples are his refusal to wear the red shoes or to live in the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace.
Francis deliberately chose ambiguous language to convey a clear message, such as the communion of adulterers in "Amoris laetitia" (2016) and the "blessing" of homosexuals in "Fiducia supplicans" (2021), or his idea that "God wants all religions" in "Fratelli tutti" (2020).
Francis projected himself in verbal tirades, preferably against priests, and preached against bad temper, meanness of spirit, gossip. He loved the insulting words sourpuss, rosary counter, museum mummy, airport bishop, pepper-faced Christians, and so on.
Why Francis' Obsession with Homosexual, Compromised Clergy?
Probably Francis' most quoted line was "Who am I to judge?" about the Italian homosexual Battista Ricca, a Vatican prelate. After several moral scandals, Francis gave Ricca a position in the Vatican bank.
Francis has maintained a strategic silence in the cases of abusive homosexual clerics, whom he has actively protected. Just a few examples:
- Rev. Julio César Grassi, convicted of molesting boys.
- Monsignor Gustavo Zanchetta, a bishop convicted of homosexual misconduct with seminarians and appointed to a Vatican post.
- Father Marko Rupnik, a Jesuit artist expelled from his order over dozens of fornication allegations, but whose Vatican-related privileges appeared to be protected for years.
In 2023, Francis appointed his confidant Tucho Fernández, a soft-porn author with homosexual overtones, as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. His most famous book is "Sáname con tu boca. El arte de besar" ("Heal Me with Your Mouth. The Art of Kissing").
Rest in peace, Pope Francis.
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