MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Rumors swirl around Pope Francis during his first days as pontiff

Mar 15, 2013, 9:10 AM | Updated: 11:07 am

In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis celebrates his inaugural Mass with cardinals, inside the Sistine Chapel, at the Vatican, Thursday, March 14, 2013. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, ho)

(AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, ho)

Newly elected Pope Francis is powerful – in terms of what he can and can’t do. However, he doesn’t have very much power when it comes to how people receive him.

Or for that matter, the rumors that seem to be popping up as the world learns more about the appointed pontiff.

“I think people here [Vatican City] think with his new style, it’s going to attract people to the church,” John Thavis, author of “The Vatican Diaries,” told Seattle’s Morning News.

Only learning who would lead the Catholic Church on Wednesday, means that in the past few days many questions, concerns and even rumors have popped up.

Thavis sat down with a Vatican official to talk about the most damning rumor: Bergoglio’s complacentness during Argentina’s 1976-1983 military junta.

“There is not truth to any accusations,” said Thavis. The Vatican official he talked to was a diplomat in Argentina at the time of the war. “He knew Father Bergoglio at the time very well and he totally denied that there was any complicity.”

Bergoglio, like most other Argentines, failed to openly confront the murderous dictatorship. Human rights activists differ on how much responsibility he personally deserves.

At the time of the war, Thavis said Bergoglio wasn’t a high profile figure. “His job wasn’t to denounce anything – but he [the Vatican official] denied that Bergoglio did anything but try to protect his priests.”

Officials at the Vatican would much rather look towards what the future papacy of Francis means for the church.

Thavis said that cardinals decided during the conclave that they wanted someone who was going to make bureaucratic changes.

“He’s going to need tough people helping him,” said Thavis. “That’s why we’re all looking to see who his first appointments are going to be.”

In the past few years, Thavis said the cardinals likely didn’t fault Benedict XVI for issues in the Vatican – they rather faulted his top officials.

Aside from a firmer bureaucratic hand, Thavis predicts the popes will likely turn out to be very similar to each other – one more academic, the other more pastoral.

Read more:
Vatican: Anti-clerical campaign against pope
Pope’s former neighbor recalls his ‘love’ letter

MyNorthwest News

Everett boy missing...

Frank Sumrall

4-year-old Everett boy missing, police worried he’s in danger

Police and Search and Rescue crews are looking for a missing four-year-old boy they suspect could be in danger.

50 minutes ago

Image: The awnings of a store advertise the sale of lottery tickets, including Mega Millions and Po...

Steve Coogan

Lottery jackpots update: Powerball prize jumps again after $1.1B Mega Millions win

A lottery jackpots update: The Powerball prize reached an estimated $935 million ahead of Saturday night's drawing.

10 hours ago

Photo: The Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center....

James Lynch

King County’s plan to close youth detention center met with fierce backlash

The King County Law and Justice Committee received a final report on Executive Dow Constantine's plan to close a youth detention center.

12 hours ago

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

14 hours ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

14 hours ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

14 hours ago

Rumors swirl around Pope Francis during his first days as pontiff