LATIN AMERICA REGIONAL AND POLITICAL ANALYSIS 17 MAY 1977[SANITIZED] - 1977/05/17

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Argentina Declassification Project - The "Dirty War" (1976-83)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 03000029
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 16
• Document Creation Date: April 3, 2019
• Document Release Date: April 12, 2019
• Publication Date: May 17, 1977

Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
Latin America
ONAL AND
TICAL ANALYSIS
3.5(c)
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
S�t 131.
RP ALA 77-038
17 May 1977
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
3.5(c)
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
-seeffrr"
3.5(c)
LATIN AMERICA
17 may 1977
CONTENTS
Argentina: The Church Takes a
Stand
7
This publication is prepared for regional specialists in the Washington community by
the Latin America Division, Office of Regional and Political Analysis, with oc-
casional contributions from other offices within the Directorate of Intelligence.
Comments and queries are welcome. They should be directed to the authors of the
individual articles.
RP ALA 77-038
17 May 1977
-9EeRrr
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
NR
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
NR
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
NR
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
NR
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
NR
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
NR
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
_SEGRelt-
Argentina: The Church Takes a Stand
Argentina's Roman Catholic church has issued its
first official criticism of the military government.
The statement, signed by 67 of the nation's 84 bishops,
is the most significant expression to date of dissatis-
faction with the regime.
In a lengthy document drafted during their semian-
nual conference, the bishops catalogued the reasons for
their unhappiness with political repression in the name
of counterinsurgency and economic austerity measures
that generate hardships for workers and consumers. Al-
though expressed in dispassionate terms, the statement
was unequivocally critical. The bishops led off by
citing the futility of their numerous personal, unpub-
licized appeals to government and military leaders for
restraint as the reason for going "over the heads" of
the officers and directly to the people.
Perhaps the most telling portion of the document was
the bishops' assertion that:
no theory of collective security, despite its
importance, can cause the wrecking of the
human being's rights, because social order
and its progress and the order of things must
be subordinated to the human being, and not
the reverse. Altering this order and a mis-
taken idea of personal or social security
have caused many people to tolerate and even
accept the violation of man's basic rights.
The churchmen make no excuses for subversives, whose
activities they deem a violation of "most basic human
relationships," but they admonish government leaders
that "the meaning of being a Christian is the fulfill-
ment of a commitment to self-restraint."
ALA 77-038
17 May 1977
7
.sz-efrrl
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
3.5(c)
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
The bishops bishops met for nearly a week at the conference
and probably had considerable difficulty in making the
decision to express their criticism openly. It has been
clear for some time that many of the bishops have had
serious misgivings about the regime, but most have been
reluctant to place the church in a position of confront-
ation. Indeed, as recently as last month, most churchmen
still seemed reluctant to take a concerted stand, as
evidenced by generally apolitical Easter sermons through-
out the country.
The church has hesitated until now to take on the
government because most churchmen--like most Argentines--
see no real alternative to the regime. They probably also
fear that their criticism could weaken the relatively
moderate President Videla, opening the way to still harsher
practices. Few clerics sympathize with the leftists
the regime is battling; the church, as well as most
Argentines, welcomed last year's coup, seeing in it the
advent of stability and an end to flagrant corruption.
Whatever hope the bishops had that there would soon
be improvements may have been dissipated by recent devel-
opments. One is the "Graiver case," which, whatever its
factual basis, appears increasingly driven by politically
motivated "hardline" officers bent on discrediting both
influential civilians and "populist" officers. In addi-
tion, the arrest of former president Lanusse--during the
course of the bishops' meetings--appears to have been
similarly motivated. It is likely too that the Papal
Nuncio, a longtime critic of the regime, was instrumental
in encouraging the church to take its stand.
The bishops have taken a calculated risk by going
public with their criticism. While they clearly hope to
add momentum to international efforts--notably by Washing-
ton--to curb human rights abuses, their position could
prove counterproductive. Some military men will view the
church statement as an unwarranted intrusion into secular
matters over which the officers should have uncontested
control. Some officers may even conclude that the church
supports or at least sympathizes with leftists, if not
outright subversives. Indeed, a small number of priests
ALA 77-038
17 May 1977
8
--sfeprET
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
do have ties to the left, and several clerics were killed
by security forces last year in an apparent act of retal-
iation.
The church stand also seems likely to contribute to
a sense of isolation and defensiveness on the part of the
regime. Its criticism is the most categorical to date by
a major civilian sector but is by no means the only major
expression of dissatisfaction. Labor challenged the junta
early with a series of strikes in defiance of a ban on
such activity. The officers are also undoubtedly �uneasy
over efforts by politicians and journalists to campaign
for an early "political opening" even though the regime
is clearly prepared for such an event. The criticism could
increase the indignation of the "hardliners" and cause
them to redouble their efforts to secure tougher controls
on all aspects of national life. 3.5(c)
9
SE ET
3.5(c)
ALA 77-038
17 May 1977
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
NR
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
NR
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
NR
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
Approved for Release: 2018/10/01 C03000029
NR