Abstract

This article analyses the relationship between the Argentinian Church, the Holy See and the Argentinian regime born by the military coup of 24 March 1976. In particular, it examines how the Church behaved when confronted with the repressive policy followed by that regime since the first months after the coup. Building on the diplomatic, mainly "secret", correspondence between the Argentinian Embassy in the Holy See and the Argentinian foreign ministry, and on documents held in several Argentinian Church archives, the author sheds particular light on the controversial issue of systematic human rights violations. The events of March 1976 and the subsequent timid attitude of the Church in the face of the regime's crimes can be understood - the author contends - when placed within a wider framework: that of the political culture and the national myth which the Church and the army have built throughout the Twentieth Century.