Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, criticized the killer policies of Argentine President Javier Milei, particularly his vicious treatment of the country’s increasingly impoverished retirees, including the gutting of their pensions and brutal police repression of their peaceful protests ordered by Security Minister Patricia Bullrich. As reported by Tiempo Argentino, Francis was attending an international meeting today at the Vatican commemorating the tenth anniversary of the first World Gathering of Popular Movements, titled “Planting the Flag in the Face of Dehumanization.” He was accompanied by Juan Grabois, a leader of Argentine social organizations which provide services to the poor, unemployed and homeless.
The Pope reported that he’d recently seen a video of the repression of a retirees’ march in front of the National Congress a week earlier, in which people were demanding their rights “and the police got tough, using the most expensive thing there is, high quality pepper gas,” Página 12 quoted him saying. Milei’s government argued that the elderly protesters didn’t have the right to make such demands, Francis explained, claiming they “were rebellious, communists, etc. No, no, no,” he countered.
