Diary: A Subject I Have Become Interested In With The New Pope's Election

Having an advanced degree in Latin American History (among others), I was intrigued by the kerfuffle that surrounded the selection of Cardinal Bergoglio as Pope Francis I. Let me state at the outset that I am Roman Catholic, considered a "Cradle Catholic" although one would probably have to be Catholic to understand that term, and I am NOT a Cafeteria Catholic. That needs to be gotten out of the way, inasmuch as the article that I am eventually planning on submitting will be a lengthy dissertation with some very critical looks at the Roman Catholic Church's history of support for monarchist, oligarchic, or dictatorial regimes dating back to the last stages of the Roman Empire. In compliance with the rules for article submission, it will be well documented. The documentation that I have to hand is anything but pleasant to the hierarchy of the Church.

While the article will date history back to some 2000 years, its major focus will be on the last 500+ years on history of the Church in the Western Hemisphere. The earlier history will largely deal with the justifications the Church relied upon for its acquiescence to many of the horrors history records as having been committed upon the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere. Those horrors continue through today against the indigenous people of Latin America and North America, although the Church plays an infinitesimal role in North American abuse of indigenous people as compared to Latin America. The abuse of disfavored groups of poor in Latin America, in addition to the indigenous people, also include the Afro-Indigenous people and the Euro-Indigeous (Mestizo) people. That John Paul II played a major role in helping keep the US' role in the Iran-Contra affair secret, he also rebuffed Archbishop Oscar Romero's pleas for intervention with the US financed death squads that were murdering thousands every year and which ultimately lead to the assassination of Archbishop Romero. was aware that the Cardinal for Central America was on the payroll of the CIA to the tune of $10 Million/year. That is not a conspiracy theory, that is a fact established in the documents uncovered by Robert Parry in his investigation of the entire Iran-Contra affair and the US' entire participation in the Contra escapade in Nicaragua and Guatemala.

I come to this diary piece with no axe to grind but a sense of foreboding of what is awaiting me as I dig ever deeper into my Church's past. In my studies for my degrees, the Church played a not insignificant part, yet was never the focus of history. I attribute this to a studied attempt by the Church to keep its role as puppet-master and kingmaker as shrouded as could possible without arousing suspicion and therefore inquiry into the role the Church played in these lay political matters. Which is not surprising given that the Church views its "apostolic" nature as being derived from Christ and the Pope is the essence of the Apostle John who was given the charge to build Christ's Church. Therefore, all authority in the Roman Catholic Church derives from a single person, making it very comfortable with a lay government headed by a single person from whom all lay authority is derived. Or so is my thesis. We shall see as my article, space permitting, develops. As a political scientist, lawyer, economist and historian, it is plain to see that I am a person to whom verboseness comes naturally. It may give whomever is the unfortunate editor a nightmare in editing it to appropriate size.