The most controversial incident in Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s tenure as Jesuit provincial (that is, regional superior) of Argentina came in 1976. Father Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, was a prayerful man, a charismatic leader and a priest deeply committed to the poor. As Jesuit provincial, he was also charged with the care of Jesuit priests and brothers throughout Argentina. A few years after taking office at the alarmingly young age of 36, he was faced with the thorny problem of how best to support two priests, Orlando Yorio and Franz Jalics, who had moved into a slum in Buenos Aires and were advocates for the poor in the face of brutal government opposition during Argentina’s so-called Dirty War.
Father Bergoglio supported the work of those referred to as slum priests, but warned the two of the dangers inherent in their ministries. Around the same time, Father Yorio sought approval for his final vows as a Jesuit. Because of suspicions about his work, the evaluations Father Bergoglio received from other Jesuits were largely negative. Some Jesuits in Rome, according to Austen Ivereigh, author of “The Great Reformer,” a fine new biography of Pope Francis, also believed rumors that the two were linked with guerrillas, and so their community in the slums was ordered disbanded.
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