Argentine rights groups urge Pope to defrock convicted junta chaplain

Argentine human rights organizations, including the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, published an open letter during the papal visit demanding that Pope Leo XIV strip the clerical state from Father Christian Von Wernich, a former police chaplain serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity during the dictatorship. The move escalates pressure on the Vatican to act on a long-standing case, though the Pope's response remains uncertain. The outcome could signal the Church's stance on historical complicity in state terror.

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