Pope Francis

de Paul Vallely

From his first appearance on a Vatican balcony, Pope Francis proved himself a Pope of Surprises. With a series of potent gestures, history's first Jesuit pope declared a mission to restore authenticity and integrity to a Catholic Church bedevilled by sex abuse and secrecy, intrigue and in-fighting, ambition and arrogance. He declared it should be "a poor Church, for the poor." But the author claims that there's a hidden past to this modest man with the winning smile: Jorge Mario Bergoglio was previously a bitterly divisive figure. His decade as leader of Argentina's Jesuits left the religious order deeply split, and his behavior during Argentina's Dirty War, when military death squads snatched innocent people from the streets, raised serious questions.