Hebe de Bonafini, the leader of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, met with the Pope on Friday in Santa Marta. A meeting that lasted over an hour. She is almost 88- years-old and in the past has strongly criticized Cardinal Bergoglio. After the meeting, she said that she was finally able to ask him for pardon.
HEBE DE BONAFINI
President, Mothers of Plaza de Mayo
'When Bergoglio became Pope Francis, he grew even more. Now, I have expressed my apologies to him because I was wrong. I thought the same of Nestor. That they are not what they seemed. However, one has to admit, when you are wrong and that is what mothers do.â?
The group is dedicated to demanding justice for the displaced and disappeared during Argentinaâ??s military regime in the 1970s, while enduring many years under a dictatorship. However, Hebe de Bonafini told reporters about what her conversation with Pope Francis was about: Argentina's current situation.
HEBE DE BONAFINI
President, Mothers of Plaza de Mayo
'We held each other a long time. And I sat back down and he set next to me. And then I said he has a very difficult mission. That our country needed his word. That in five months the government destroyed what we did in 12 years. FLASH. I said that we need him. We want him to come. His words could be very important. I said: Pope Francis you stopped a NATO bombing. The situation in Argentina is a bit easier. I hope he is able to stop it.â?
Hebe de Bonafini gave the Pope the legendary white scarf and a medallion of the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus in her arms. For her, it represents the children who were taken from their mothers during the many years under the thumb of a dictatorship.
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