BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) 鈥� Jorge Mario Bergoglio, born in Buenos Aires, never set foot in his homeland after becoming in 2013.
That left many of the feeling puzzled and snubbed by the world鈥檚 first Latin American pope. The question of why he never returned quickly dominated airwaves and headlines on Tuesday in Buenos Aires.
Francis, , said little about his decision to steer clear of Argentina. But Vatican insiders and interlocutors said the pontiff wanted to avoid getting swept up in the that characterized his country.
鈥淚t鈥檚 sad, because we should have been proud to have ,鈥� said Ardina Aragon, 94, a longtime friend and neighbor where Francis was born in 1936. 鈥淚 think there were political factors that influenced him.鈥�
Francis, a devotee of soccer, tango and other signature aspects of Argentine culture, was known to have tense relationships with some of his country鈥檚 leaders. His ideological clash with , who took office in 2023, created even more challenges.
Francis' popularity declined at home
with an ecstasy otherwise reserved for the country's three . But that initial excitement over the former archbishop of Buenos Aires .
A recent Pew Research Center report showed that Francis鈥� popularity had dropped more in Argentina than anywhere else in the region over the last decade. About 64% of respondents said they had a positive view of Francis in September 2024, compared with 91% in 2014.
鈥淭here are many among us who think he made mistakes. Not everyone in our community is proud of the association,鈥� said Adriana Lombardi, 62, a retired teacher in Buenos Aires, referring to traditionalist Catholics in Argentina and beyond who accused Francis .
Some in Buenos Aires felt slighted by Francis' avoidance of Argentina.
鈥淒espite his history here, it seems like he doesn't care about us," said Bruno Renter铆a, 19, who was praying in front of an icon of the Virgin Mary at the Bas铆lica de San Jos茅 de Flores in Buenos Aires. Older churchgoers recalled the very confessional where Bergoglio, at age 16, had first heard the call to the priesthood. 鈥淚t's odd because it seems like he has time for everyone else.鈥�
Political tensions began with the Kirchners
Some trace those tensions to when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires during the leftist tenures of the late former President N茅stor Kirchner and his successor and wife, the divisive , whose strain of populism dominated Argentine politics for decades.
Francis and Fern谩ndez de Kirchner were unfriendly neighbors in Plaza de Mayo, the central square that hosts both the government headquarters and the cathedral where Francis delivered homilies during much of her presidency from 2007-15.
From the pulpit, Francis criticized the 鈥渆xhibitionism鈥� and autocratic tendencies of Argentina鈥檚 political class 鈥� a subtle dig that the Kirchners interpreted as a direct attack. His support for the Vatican鈥檚 conservative positions on key social issues deepened rifts with Fern谩ndez de Kirchner鈥檚 progressive government as it expanded sex education and, in 2010, 鈥� a first for Latin America.
Perhaps most significantly, supporters of the Kirchners accused Francis of complicity in , when as many as 30,000 people were estimated by human rights groups to have been killed or simply 鈥渄isappeared.鈥� Francis was head of Argentina鈥檚 Jesuit order during those violent years, when the who worked with the poor.
Francis rejected the accusations of complicity. In his 2024 memoir, 鈥淟ife: My Story Through History,鈥� he recalled hiding wanted activists and pressing military officials behind the scenes to free two abducted priests from his order.
Eventually, Kirchner's social welfare policies resonated with Bergoglio. The two drew closer after he became pontiff and set about softening the image of an institution that had long appeared forbidding.
"Conservatives in Argentina failed to understand his change of attitude," said Sergio Berensztein, who runs a political consultancy in Buenos Aires.
Branded by critics as a 鈥楶eronist pope鈥�
Unsettled by his , right-wing critics branded Francis the 鈥淧eronist pope鈥� 鈥� a reference to the founded by three-time President Juan Domingo Per贸n, who employed an authoritarian hand and powerful state to champion social justice causes.
From that point on, Berensztein said, Francis 鈥渇elt everything he said or did would lead to fighting on either side of the divide.鈥�
Francis' politics came under more scrutiny in 2016, when he wore an unusually grim expression while posing for a photo beside , Kirchner鈥檚 conservative successor, whose austerity program battered the poor.
The awkward photo op paled in comparison to Francis鈥� discomfort with what followed.
Milei, a former television pundit and corporate economist, called Francis an 鈥渋mbecile鈥� and 鈥渢he representative of the Evil One on Earth" before . He lashed out at the pope for promoting social justice, supporting taxes and sympathizing with 鈥渕urderous communists.鈥�
Francis expressed sympathy for the strife of Argentines pulled into poverty as they bore the brunt of Milei鈥檚 fiscal shock therapy, over what he called a 鈥渟ave yourself approach鈥� to doing politics and publicly criticizing Argentine security forces for using pepper spray against Argentine retirees protesting for better pensions.
The Vatican described a meeting between as 鈥渃ordial,鈥� but ideological differences resurfaced with the ascension of , .
Since Trump's reelection, Francis has on the administration, criticizing its .
鈥淔rancis cultivated a social doctrine in the church that generated opposition, particularly among conservatives in the United States,鈥� said Sergio Rubin, an Argentine journalist and Francis' authorized biographer.
Beloved by followers as a 鈥榩ope of the people鈥�
After a dozen years of papal travel 鈥� 鈥� Francis to visit his native land last year. Nothing came of it.
鈥淗e went to Brazil, Peru, Chile; he passed over our heads,鈥� said Lucia Vidal, a retired nurse who attended Bergoglio鈥檚 Mass when he was archbishop. 鈥淭hat pains me."
In contrast, Pope John Paul II less than a year after becoming pontiff in 1978. His successor, , chose his native Germany for his first foreign trip in 2005.
Other Argentines seemed less indignant about the snub and more grateful for his contributions to the impoverished neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, where Bergoglio leading processions, creating a cadre of priests who follow in his footsteps and founding shelters for homeless addicts and community centers on violence-scarred streets.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 express what his humility, his open hands, meant to me, my family, my neighborhood,鈥� said Angela Cano, 51, at a Mass held in his honor Monday at Villa 21-24, a neglected suburb near the railroad. "We saw up close how he was the pope of the people. He helped us find God.鈥�
Back in Flores, Carlos Liva, 66, a retired cab driver, said that he couldn't begrudge the pope for prioritizing the rest of the world after spending most of his years in Argentina.
鈥淚t's clear that he felt at ease in Rome,鈥� Liva said. 鈥滻n his own country, people found every reason to question him."
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Natacha Pisarenko contributed to this report.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Almudena Calatrava And Isabel Debre, The Associated Press
