Francis: Portrait of the Pope as a young man....

[Denise]

.....and as young Jesuit tested in the Dirty War

[KarlB]

The poverty-stricken children who were his peers when he was a youngster in the 1940s were in his thoughts and he was determined to use his prominence as a bishop to better the lot of the impoverished, as opposed to rubbing shoulders with the Argentinean elite. He eschewed ostentation, showiness and glamour. Journalists dogged his heels, wanting exclusive interviews, and social climbers sought photo opportunities, but with a famously understated smile, and a reserved manner, he refused interviews and walked away from them. This man for all seasons would never be their man.

I think that sums up the ministry of Bergoglio in Argentina. He was as is a man of the poor and dispossessed, a preacher of the love and salvation of Christ, a self effacing Servant of the Servants of God and a true Argentinian patriot.. and not a friend of the wealthy and powerful who ruled Argentina during the 'Dirty War' and betrayed its people.