Iglesia católica, dictaduras y Derechos Humanos en Brasil y Argentina en la tormenta de los años setenta

Abstract

– The main purpose of this paper is to report the results of an ongoing research on the relationship between the Catholic Church, dictatorships and the Human Rights issue in Brazil and Argentina from 1964 to 1984, and the clash between different memory narratives of the controversial role of Catholics in the crisis of the seventies. The approach underlines the importance of comparative history of Catholicism and its relationship with political culture, so far this viewpoint has been underdeveloped in contemporary Latin American historiography. Accordingly, our analysis is articulated in a long term perspective that can show continuities and ruptures in the context of the post-Council crisis and the emergence of Liberation Theology. The widespread interpretation that the Church hierarchy in both countries acted in a uniform way, either supporting or opposing dictatorship, will be discussed. In addition, the article will focus on controversial memories of the role the Catholic Church played in those years. At the present time, this dispute is an attempt to recover a lost legi-