Garzón: 'Pope Francis should release Vatican files on dictatorship'

Former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón said Pope Francis “could perfectly open the Vatican files to make public all communications and information sent from Argentina at the time of the last military dictatorship.”

Garzón considered such a move would be “very positive and proof of cooperation and support to the victims of state terrorism.”

The former judge was referring to any cables that diplomats may have sent to the Vatican during the last military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983.

“Everyone knows that during the dictatorship the victims ran to the Church, just like the Mothers and Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo sent letters to Pope John Paul II,” he added.

Garzón believes that those judges currently leading the investigation of cases of crimes against humanity should be the ones that request the publication of those files.

“As a judge, I would do it,” he said.