THE NEW YORK TIMES: The pontiff’s trip comes amid tensions between the country’s libertarian leader and its Catholic Church, which is deeply committed to social justice.
The Catholic priests were reciting the Lord’s Prayer during an anti-government protest when clashes broke out with the police. As one cleric tried to reach a fellow priest dragged behind the armored police cordon, an officer in riot gear grabbed his white tunic.
“This government is heartless,” the priest, Jorge Romero, said in a later interview. “We have to fight,” said the other, Francisco Olveira, known as Paco.
The clash last May between the police and activist clergymen outside Argentina’s Congress in Buenos Aires was a violent flashpoint in prolonged tensions between President Javier Milei and much of the country’s Roman Catholic Church.
Pope Leo’s visit to Argentina, which begins on Sunday, will place him at the center of that uneasy standoff with Mr. Milei, a libertarian who has repeatedly attacked concepts of social justice that much of Argentina’s clergy is deeply committed to.
Few expect the pontiff, who is set to meet with Mr. Milei on Sunday afternoon, to wade openly into the debate. Pope Leo’s predecessor, Francis, never returned to Argentina, his home country, a decision many saw as an attempt to avoid being dragged into “la grieta” — the nation’s famously bitter political divide.
Pope Leo, an American who has shown a less flamboyant personality than Francis, does not have the same national baggage. But still, Mr. Milei has diametrically opposed views on issues like artificial intelligence, and he often describes his presidency as a moral mission — putting him in territory traditionally claimed by the church. » | Emma Bubola | Photographs by Sarah Pabst | Reporting from Buenos Aires | Sunday, November 8, 2026
I have no time for Javier Milei. He’s a heartless, cruel S**! He’ll never go down in history as a great leader because he is more concerned with statistics than he is with Argentinians’ well-being and welfare. He hasn’t got a compassionate bone in his body! He is bereft of all mercy. The mere fact that he is big chums with the Orange One in the White House tells me all I need to know about him. May God have mercy on Argentina and the Argentinians. — © Mark Alexander
