In Latin America...suspicion falls first "on the accuser, not the accused."
Felices los Niños, "Happy Children."
A close friend of then Cardinal Bergoglio, Father Julio Cesar Grassi is a convicted pedophile. He ran a foundation called Felices los Niños, translated to "Happy Children." But there was nothing happy about what happened behind closed doors.
The accusers, aged 9, 13 and 17, were allegedly repeatedly molested and raped by this pedophile priest.
A court in Buenos Aires sentenced Julio César Grassi to 15 years in prison on several charges of child abuse at the Felices los Niños foundation.
Grassi was found guilty for the aggravated abuse and rape of a minor. Nevertheless, he was acquitted in two other cases.
The charges were aggravated, as he was the person responsible for the welfare of the victims. They were particularly vulnerable as were living in the streets before arriving at the priest's foundation.
However, Grassi has never served a moment's time in prison. The court allowed him to leave the proceedings and remain free until the sentence was confirmed. Today, he still remains free. He also remains a priest.
Grassi was not expelled from the priesthood after the guilty verdict. Instead, church officials led by Bergoglio commissioned a lengthy private report arguing that Grassi was innocent.
Father Sasso
In one of Argentina's most egregious abuse cases, another priest in the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires was assigned to work with children even when church leaders knew of allegations against him.
After local parishioners accused Father Mario Napoleon Sasso of molesting children in a poor, rural province of eastern Argentina in the early 1990s, he was sent to a private rehabilitation center for wayward clergy, La Domus Maraie (the House of Mary), north of Buenos Aires.
He lived for two years at the rehabilitation center and was then reassigned to work in a soup kitchen for poor children in a town outside the capital. There, he went on to sexually abuse girls as young as 3.
When parents of the children went to the Vatican emissary in Buenos Aires, they were given trinkets and gifts "Blessed by the Pope"
Three years later, these parents asked to speak with Bergoglio, but he never responded. "They just wanted to cover it up," , the victim's attorney, Moreau said. Fr. Sasso was convicted in 2007 and sentenced to 17 years in prison (although he is currently out of prison).
The article notes that there is no evidence, then Cardinal Bergoglio, now Pope Francis conspired to cover up child sexual abuse.
However, his failure to acknowledge victims while defending his pedophile friend and claiming him innocent - speaks volumes.