Pope says Argentina government wanted 'my head' when he was in Buenos Aires

FILE PHOTO: Pope Francis speaks as he attends the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis said that when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires more than a decade ago, the Argentine government wanted "to cut my head off" by backing false accusations that he had collaborated with the military dictatorship of the 1970s.

Francis made his comments on April 29 in a private conversation with Jesuits while he was visiting Hungary. Francis is also a Jesuit and the comments were published on Tuesday in the Italian Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica, as is customary after such meetings.