Chile’s Leader Welcomes Pope, Defends Regime

SANTIAGO, Chile —  This country’s unbending strongman, President Augusto Pinochet, smarting under papal criticism of his “dictatorial” regime, welcomed Pope John Paul II to Santiago on Wednesday with a stout defense of his government’s harsh measures to uphold what he called “law and order.”

Within less than an hour, scattered street protests against the military government drew police water cannon and tear gas in the wake of the visiting pontiff.

Youths outside the Metropolitan Cathedral in the historic Plaza de Armas in the city’s historic center, where John Paul was meeting with non-Catholic leaders, shouted, “Brother John Paul, take the tyrant home with you!” Police moved in with water cannon.

Earlier, only seconds after the pontiff’s motorcade passed a cheering throng at the city’s central railroad station, riot police used tear gas to put down a small rock-throwing demonstration by anti-Pinochet protesters.

Tuesday, at the outset of his current two-week South American pilgrimage, the Pope had pointedly challenged Pinochet by characterizing the Chilean military regime as “dictatorial” and by suggesting that the church move as it did against Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos to speed Chile’s return to democracy.

But in response to the Chilean general’s spirited defense of his strong measures against what he called “the most extreme materialistic and atheistic” opponents, the Pope was more conciliatory than many Chilean human rights advocates expected, and some expressed disappointment.

Except for a reference to “human dignity,” the pontiff during the airport greeting ceremony confined his remarks to Pinochet to generalities and a wish for “forgiveness, mercy and reconciliation.”

However, in an evening blessing addressed to all Chileans from the floodlighted hilltop statue of the Virgin Mary that is a principal landmark of Santiago, the pontiff pointedly blessed the victims of violence in the troubled country. And, in a clear reference to Pinochet followers and supporters, he called upon those who have “given in to the forces of evil to repent for the sake of peace.”

Special Blessing

The white-robed Pope also delivered a special blessing to the poor of this turbulent nation, striking a resonant note in Santiago, where leftist groups have organized homeless families to squat on unoccupied lands on the city’s outskirts. All have been evicted by police without bloodshed.

Today, the pontiff will visit one of the city’s worst slums, a frequent site of anti-government protests of the kind that have plagued Pinochet since 1983 without measurably weakening his hold on power.

The 71-year-old Chilean dictator has announced his intention to remain in power for at least another decade despite opposition from church and political groups ranging from the conservative right to the violent Communist left.

Like the United States, Pinochet’s civilian opponents call for a democratic transition leading to free elections in 1989 when the general’s current eight-year term of office ends.