ROME, May 21: A Leading Argentine human rights group has asked Italy to prosecute the Pope's former envoy to Argentina for his alleged role in the torture, slaying and disappearance of thousands of people during the so-called ``dirty war.''

The accusations against Pio Laghi, one of the Roman Catholic Church's most prominent cardinals, were brought by the mothers of Plaza de Mayo, who have campaigned for 20 years on behalf of victims of Argentina's military dictatorship.

In a complaint lodged on Monday, the rights group asked Italy's Justice Ministry to prosecute Laghi for alleged torture, murder and kidnapping while he was papal ambassador to Argentina from 1974 to 1980.

In their complaint, the mothers accuse Laghi of having firsthand knowledge of the torture, killing and kidnapping of suspected political dissidents and say he collaborated closely with the 1976-1983 military dictatorship.The complaint includes the testimony of a bishop, several priests, a Mother Superior and two other people who said they saw Laghi at the government's secret prisons and torture centers.

The complaint alleges Laghi himself decided the fate of some detainees and personally approved the expulsion or execution of liberal priests.``Pio Laghi was the director of a crusade against communism which sent thousands of youths to their deaths,'' it said.

``Priests, missionaries, union leaders, political leaders all suffered the punishment of the inquisition he decided to impose.''

The allegations against laghi reflect the church's poor record in Latin America, where it was sharply divided between a church aligned with the poor and one allied with the powerful. Laghi was among those who welcomed the military coup in 1976.

The mothers' president, Hebe de Bonafini, said it took years to put together a case against Laghi.

``It's hard to take on the church. It's powerful. People are afraid to speak out,'' she said at a news conference on Tuesday.The mothers concede there is only a slim chance that Italy will prosecute Laghi or that the Pope will lift his immunity.

``But at least we can show the world that the Pope's ambassador knew,'' said their lawyer, Sergio Schoklender. ``That's the most important thing to us.''They also want Pope John Paul II to lift Laghi's diplomatic immunity so he can be brought to trial. They met the Pope's secretary on that issue.Laghi, who was also papal envoy to Washington, now holds one of the Vatican's most influential posts as head of the congregation of catholic education, which oversees church schooling worldwide.He accused the mothers yesterday of acting out of malice toward him.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.