After the military coup in Argentina in 1976, the enforced disappearance of opponents of the regime by secret military and police units became a massively applied practice of repression. In desperation, the relatives of the disappeared turned to the Catholic Church, but only a few bishops sided with the victims. The ambiguous official statements of the bishops' conference were also a bitter disappointment for human rights organizations such as the Madres de Plaza de Mayo. Barbara Rupflin examines both the conflicts surrounding the position of the official church and church practice in the face of human rights violations. In addition, the historian sheds light on the actions of Catholics who did not want to accept the answers of the official church and found their own way of making the human rights issue part of church practice.