HOLY SEE RESPONSE TO DEMARCHE ON CLONING CONVENTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 005346 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/WE MENNUTI, IO/ E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/31/2012 TAGS: AORC KSCA PREL VT UNGA SUBJECT: HOLY SEE RESPONSE TO DEMARCHE ON CLONING CONVENTION REF: A. A) STATE 209737 ¶B. B) VATICAN 4241 CLASSIFIED BY: AMBASSADOR JIM NICHOLSON. REASON: 1.5 (B). ¶1. (U) EMBASSY APPROACHED HOLY SEE DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER MIGLIORE OCTOBER 25 TO REQUEST HOLY SEE DEMARCHES TO ORGANIZATION OF ISLAMIC CONFERENCE (OIC) MEMBER STATES IN ORDER TO SECURE BROADER SUPPORT FOR THE U.S.-SPONSORED RESOLUTION BANNING ALL FORMS OF HUMAN CLONING. MIGLIORE CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 VATICA 05346 311458Z INDICATED HE WOULD CONSIDER THE U.S. PROPOSAL AND REQUESTED DCM REVIEW ISSUE WITH HIM OCTOBER 29. AT THAT MEETING, DCM REITERATED THE U.S. VIEW THAT THE HOLY SEE MIGHT BE ABLE TO REINFORCE OUR EFFORTS TO BUILD SUPPORT AMONG OIC COUNTRIES. DCM NOTED THAT THE HOLY SEE'S BELIEF THAT HUMAN CLONING REPRESENTS AN ASSAULT ON HUMAN DIGNITY WOULD RESONATE WITH OIC COUNTRIES. ¶2. (SBU) MIGLIORE RESPONDED THAT THE HOLY SEE STRONGLY SUPPORTED A COMPLETE BAN, AND WAS WORKING ACTIVELY TO ACHIEVE IT. HE INDICATED THAT THEY WERE LOBBYING ACTIVELY IN LATIN AMERICA, AFRICA, AND EUROPE, AS WE HAD URGED IN AN EARLIER APPROACH. AT THE SAME TIME, HE CAUTIONED THAT THE HOLY SEE CONTINUED TO KEEP THE DOOR OPEN TO ALTERNATIVES SHORT OF A TOTAL BAN, AS LONG AS THEY RESPECTED MORAL PRINCIPLES. HE EMPHASIZED, AS HE HAD PREVIOUSLY (REF B),THAT THE HOLY SEE DID NOT WANT TO BE LEFT WITH NOTHING IN THE EVENT A TOTAL BAN COULD NOT BE ACHIEVED. ¶3. (C) REGARDING THE U.S. REQUEST FOR THE HOLY SEE TO APPROACH OIC COUNTRIES, MIGLIORE SAID THE HOLY SEE BELIEVED THAT THE U.S. AND OTHER COUNTRIES WOULD BE MORE EFFECTIVE IN BUILDING SUPPORT AMONG OIC COUNTRIES. "WE CANNOT CREATE SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE A HOLY ALLIANCE," HE ASSERTED. DCM NOTED THAT THE HOLY SEE HAD WORKED EFFECTIVELY WITH OIC COUNTRIES IN 1994 AT THE UN POPULATION CONFERENCE IN CAIRO, AND THAT WE BELIEVED SIMILAR MORAL ISSUES WERE AT STAKE IN THIS CASE. MIGLIORE INSISTED THAT THIS CASE WAS DIFFERENT THAN 1994 BECAUSE AT THAT TIME THERE HAD BEEN TREMENDOUS TIME PRESSURE. IN THIS CASE, THERE WAS MORE TIME AND THERE WERE BETTER OPTIONS ON THE TABLE. PRESSED FURTHER, MIGLIORE SAID CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 VATICA 05346 311458Z THE HOLY SEE HAD TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT ITS INTERNATIONAL IMAGE. "WE DON'T WANT TO GIVE THE IMPRESSION THAT OUR VIEWS AND THOSE OF THE MUSLIM WORLD ARE ONE AND THE SAME." ¶4. (C) REGARDING THE CURRENT STATE OF PLAY, MIGLIORE ELABORATED ON THE HOLY SEE'S PERSPECTIVE AND STRATEGY LEADING UP TO WHAT THEY UNDERSTOOD WOULD BE A FEBRUARY VOTE ON THE RESOLUTION. INITIALLY, THEY WOULD CONTINUE TO LOBBY HARD FOR A TOTAL BAN. IF IT APPEARED THAT THE VOTES FOR SUCH A BAN WOULD NOT BE THERE, THEY WOULD CONSIDER SUPPORTING A MODIFIED FRENCH/GERMAN TEXT THAT RESPECTED MORAL PRINCIPLES. SUCH A TEXT: 1) MUST NOT CLOSE THE MANDATE OF THE COMMITTEE, WHICH MUST BE ABLE TO REOPEN AND BROADEN; 2) MUST INCLUDE WORDING TO MAKE CLEAR THAT AGREEMENT ON THE PARTIAL BAN DOES NOT IMPLY APPROVAL OF THERAPEUTIC CLONING. ¶5. (C) MIGLIORE SAID THE HOLY SEE WAS CONCERNED THAT AN INCREASING NUMBER OF COUNTRIES, INCLUDING JAPAN, CHINA, SINGAPORE, AND THE UK WERE ALREADY USING THERAPEUTIC CLONING, AND THAT THIS WAS BECOMING A REALITY THAT WOULD BE HARD TO PUT BACK IN THE BOTTLE. HE EXPECTED THAT THESE COUNTRIES WOULD STRONGLY RESIST EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE A TOTAL BAN. SKODON CONFIDENTIAL > 2002VATICA05346 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL