Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03VATICAN5748
2003-12-30 15:44:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Vatican
Cable title:  

VATICAN DISOWNS CARDINAL'S IRAQ COMMENTS

Tags:  IZ PHUM PREL VT 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 005748 

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR EUR/WE LEVIN; NEA/RA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2013
TAGS: IZ PHUM PREL VT
SUBJECT: VATICAN DISOWNS CARDINAL'S IRAQ COMMENTS

REF: A. VATICAN 5666


B. VATICAN 5643

C. VATICAN 5321

Classified By: Ambassador Jim Nicholson for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d).

-------
Summary
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C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 005748

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR EUR/WE LEVIN; NEA/RA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2013
TAGS: IZ PHUM PREL VT
SUBJECT: VATICAN DISOWNS CARDINAL'S IRAQ COMMENTS

REF: A. VATICAN 5666


B. VATICAN 5643

C. VATICAN 5321

Classified By: Ambassador Jim Nicholson for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d).

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) Holy See Secretary of State (Prime Minister
equivalent) Cardinal Angelo Sodano wrote in a December 20
letter to the Ambassador that comments of Cardinal Renato
Martino expressing "compassion" for Saddam Hussein and
criticism of U.S. treatment of him after his capture (ref a)
did not represent "the mind of the Holy See." Our
conversations around the Vatican indicate that there was
substantial fallout from the incident. While this does not
guarantee that such free-lancing will not be repeated, Curia
personnel are now keenly aware that the upper reaches of
Vatican bureaucracy were not pleased by Martino's
ill-considered statements. End Summary.

-------------- --------------
Ambassador Bumps Issue up to the Secretary of State
-------------- --------------


2. (C) After President of the Pontifical Council for Justice
and Peace Cardinal Renato Martino caused a stir with comments
expressing "compassion" for Saddam Hussein, and criticism of
U.S. treatment of him after his capture, the Ambassador had
first raised the issue with the new Holy See Foreign Minister
Giovanni Lajolo (ref a). Lajolo's unsatisfying response
prompted the Ambassador to approach the Holy See's Secretary
of State (Prime Minister equivalent) Cardinal Angelo Sodano
to register U.S. displeasure. In a letter to Sodano seeking
clarification of Martino's comments, the Ambassador pointed
out that the U.S. "has treated and will continue to treat
Saddam Hussein with the dignity due every human being, and
will assure he receives the justice he denied to so many."
He added that, "suggestions from responsible Vatican
officials of anything to the contrary are a source of
considerable concern to my government and to the people of
the United States." The Ambassador pointed out that
Martino's remarks had been widely interpreted in the
international media as representing the official view of the
Holy See. (Complete text of letter faxed 12/19 to EUR/WE.)

--------------
Sodano: Comments Not Representative
--------------


3. (C) Though Sodano was unable to meet the Ambassador in
person for two days due to his busy Christmas schedule at the
Vatican, he responded promptly to a letter the Ambassador
delivered to him on December 18. Sodano's letter clearly
distanced the Secretariat of State -- the top level of the
Vatican bureaucracy -- from Martino's comments. Sodano wrote
that the comments had been "amplified by the press" and could
"in reality" only "be understood as an extemporaneous and
personal reaction to a question made by a journalist." The
reaction, Sodano stressed, "was not inherent to the
presentation of the Pontifical document" presented that day.
In the final analysis, Sodano concluded, "there is no
objective reason to consider these comments as representing
the mind of the Holy See." He asked the Ambassador to convey
his response to the USG.

--------------
Comment: Martino Chastened?
--------------


4. (C) Sodano's response to the Ambassador's letter
represents a strong rebuke for Martino in a culture in which
a reprimand of one cardinal by another is very rare. More
than one media contact also informed us that they had
received an "unprecedented" call from unnamed "very senior"
Vatican officials after receipt of the Ambassador's letter
emphasizing that Cardinal Martino's comments were his
personal views and did not reflect the views of the Pope,
which were contained in his World Peace Day message. One
journalist pointed out that in his many years of covering the
Vatican, he had never previously received such an unsolicited
clarification from such senior levels of the Curia. Other
conversations with high-ranking Vatican Curia officials
indicate widespread dissatisfaction with the content of
Martino's comments -- which one insider told us he had
actually reviewed with his staff before the press conference
-- and perhaps even more so with his choice of venue for
airing them. While none of this will necessarily prevent

Martino or another maverick from getting "off message" in the
future, Curia personnel are now keenly aware that the upper
reaches of Vatican bureaucracy and many others in the Holy
See were not pleased by the Cardinal's indiscreet remarks.



5. (U) Minimize considered.

NICHOLSON


NNNN


2003VATICA05748 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL