APOSTOLIC NUNCIO RAISES VATICAN CONCERNS

UNCLAS KUWAIT 005100

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KIRF PGOV SOCI PREL PINR VT KU

SUBJECT: APOSTOLIC NUNCIO RAISES VATICAN CONCERNS
ABOUT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN KUWAIT



1. (SBU) Ambassador, DCM, and PolOff met with
Mounged El-Hachem, the Apostolic Nuncio to Kuwait,
Bahrain, Qatar, and Yemen, on December 10. El-Hachem
praised Kuwait's general atmosphere of religious
tolerance but said two concrete issues would receive
a great deal of his focus.


2. (SBU) First, to provide more worship space for
the Roman Catholic community, he will pursue plans
to build an unobtrusive two-story structure for
prayer and community events that will not offend
local sensibilities. El-Hachem said he would be
satisfied with renting or buying property --
preferably in the Abbasiyya neighborhood -- and that
the Church would be happy to have a Kuwaiti Catholic
be the actual owner or renter. (Note: Approximately
200 of Kuwait's 900,000 citizens are Christians. End
Note.)


3. (SBU) Second, the Church operates three private
schools in Kuwait. Catholic students are not
permitted to receive any Christian religious
instruction and El-Hachem hopes to obtain permission
to provide catechism to Catholic schools during the
time allotted for the study of Islam by Muslim
students. El-Hachem does not want to impose the
teaching of Christianity on Muslim students but
rather to give Christian students the option of
studying their religion as part of the private
school curriculum. Currently, the Ministry of
Education prohibits any non-Muslim religious
instruction in schools.


4. (SBU) The Ambassador urged El-Hachem to add a
third issue to his list of concerns: the treatment
of domestic workers. The Ambassador also suggested
that El-Hachem use his influence to keep this issue
on the minds of other diplomats. El-Hachem
enthusiastically agreed and at some length voiced
his personal dismay at instances of abuse of
vulnerable employees. He promised to do all he could
to seek improved working conditions for these
employees. (Note: Many of Kuwait's foreign laborers
are Christians and often turn to religious centers
when they have problems with their employers. End
Note.)

Bio Note
--------------


5. (SBU) El-Hachem, a Maronite, claims a special
attachment to the U.S., since his father was a U.S.-
citizen and World War I veteran before he returned
to his homeland of Lebanon. His career includes
extensive experience in the Vatican's State
Secretariat as well as teaching courses on Islam. He

SIPDIS
mentioned that he was not aware of any past or
present native Arab permanent Vatican
representatives to the Middle East, and believes his
appointment is part of Pope Benedict's initiative to
increase the Vatican's diplomatic outreach to the
Muslim world. Religious freedom issues in Saudi
Arabia clearly worry him more than those in Kuwait,
but he has only unofficial responsibilities there.

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LeBaron