VATICAN: HUNGARIAN CHURCH-STATE RIFT MERITS ATTENTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 000440

SIPDIS


DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE: LEVIN; EUR:NCE; EMBASSY BUDAPEST PASS IZZO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/17/2015
TAGS: VT HU SOCI PHUM PREL
SUBJECT: VATICAN: HUNGARIAN CHURCH-STATE RIFT MERITS ATTENTION

REF: A) BUDAPEST 209; B) BUDAPEST 226; C) MARTIN-IZZO EMAIL 2/3/05


CLASSIFIED BY: Peter Martin, POL, Vatican, State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

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Summary
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1. (C) Holy See Country Director for Central Europe Monsignor
Michael Banach (protect throughout) acknowledged mild though
persistent tensions between the GoH and the Catholic Church,
adding that issues relating to the funding of Catholic Schools
and differing interpretations of the 1990s agreements between
the two sides had created "a situation meriting attention."
Banach did not dwell on controversy emanating from PM
Gyurcsany's December 18 visit to the Holy See, but implied that
Gyurcsany's remarks regarding the Hungarian Church's role in
politics and his failure to acknowledge the Pope's welcoming
address following the PM's papal audience had been ill-received
at the Vatican. Banach was not overly concerned about possible
fall-out from the initiative to open the files from the
communist era "III/III" intelligence unit, and was pleased to
learn of the Hungarians' proposed joint ecumenical statement
against human trafficking. End Summary.

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Mild Tensions
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2. (C) Holy See Country Director for Hungary Monsignor Michael
Banach (protect throughout) acknowledged mild but persistent
tensions between the GoH and the Catholic Church, and said
issues relating to the funding of Catholic schools, the Vatican
Treaty, and the Financial Conditions of the Religious and Public
Purpose Activity of Churches Act of 1997 (ref b) had created "a
situation meriting attention." He asserted that some
governmental budget cuts had been "contrary" to these
agreements. Initially the Holy See had been encouraged by the
formation of a joint commission set up to examine issues related
to the agreements. While the Hungarian Catholic Church had
appointed top officials to the commission, Banach claimed that
the GoH had "demonstrated its lack of desire for true
cooperation" by choosing relatively low-level or unprepared
members.

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PM Ruffles Feathers
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3. (C) Banach initially attempted to remain above the fray when
recounting PM Gyurcsany's December 18 visit to the Holy See (ref
b). But after some discussion, Banach pointed out that in the
PM's remarks to the media and in his office's press release
following the visit, Gyurcsany had failed to mention the points
made in the Pope's welcoming address. Banach implied that
Gyurcsany's avoidance of these carefully-chosen remarks on
Hungarian-Holy See juridical agreements and Hungary's future
contributions to the EU was not well received at the Vatican.
The Prime Minister's critical comments on the Hungarian Church's
role in politics seem to have been similarly received. Banach
noted the negative reaction in the Hungarian press in the
aftermath of Gyurcsany's visit and the nuncio's statement
referred to in ref (b).

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Three Stroke Three
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4. (C) According to Banach, the initiative to open the files
from the communist era "III/III" intelligence unit (ref b) is
only on the edge of the Holy See's radar screen. Banach did not
seem familiar with the exact nature of the III/III files, but
said that he was hopeful that even if the III/III archives
revealed names of clergy members, the public would realize that
such revelations were either politically motivated, or more
complicated than they seemed on the surface. He admitted that
the situation could "blow up" for the Church if particular
high-level names did come up, or if there were a rash of
clerical entries in the files.

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TIP Initiative a Positive Development
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5. (C) Banach, who is familiar with Embassy Vatican's various
anti-trafficking (TIP) initiatives, was pleased to hear about
the Hungarians' proposed ecumenical statement against TIP (ref
a) and appreciated receiving a draft copy of the text (ref c).
He noted that the Hungarian Bishops' Conference had expressed
concern for TIP in the past, at least informally. Coordination
between the Conference, other religious organizations, and

governments was a "very positive development" due to Hungary's
strategic location between Eastern and Western Europe, he
concluded.

HARDT


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2005VATICA00440 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL