ANTI-CONVERSION LEGISLATION CONCERNS VATICAN; JESUIT HAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 000513

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DEPT FOR EUR/WE (TCUNNINGHAM); DRL/IRF (JMORALES)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 8/17/2015
TAGS: PREL PHUM KIRF KISL VT CE
SUBJECT: ANTI-CONVERSION LEGISLATION CONCERNS VATICAN; JESUIT HAS
ROSIER VIEW


CLASSIFIED BY: Peter Martin, Political Officer, POL, STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
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Summary
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1. (C) Vatican Country Director for Sri Lanka Monsignor
Bernardito Auza told us recently that the Vatican was concerned
about pending anti-conversion legislation in that country. He
emphasized the "dangerous" effect such legislation could have on
schools, orphanages, old age homes, hospitals, and other
institutions that the Church runs. Auza said the Holy See was
concerned about any abridgement of religious liberty for
followers of any faith. Auza's perspective contrasted with that
of the Rome-based Jesuit regional secretary for South Asia, Fr.
Anton Weerasinghe. Weerasinghe told us some Sri Lankan
Catholics did not oppose the legislation, as they saw it as a
defense against evangelicals making inroads into their
traditional communities. He had an optimistic outlook on
inter-religious relations in the country, and claimed they had
remained relatively stable in the seven months since the
Tsunami. While not minimizing the seriousness of any

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inter-religious violence, he commented that anti-Christian
attacks tended to be against fringe groups, and not Catholics.
He claimed that violence by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam
(LTTE) affected all denominations. End Summary.

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Vatican Concerned about Anti-conversion Legislation
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2. (C) Holy See Country Director for Sri Lanka Monsignor
Bernardito Auza told us in early August that the Vatican was
"certainly concerned" about Sri Lankan anti-conversion
legislation, noting he had two reports on his desk on the
subject from the papal nuncio to Sri Lanka. Auza said there had
been close communication between the Holy See and the Sri Lankan
Church on the issue, and also highlighted a July 29 statement by
the Archbishop of Colombo, Oswald Gomis, who appealed to the Sri
Lankan government and parliament to respect the "fundamental
right to religious freedom." Auza felt that the current version
of the anti-conversion bill was even harsher than an earlier
version he had seen.


3. (C) According to Auza, the Vatican is concerned that
Church-run schools, orphanages, old age homes, hospitals, and
other institutions could become targets of this law as some
might charge that such establishments were proselytizing. Auza
said that children, the elderly and the sick had special
protections under the law, and since these were some of the main
constituencies of the Church in its aid work, the legislation
could create a "dangerous" situation. Auza believed that
penalties stemming from the legislation could affect not only
the institutions noted above, but also individual dioceses and
the Sri Lankan Church as a whole. Auza was quick to emphasize
that the Holy See's concerns on the legislation were not simply
related to its parochial concerns; "We are concerned any time
the religious freedom of any group is under attack," he said.

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Jesuit: Anti-conversion Bill Supported by Some Catholics
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4. (C) Auza's perspective contrasted with that of the regional
secretary for South Asia at the curia of the Society of Jesus

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(Jesuits) in Rome, Fr. Anton Weerasinghe. Weerasinghe insisted
that some Sri Lankan Catholics supported the Jathika Hela
Urumaya (JHU) party's anti-conversion legislation. "We are not
insecure about this law; it might support Catholic interests in
some ways," he said. Weerasinghe argued that the
anti-conversion legislation would affect the activities of
evangelical and other small Christian groups rather than major
religious groups. He claimed that proselytism by evangelicals
and Jehovah's Witnesses primarily targeted Catholics and
Lutherans, not Buddhists or Muslims. "We don't want people to
be cheated by fringe religious groups," Weerasinghe said. He
said that a common technique of evangelical groups was to invite
people to "Sunday masses" that weren't actually Catholic.
Weerasinghe expected the parliament to pass the legislation this
year, and concluded that local implementation and the
interpretation of judges would determine the real effect of the
law.

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Tsunami Relief not Leading to Communal Tensions

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5. (C) Weerasinghe had an optimistic outlook on broader issues
of inter-religious relations in Sri Lanka, and described a
relatively stable period in the country in the seven months
since the Tsunami. He commended the work of international NGOs


in the aftermath of the disaster, and noted that after receiving
word of the Tsunami, Jesuit Father General Kolvenbach
immediately donated a symbolic $10,000 and mobilized the Jesuit
Refugee Service for aid efforts. He said that despite
predictions to the contrary, Christian NGOs' relief work had not
led to an expected spike in sectarian tensions. Weerasinghe
admitted that there were still occasional attacks. (In fact,
shortly after our conversation Rome-based media reported the
July 22 burning of a Catholic church in the diocese of
Anuradhapura.) Though not minimizing the seriousness of all
inter-religious violence, he commented that anti-Christian
attacks in Sri Lanka did not usually target Catholics or
Lutherans, but were against "fringe" Christian communities such
as evangelicals and Jehovah's Witnesses.


6. (C) Weerasinghe said there had been some proselytism in the
wake of the Tsunami, with one or two Christian NGOs including
religious literature in their food aid packages. He condemned
this behavior as "taking advantage of the population."
Weerasinghe said that Christian NGOs were not the only ones to
exploit the situation, as the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)
party co-opted the Tsunami relief work to gain free publicity.
According to Weerasinghe, when the first NGOs responded, the JVP
draped foreign aid trucks with party banners and signs. He said
the local populations initially believed the JVP was entirely
responsible for the quick response.

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LTTE: A Threat to Everyone
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7. (C) The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) are
indiscriminate and do not target Catholics any more than they do
other groups, emphasized Weerasinghe [please protect his
comments on LTTE]. Unlike the majority of Protestants who are
ethnically Tamil, Catholics are evenly divided between Tamils
and Sinhalese, he said. Weerasinghe recounted how at the
beginning of the conflict many Tamil nuns and priests had
supported the LTTE, and the bishop of Trincomalee-Batticaloa had
been known to refer to the guerillas as "my boys." However he
said that after the LTTE "requisitioned" the bishop's jeep and
shot the vicar general, Catholic opinion turned against the
group. "They have no values, no morality -- just the power of
the gun," Weerasinghe declared. He cited the 1990 disappearance
and presumed murder of Fr. Eugene Herbert, an AmCit working at a
Jesuit technical school, as an example of LTTE violence. He
strongly supported the efforts of foreign aid agencies to have
aid distributed by need, especially in LTTE held areas, but also
raised concerns. "When you give money to criminals, who is
going to do the accounting?" he asked. Weerasinghe admitted he
was strongly anti-LTTE, and that Tamil priests might hold other
views.

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Kumaratunga: a Friend to Catholics?
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8. (C) Weerasinghe's optimism about the inter-religious
situation in his home country was striking. He believes that
President Kumaratunga is a friend to the Catholic Church.
"Although she is politically Buddhist, President Kumaratunga has
been good to Catholics and she depends on Catholic leadership
and support," he insisted. Auza also felt that Kumaratunga has
been attentive to Catholics; he said the Sri Lankan bishops had
had a good meeting with her in January, and reported that in
private she seemed sympathetic to the Church. According to Auza,
however, she is "cornered" by political considerations and will
ultimately do little to address Catholic concerns.

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Comment
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9. (C) From our vantage point, Weerasinghe seems to be isolated
in his opinion of Sri Lanka's anti-conversion legislation.
Though we defer to Embassy Colombo on the specifics of the Sri
Lankan bishops' position, we note that during their May "ad
Limina" (official quinquennial) visit to Rome, Joseph Vianney
Fernando, bishop of Kandy and conference president, raised the
bishops' concerns about the legislation with Pope Benedict XVI.
Auza noted that the Vatican approved the bishops' conference's
backing of the creation of a national inter-religious commission
that could address the issue of the legislation and related
topics. The Holy See has also discussed the anti-conversion
legislation with Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Holy See Fernando
both in Rome and in Geneva where she is resident.


10. (C) The Vatican Foreign Ministry is unlikely to be
influenced by Weerasinghe on an issue such as this. Lines of
communication are normally fairly set between the MFA, the
nuncio, and the bishops' conference and do not often include the


leadership of religious orders. Still, Weerasinghe wields some
influence within the Jesuit curia as the Jesuit Father General's
primary advisor on Sri Lanka. He told us that there are 120
Jesuits in the Sri Lanka province of the Society of Jesus, and
three technical schools. We would be interested in hearing
Embassy Colombo's views on the extent of Jesuit influence in the
country. End Comment.

SANDROLINI