IMMIGRATION ON FRONT BURNER FOR MEXICAN BISHOPS, VATICAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 000552

SIPDIS


DEPT. FOR EUR/WE (JLARREA),WHA/MEX

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2015
TAGS: KIRF PHUM PREL VT MX
SUBJECT: IMMIGRATION ON FRONT BURNER FOR MEXICAN BISHOPS, VATICAN

REF: MEXICO 6856

CLASSIFIED BY: Peter Martin, Pol/Econ Chief, Vatican, State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

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Summary
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1. (C) Holy See Country Director for the U.S. and Mexico Paolo
Gualtieri received with interest points on the President's plans
for immigration reform and applauded the President's initiative
in tackling the problem. He told us that every group of Mexican
bishops visiting the Vatican this fall had raised the issue of
immigration, and had bemoaned especially the social disruption
that occurred with the separation of families. This attention
to immigration is indicative of strong Vatican interest in the
issue. The Ambassador has found eager interlocutors on the
subject when he has engaged top Holy See officials and
Vatican-based diplomats. Post will continue to explore ways in
which USG interests coincide with Vatican concerns on the issue.
On the Mexican bishops' political and social involvement,
Gualtieri agreed with reftel that the bishops were becoming more
active on social issues recently. He felt that over the past
ten years clergy were starting to feel better able to play a
role in the public square, but that there was still a "long way
to go" before some in Mexico overcame the anti-clericalism that
had kept priests marginalized. Gualtieri saw no danger that
bishops or clergy would "take sides" in partisan political
battles. End summary.

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Immigration Concerns
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2. (C) Post passed Holy See Country Director for the U.S. and
Mexico Monsignor Paolo Gualtieri points on the President's plans
for immigration reform after Gualtieri expressed an interest in
the issue to us. Gualtieri did not comment substantively on the
plan's details, but he applauded the President's initiative in
tackling the problem. He noted that immigration had been on the
minds of the Mexican bishops in their quinquennial "ad limina"
visits to Rome this fall. [Note: bishops worldwide visit the
Vatican once every five years to consult on relevant issues.
End note.] "Every group of bishops [that came to visit the
Foreign Ministry] raised the issue of immigration," Gualtieri
said. They bemoaned the separation of families they said
occurred when husbands emigrated to the U.S., leaving wives and
children behind. The bishops said that men would frequently
begin by sending money back home, but often they would
eventually take up with new partners and start new lives in the
U.S., leaving broken and destitute families behind. Gualtieri
said the bishops had described some villages where 30 percent of
the married women had been abandoned. Mexican FM Derbez raised
the same issue to Holy See FM Lajolo in his recent visit to the
Vatican, according to Gualtieri.

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Mexican Bishops More Involved
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3. (C) Turning to the Church's political and social
involvement, Gualtieri agreed with reftel that the Mexican
bishops were becoming more active on social issues recently. He
also echoed reftel in noting that events such as the Mexican
government's making the "morning-after-pill" widely available
and free of cost had spurred some prelates to more vocal
activism. Gualtieri said that the past ten years had seen an
easing of de facto restrictions upon clergy speaking out on
ethical and moral issues. "There's still a long way to go," he
cautioned. Gualtieri said that the Holy See was still concerned
that clergy continued to be unable to play a helpful role in the
armed forces, health care, and the mass media, for example.


4. (C) As far as a more direct role in politics, Gualtieri is
convinced that the bishops will limit their input to
encouragement to the political parties to address the real
concerns of the people during the electoral campaign. "They'll
be careful not to take sides," he insisted. Gualtieri said the
clergy knew that if they did more they could easily provoke a
backlash against the Church. When asked if the bishops might
play a useful role as a peacemaker in the aftermath of close and
bitter elections, Gualtieri said it was possible, but warned
that many bishops would be reluctant even then to step into what
could be a political minefield.

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Comment
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5. (C) Gualtieri's comments on the social/political activity
of the Mexican bishops track closely with reftel. His interest
in the President's immigration initiative and the attention paid
to the issue by the bishops on their "ad limina" visits is
indicative of strong Vatican and Catholic Church interest in the
issue. The Ambassador has found eager interlocutors when he has
engaged top Holy See officials and Vatican-based diplomats on
the subject. Mary Ann Glendon, President of the Pontifical
Academy of Social Sciences, moreover, told him December 12 that
the Mexican Bishops' Conference had invited the Academy to
organize a conference on migration this spring in Mexico. Post
will continue to explore ways in which USG interests coincide
with Vatican concerns on the issue.


SANDROLINI
ROONEY


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2005VATICA00552 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL