Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06VATICAN206
2006-09-22 16:57:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Vatican
Cable title:  

VATICAN: CONTROVERSY CONTINUES, TONE SHIFTING

Tags:  PHUM SOCI PTER KIRF VT 
pdf how-to read a cable
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PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHROV #0206/01 2651657
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 221657Z SEP 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY VATICAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0497
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHVV/ISLAMIC CONFERENCE COLLECTIVE
RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN 0525
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 VATICAN 000206 

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DEPT FOR EUR/WE LARREA; DRL/IRF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/22/2016
TAGS: PHUM SOCI PTER KIRF VT
SUBJECT: VATICAN: CONTROVERSY CONTINUES, TONE SHIFTING

REF: A. Vatican 199


B. Vatican 201

C. Vatican 203

D. Vatican 204

VATICAN 00000206 001.4 OF 004


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

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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 VATICAN 000206

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DEPT FOR EUR/WE LARREA; DRL/IRF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/22/2016
TAGS: PHUM SOCI PTER KIRF VT
SUBJECT: VATICAN: CONTROVERSY CONTINUES, TONE SHIFTING

REF: A. Vatican 199


B. Vatican 201

C. Vatican 203

D. Vatican 204

VATICAN 00000206 001.4 OF 004


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) In a further effort at damage control following his
remarks last week in Germany, Pope Benedict has invited
ambassadors from predominantly Muslim countries to meet with him
September 25. Criticism of the pontiff from the Muslim world
has been well documented; there are, however, various voices
defending the pope or emphasizing different aspects of the
issue. Some in the Catholic world blame the media for
heightening tensions. Vatican officials say privately (and
sometimes publicly) that the Muslim world has overreacted. Some
contacts tell us that violent Muslim extremists are reinforcing
the same stereotypes they are protesting. Increasingly we have
heard some tell us that the reactions in the Muslim world prove
the need to address the issue. One Vatican MFA contact said the
call for apology after apology in the face of Islamic violence
was "like blackmail." According to one contact, the pope's main
mistake was thinking that he could draw Muslims into a rational
discussion of religion and violence.




2. (C) On the diplomatic front, the Holy See has sent various
messages. They asked that President Bush not mention the issue
at UNGA, but did approach the UK for a statement of support.
Nuncios in Muslim countries are currently approaching their host
governments with a more straightforward apology than the pope
offered publicly. Meanwhile, ambassadors from predominantly
Muslim countries here have been active within the diplomatic
corps and with the Vatican. End Summary.



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Pope to Convene Muslim Ambassadors

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3. (C) The Vatican announced September 22 that the pope had
invited ambassadors from predominantly Muslim countries to meet

with him at his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo September

25. The move is another step in the Holy See's continuing
efforts at damage control following the pontiff's remarks last
week in Germany that resulted in anger in much of the Muslim
world (reftels). The buzz surrounding the crisis shows some
signs of dying down, but recent days have also seen further
developments.



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Strong Criticism and Nuanced Views

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4. (C) Criticism of the pope from the Muslim world is well
documented. Many Muslim leaders outside of the fringe have now
accepted the pope's explanation and "apology." Ref (b) noted
the criticism of the pope's remarks from Catholic
inter-religious dialogue experts. There are, however, various
voices defending the pope or emphasizing different aspects of
the issue.




5. (C) Some in the Catholic world (such as Cardinal Renato
Martino, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and
Peace) blame the media for raising tensions. One Vatican
contact noted that the reactions of Muslims in some Asian and
African nations have been decidedly more muted than those of
Muslims in the Middle East - though he said you wouldn't know
that from the media. A Vatican diplomat working in the

VATICAN 00000206 002.3 OF 004


Secretariat of State emphasized that the demonstrations in the

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Middle East were not always spontaneous reactions of the masses.
Some were orchestrated by government or religious authorities,
while others were smaller affairs attended by people who might
as well be "professional demonstrators."



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Overreaction by Muslims?

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6. (C) At the Vatican, there is a nearly unanimous and
strongly-held opinion that the Muslim world has overreacted.
Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the pope's vicar for Rome, said
this publicly; in private our contacts go much further. A
prominent Vatican-based cardinal known for his interfaith work
told us that violent protests and the killing of an Italian nun
in Somalia were proving the very point about the alleged
connections between violence and Islam that Muslims were
contesting.




7. (C) Increasingly, some at the Vatican (and Catholics and
non-Catholics elsewhere cited in Vatican-based media) have
opined that the pope was right on the mark by citing the
controversial quotation and focusing on the threat that
religiously-inspired violence poses to the world. The reactions
in the Muslim world, they say, prove the need to address the
issue. In the end it might force the Muslim world or the
international community to look seriously at the problem of
Islamic-inspired violence - and address it.



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No More Apologies

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8. (C) Two country directors in the Vatican MFA speaking to us
privately focused on the need to move forward without further
apologies from the pope. "It's like blackmail," one told us,
referring to what he saw as the compulsion to placate Muslim
anger and calm violent demonstrations with apology after
apology. Another commented on the so-called "Day of Anger"
proposed by a Egypt's Sheik Youssef al-Qaradawi. "What about a
`Day of Dialogue' or a `Day of Understanding'?" he asked. "What
message are they sending?" He echoed other interlocutors by
commenting that Muslim extremists were reinforcing the same
stereotypes they were protesting. Contacts were quick to admit
that Christianity had its own historic baggage on
religiously-inspired violence, but insisted that that wasn't
really the point. "We can pick at each other's history all we
want," one said, "but the question is: who is using religion to
inspire violence in 2006? What can we do about it and how can we
move forward?"






9. (C) Even an official from the Vatican-affiliated Community
of Sant'Egidio, a leader in inter-religious dialogue likely to
be more critical of Benedict on the issue, has now tired of what
she regards as the overblown reaction of some in the Islamic
world to the pope's speech and his apologies. She recalled that
in the offending quotation used by the pope, the Byzantine
emperor was speaking to an educated and engaged Muslim on issues
of violence and religion. Where are the Muslims we can talk to
today on these issues?, she asked. In her view, the Islamic
world needs to address the problem of violence and religion
instead of becoming enraged and bombing churches when the
subject comes up. The pope's biggest mistake, she said, was
overestimating the quality of the Islamic intellect and thinking
that he could draw Muslims into a rational discussion of these
issues.




VATICAN 00000206 003.3 OF 004


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Diplomatic Maneuvers

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10. (C) In the hopes that the storm would die a natural death
without further comment by world leaders, Holy See Deputy FM
Monsignor Pietro Parolin had called the Charge September 19 to
request that President Bush avoid any mention of the controversy
in his UNGA speech. (In fact, the request came just after the
conclusion of the President's remarks, which in any case did not
address the matter.) Parolin seemed harried during the
conversation - a state easily explained by the strain of events
on the Vatican's streamlined bureaucracy. The efficient Parolin
would normally not make a tardy request such as this, but the
current crisis, combined with a new Secretary of State (Cardinal
Bertone) in place and a new Foreign Minister (Archbishop
Mamberti) on the way have stretched personnel in the Vatican MFA
to the limit.




11. (C) The Vatican's diplomatic message on the issue has been
mixed. The request regarding the President notwithstanding, we
understand the papal nuncio in London approached the UK shortly
after the story broke to ask for a statement of support from
them. The UK responded that they thought any statement at that
time from them would be unhelpful. Cherie Blair was to arrive
in Rome on a previously-scheduled trip September 20, however,
and was scheduled to meet with several cardinals, expressing her
hopes for reconciliation. Other nuncios in Muslim countries are
currently approaching their host governments to clear the air.
Contacts tell us that while the pope's messages of regret have
been carefully worded - expressing sorrow for the reactions of
the Muslim world rather than for using the quotation at all --
nuncios are authorized to be more direct in their apologies.




12. (C) Meanwhile, ambassadors from predominantly Muslim
countries here have been active within the diplomatic corps
(reftels) and have approached the Vatican for "clarification" of
the pope's comments, as noted above. Monsignor Khaled Akasheh,
Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations

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with Muslims, told the Charge that Muslim ambassadors in Rome
had been quite rational on the issue and accepted the pope's
sincerity. Many in their countries did not, however, and this
would make dialogue between Islam and Christianity more
difficult. The Moroccan ambassador to the Holy See was recalled
to Rabat for some days, but a colleague claimed that he never
really left Rome. Might as well save the airfare, another
ambassador chuckled to us.




13. (C) Egyptian Ambassador Nevine Simaika Halim Abdalla, a
Muslim whose father was a Coptic Christian, has been a leader on
the issue in close contact with the Vatican and others in the
diplomatic corps. She told the Charge September 21 she had been
trying to put the best face on the issue. She had argued with
her government against being recalled, and in the end was not
summoned home. Still, she was concerned about the pope's
underlying views on Islam. While condemning al Qaeda and other
extremists, she noted wars of religion in the Christian past.
She asked that the Vatican focus on the "many good things" about
Islam, and things that Christianity and Islam share, such as
reverence for Jesus and Mary, rather than focusing on the
negative. In a variation on the suggestion that the Holy See
delete the offending quotation when it releases the final text
of the Regensburg speech, Abdalla suggested to the Vatican that
it include a footnote after the passage, pointing out that the
pope had disassociated himself from it. There is no indication
that the Holy See will agree, but we note that the Vatican
customarily releases papal texts with footnotes after the event.
This solution is much more likely than simply removing the
quotation (ref d).



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Comment

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VATICAN 00000206 004.3 OF 004





14. (C) Post has been active with the diplomatic corps,
advocating for calm. We will also continue to stress to our
diplomatic colleagues the importance of maintaining a climate
supportive of interfaith dialogue. The Holy See is a key figure
in ongoing issues between the Islamic world and the West; its
input and efficacy is crucial to avoiding a war of
civilizations. Post will report septel on how the Vatican will
move ahead in the aftermath the controversy.
ROONEY