HOLY SEE'S UNDERSTANDING OF CHINESE VIEWS ON NAMING OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 000052 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/23/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV SCUL CH VT SUBJECT: HOLY SEE'S UNDERSTANDING OF CHINESE VIEWS ON NAMING OF CARDINAL ZEN CLASSIFIED BY: Christopher Sandrolini, Deputy Chief of Mission, EXEC, State. REASON: 1.4 (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. Ambassador discussed the naming of a Chinese cardinal during a conversation with Holy See deputy foreign minister Parolin on March 15. Parolin noted the restrained reaction of the Chinese foreign ministry, the negative reaction of the Patriotic Association, and the difficulty of making a clear judgment at this time of China's true attitude toward the Holy See. Noting that the pope's intention had been friendly, Parolin suggested that China's unhappiness, while real, was manageable. End summary. ¶2. (C) Parolin said the Chinese MFA had responded fairly prudently to the naming of Cardinal Zen, but the Patriotic Church had been much more forceful. The main question is whether Beijing will ultimately retaliate (against the Chinese church) for the Pope's action; that remains an open question and could remain so for a long time, given China's habits. We don't know, said Parolin; but clearly China was not pleased by the selection of the outspoken Zen. ¶3. (C) Parolin said the Holy See had tried to convey that the selection of a Chinese cardinal was in fact a friendly gesture by the Pope, to show the importance of China. Of course no Taiwan candidate could be made cardinal, nor any mainland archbishop under the circumstances; Parolin thus implied that Zen was almost chosen by default rather than for his personal attributes. Parolin said that this matter was a serious one for China, but nothing like the crisis caused by the 2000 canonization of a Chinese martyr. The ongoing question is how the matter of bilateral relations can be solved to mutual benefit (more or less this amounted to "what's in it for China?"). ¶4. (C) The ambassador reassured Parolin of USG support; Parolin replied, with a wry smile, that the Holy See's only fear is that China will identify the Holy See and the USG too closely. ROONEY