POPE CONDEMNS TEL AVIV ATTACK

C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 000069 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/WE LARREA E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/21/2016 TAGS: PTER IS PHUM VT OVIP SUBJECT: POPE CONDEMNS TEL AVIV ATTACK REF: MARTIN-LARREA EMAILS APR 6, 20 CLASSIFIED BY: Peter Martin, Pol/Econ Chief, Vatican, State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (U) Pope Benedict XVI strongly condemned the April 17 terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, declaring that "it is not through such execrable acts that one safeguards rights, however legitimate, of a people." After offering his "strongest condemnation" of the attack April 19, the pope expressed the hope that the Israelis and Palestinians would "resume steps" towards living in peace and security~as sons of the same father in heaven." ¶2. (C) Comment: The pope's statement, delivered at an overflow weekly audience attended by tens of thousands of pilgrims -- and House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde -- was a strong rebuke from the pontiff on the first anniversary of his election as pope. Recent conversations with Holy See officials indicate close attention to Hamas on the part of the Vatican. Holy See MFA Middle East Director Franco Coppola told us before the Vatican's Easter holiday that the Vatican had not been approached by Hamas for any official contact. (He confirmed ref email's explanation of contact between the Custody of the Holy Land (run by the Franciscan order) and Hamas as purely technical in nature and not connected to Vatican diplomacy.) ¶3. (C) In the same conversation before the Tel Aviv attack, Coppola was sympathetic to the USG position on diplomatic contact with Hamas and was fully supportive of the necessity that the group accept the three principles: recognition of Israel, non-violence, and respect for previous agreements between the parties. He did add, however, that in general the Vatican's official policy is to speak to "anyone who is willing to speak" in an effort to lead hostile parties to a more constructive path. We reiterated USG thinking on contact with Hamas, but Coppola did not categorically rule out future contact with the group. ROONEY