ZIMBABWE: HOLY SEE TO SPEAK OUT?

C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 000058 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/WE LARREA E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/20/2032 TAGS: KIRF PHUM SOCI ZI ZU SF UK VT SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE: HOLY SEE TO SPEAK OUT? REF: Martin-Larrea-Hill Feb 8 emails CLASSIFIED BY: Peter Martin, Pol/Econ Chief, Vatican, State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (U) This telegram contains a recommendation and action request below. -------------- Background -------------- ¶2. (C) Post noted in early February that the Holy See was considering speaking out on Zimbabwe (reftel). The issue is now on the front burner. A senior cardinal in the Roman Curia (Vatican bureaucracy) met with Pope Benedict March 17 and made the case that the Catholic Church had an obligation to speak out on the current ills in that country. The UK Embassy has also pressed the Holy See on the same issue. -------------- -------------- Recommendation and Request for Points / Guidance -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) As the Holy See is actively considering how to approach the issue, Post recommends - Embassy Vatican demarche the Holy See to take whatever action the Department deems appropriate -- most likely for the pope to speak out at a highly visible opportunity. - Embassies Harare and Pretoria approach the papal nuncios in Zimbabwe and South Africa in a coordinated effort to spur the Holy See to action. We understand the UK is considering doing the same. ¶4. (C) Nuncios Edward Adams (Zimbabwe) and James Green (S.A.) are both Americans (from Philadelphia). People here tell us Adams is not very active, but we know Green to be a dynamo who only recently transferred from a top position here in the Curia. His push could help. ¶5. (C) Any demarche should let the Holy See draw its own conclusions on when to speak out, but for background, a prime opportunity for a papal intervention is Pope Benedict's Easter Urbi et Orbi ("To the City and to the World") address April 8, during which the pontiff typically mentions trouble spots around the world. He has also used his Wednesday audiences to make similar comments. In either case, with the slow-moving Vatican bureaucracy, we ought to move fast. ¶6. (U) Post awaits guidance on this issue. SANDROLINI