US embassy cable - 03VATICAN5748

C O N F I D E N T I A L  VATICAN 005748 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/WE LEVIN; NEA/RA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2013 
TAGS: IZ, PHUM, PREL, VT 
SUBJECT: VATICAN DISOWNS CARDINAL'S IRAQ COMMENTS 
 
REF: A. VATICAN 5666 
 
     B. VATICAN 5643 
     C. VATICAN 5321 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Jim Nicholson for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
1.  (C) Holy See Secretary of State (Prime Minister 
equivalent) Cardinal Angelo Sodano wrote in a December 20 
letter to the Ambassador that comments of Cardinal Renato 
Martino expressing "compassion" for Saddam Hussein and 
criticism of U.S. treatment of him after his capture (ref a) 
did not represent "the mind of the Holy See."  Our 
conversations around the Vatican indicate that there was 
substantial fallout from the incident.  While this does not 
guarantee that such free-lancing will not be repeated, Curia 
personnel are now keenly aware that the upper reaches of 
Vatican bureaucracy were not pleased by Martino's 
ill-considered statements.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Ambassador Bumps Issue up to the Secretary of State 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
2.  (C) After President of the Pontifical Council for Justice 
and Peace Cardinal Renato Martino caused a stir with comments 
expressing "compassion" for Saddam Hussein, and criticism of 
U.S. treatment of him after his capture, the Ambassador had 
first raised the issue with the new Holy See Foreign Minister 
Giovanni Lajolo (ref a).  Lajolo's unsatisfying response 
prompted the Ambassador to approach the Holy See's Secretary 
of State (Prime Minister equivalent) Cardinal Angelo Sodano 
to register U.S. displeasure.  In a letter to Sodano seeking 
clarification of Martino's comments, the Ambassador pointed 
out that the U.S. "has treated and will continue to treat 
Saddam Hussein with the dignity due every human being, and 
will assure he receives the justice he denied to so many." 
He added that, "suggestions from responsible Vatican 
officials of anything to the contrary are a source of 
considerable concern to my government and to the people of 
the United States."  The Ambassador pointed out that 
Martino's remarks had been widely interpreted in the 
international media as representing the official view of the 
Holy See. (Complete text of letter faxed 12/19 to EUR/WE.) 
 
----------------------------------- 
Sodano: Comments Not Representative 
----------------------------------- 
 
3.  (C) Though Sodano was unable to meet the Ambassador in 
person for two days due to his busy Christmas schedule at the 
Vatican, he responded promptly to a letter the Ambassador 
delivered to him on December 18.  Sodano's letter clearly 
distanced the Secretariat of State -- the top level of the 
Vatican bureaucracy -- from Martino's comments.  Sodano wrote 
that the comments had been "amplified by the press" and could 
"in reality" only "be understood as an extemporaneous and 
personal reaction to a question made by a journalist."  The 
reaction, Sodano stressed, "was not inherent to the 
presentation of the Pontifical document" presented that day. 
In the final analysis, Sodano concluded, "there is no 
objective reason to consider these comments as representing 
the mind of the Holy See."  He asked the Ambassador to convey 
his response to the USG. 
 
--------------------------- 
Comment: Martino Chastened? 
--------------------------- 
 
4.  (C) Sodano's response to the Ambassador's letter 
represents a strong rebuke for Martino in a culture in which 
a reprimand of one cardinal by another is very rare.  More 
than one media contact also informed us that they had 
received an "unprecedented" call from unnamed "very senior" 
Vatican officials after receipt of the Ambassador's letter 
emphasizing that Cardinal Martino's comments were his 
personal views and did not reflect the views of the Pope, 
which were contained in his World Peace Day message.  One 
journalist pointed out that in his many years of covering the 
Vatican, he had never previously received such an unsolicited 
clarification from such senior levels of the Curia.  Other 
conversations with high-ranking Vatican Curia officials 
indicate widespread dissatisfaction with the content of 
Martino's comments -- which one insider told us he had 
actually reviewed with his staff before the press conference 
-- and perhaps even more so with his choice of venue for 
airing them.  While none of this will necessarily prevent 
 
Martino or another maverick from getting "off message" in the 
future, Curia personnel are now keenly aware that the upper 
reaches of Vatican bureaucracy and many others in the Holy 
See were not pleased by the Cardinal's indiscreet remarks. 
 
 
5.  (U) Minimize considered. 
 
NICHOLSON 
 
 
NNNN 
 

 2003VATICA05748 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL