US embassy cable - 04VATICAN1445

C O N F I D E N T I A L  VATICAN 001445 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/IPA AND EUR/WE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2013 
TAGS: IS, PGOV, PHUM, PREL, VT, PLO, religious freedom 
SUBJECT: HOLY SEE REQUESTS U.S. APPROACH ISRAEL ON VISAS 
FOR RELIGIOUS WORKERS IN ISRAEL AND PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES 
 
 
Classified By: Charge d'affairs D. Brent Hardt.  Reasons:  1.5 (b) 
and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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1. (C) Vatican Foreign Minister equivalent Archbishop 
Giovanni Lajolo told the Ambassador April 6 of the Holy See's 
mounting frustration with Israel's unwillingness to address 
visa and residency problems for religious workers in Israel 
and the Palestinian Territories.  The obstacles faced by 
Catholic religious workers in obtaining the required visas 
and residency permits have created "great difficulties" for 
the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem to have contact with 
Catholic faithful in the territories and to train 
seminarians, Lajolo emphasized.  In light of Prime Minister 
Sharon's upcoming meeting with the President, Lajolo 
requested U.S. intervention with Israel to encourage action 
to resolve this problem.  Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal 
Sodano had raised the Holy See's concerns on Israeli visa 
issues with Vice President Cheney during his January 27 
meeting in the Vatican, asking him to urge Israel to engage 
more seriously with the Holy See to resolve the visa and 
residency concerns.  End Summary. 
 
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Vatican Appeal for U.S. Help 
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2. (C) During an April 6 meeting to discuss Iraq (septel), 
Holy See Foreign Minister equivalent Archbishop Giovanni 
Lajolo told the Ambassador that the Vatican was currently 
having "some problems" with Israel relating to visas and 
residency permits for religious workers in Israel and the 
Palestinian Territories.  At present, he pointed out, there 
were at least 138 cases of pending requests for residency 
permits, most of whom have already worked in the region and 
who are simply seeking renewals.  The Holy See has raised its 
concerns repeatedly with Israel, including with President 
Katsav, Foreign Minister Shalom and with Israel's Minister of 
Internal Affairs.  Foreign Minister Shalom told the Holy See 
in December 2003 that the difficulties were due to "Israeli 
bureaucracy and to concerns over security" -- a position 
repeated by Israel's Ambassador to the Holy See.  Shalom's 
promise to set up a working group to study the pending 
questions has yet to be followed up.  In the meantime, many 
religious workers are being detained for lack of visas or 
renewed permits, and others are unable to leave the 
territories even for family emergencies out of fear of being 
denied reentry.  In this context, Lajolo said the Holy See 
would appreciate if the U.S. could encourage the Government 
of Israel "to have more humanity on this point."  The 
Ambassador promised to convey the Holy See's concerns to 
Washington and advise of any action taken. 
 
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Background to the Residency Problems 
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3. (C) To reinforce his points, Lajolo passed the Ambassador 
a memorandum (text below) detailing the background to the 
current difficulties.  The memo points out that the Latin 
Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which is responsible for Catholics 
in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan, and Cyprus, 
"must be able to have contact with its faithful," and 
therefore must have the right to train seminarians and 
appoint religious personnel.  Both the Patriarchate and the 
Vatican's Nunciature in Jerusalem assume responsibility for 
the religious personnel and their activities in the 
Palestinian territories, the latter issuing laissez-passer to 
the workers.  The Holy See regards Israel's citing security 
concerns as a reason for delaying the permits as 
demonstrating "a lack of regard" for the Patriarchate and 
Nunciature.  It also notes that the "Fundamental Agreement" 
which established diplomatic relations between Israel and the 
Holy See in 1994 recognizes the right of the Church to 
"train, appoint, and deploy" its personnel in institutions of 
a religious, moral, educational, and charitable character. 
 
4. (C) The memo details key diplomatic contacts to date on 
the issue, pointing out that President Katsav promised the 
Holy See's Secretary of State Sodano "his personal attention" 
to the matter of visas during a December 2002 meeting.  In 
July 2003, the Vatican presented Israeli Foreign Minister 
Shalom a pro-memoria again raising the issue of visas to 
religious personnel.  In December 2003, FM Shalom told 
Cardinal Sodano that the continuing difficulties were due to 
"Israeli bureaucracy and to concerns over security," and 
proposed the creation of a working group to examine the 
issue.  In March 2004, the Nuncio in Jerusalem wrote to the 
Israeli Minister of Internal Affairs indicating that the 
 
 
situation remained unresolved and was "in clear violation of 
a number of points in the Fundamental Agreement."  The 
Vatican's perception is that Israel appears to be denying 
permits to any religious worker who has worked permanently in 
the Palestinian Territories or who intends to work there. 
This policy, they have concluded, is "tantamount to impeding 
the provision of pastoral care in the Territories." 
 
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Comment 
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5. (C) The continuing visa and residency permit problems have 
brought the Holy See's relationship with Israel to a nadir 
not seen since the hopeful launch of relations in March 1994. 
 Israel unexpectedly broke off discussion to conclude the 
outstanding aspects of the Fundamental Agreement in August 
2003, and was actively considering closing its Vatican 
Embassy.  Then, in late 2003, Prime Minister Sharon 
deliberately avoided calling on the Pope during a three day 
visit to Rome in late 2003 despite quiet Vatican overtures 
indicating the Pope would welcome such a call.  FM Lajolo 
indicated that the Holy See would have protested the breaking 
off of negotiations publicly, but believed this would have 
been counterproductive.  He emphasized to the Ambassador, 
however, that there were "limits to (the Vatican's) patience" 
on this issue, as it was seriously affecting the Church's 
ability to meet its pastoral needs.  Lajolo lamented that 
there appeared to be "a strong anti-church, anti-Catholic 
feeling" within the Israeli government -- a view echoed last 
week by an NGO group active in Catholic-Jewish 
inter-religious dialogue -- and admitted that the Holy See 
was not sure what it could do to improve the situation.  This 
frustration is reflected in the Holy See's statement in its 
memo suggesting it has been placed on an "enemy list." 
Lajolo noted that the Nuncio in Jerusalem had recently 
cautioned the Israeli government that, in ignoring the Holy 
See's concerns and repeatedly stonewalling a resolution of 
the residency issue, it was alienating one of its better 
friends. 
 
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Text of Vatican Memorandum 
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Begin text: 
 
Memorandum 
 
a.  The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem extends over Israel, 
the Palestinian Autonomous Territories, Jordan and Cyprus. 
It must be able to have contact with its faithful and they 
with it, and to this end the right to train its seminarians 
and to appoint freely its own religious personnel must be 
guaranteed.  The difficulties placed on the religious 
personnel of the Latin Patriarchate are not without negative 
repercussions on the relations between Israel and the Holy 
See. 
 
b.  Israel has always granted residence permits to Jordanian 
seminarians, without any security risk being verified. 
Seminarians and religious personnel are not like any other 
citizens, whose activities in the territory may not be known 
to the Authorities. 
 
c.  Both the Patriarchate and the Nunciature (which grants 
the Laissez-Passer to them) assume responsibility for them; 
to cite reasons of security constitutes a lack of regard for 
the two institutions which sponsor them. 
 
d.  Israel is free to place whatever countries it wishes on 
its enemy list, but Catholics in themselves cannot be 
considered enemies of Israel. 
 
e.  The "Fundamental Agreement" (art. 3, sec. 2) recognizes 
the right of the Church "to train, appoint and deploy" its 
own personnel in its institutions of a religious, moral, 
educational and charitable character. 
 
12th December 2002:  The Head of State of Israel, Moshe 
Katsav, promises the Cardinal Secretary of State his personal 
attention concerning the question of visas. 
 
10th July 2003:  Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Silvan 
Shalom, receives from the Cardinal Secretary of State a "pro 
- memoria" which raises, in point number 2, the question of 
the issuing of visas to religious personnel. 
 
11th December 2003:  The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shalom, 
explains to the Cardinal Secretary of State that the 
difficulties are due to Israeli bureaucracy and to concerns 
over security; he proposes the setting up of a working group 
 
 
to study pending questions. 
 
23rd March 2004:  The Nuncio writes a letter to the Minister 
of Internal Affairs (with copies to the Prime Minister and 
the Minister for Foreign Affairs) indicating that, in clear 
violation of a number of points of the Fundamental Agreement, 
the situation had not been resolved. 
 
To date there are at least 138 known cases of pending 
requests for the granting of a residence permit, (89 male 
Religious and seminarians (of whom 66 are Franciscans!) and 
49 Religious Sisters):  the majority of these people have 
already been in the Country for a number of years (some for 
more than 15) and need a simple renewal.  Of the applicants, 
54 come from Asia or the West, and 84 are Arabs from various 
countries.  In particular, it seems that the political line 
taken in recent times is to deny the residence permit to 
those who, in the past, have worked permanently or who intend 
to work in the Palestinian Territories.  That is tantamount 
to impeding the provision of pastoral care in the 
Territories, access to which is now possible only through 
Israel. 
 
From the Vatican, April 6th, 2004. 
 
End text. 
 
HARDT 
 
 
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 2004VATICA01445 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL