US embassy cable - 04VATICAN2671

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VATICAN 002671 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT. FOR EUR/WE: LEVIN; EUR/ERA; DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958 N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, VT 
SUBJECT: POPE SEEKS TO SPEED UP UNITY WITH ORTHODOX 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
REF. VATICAN 1171 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.(SBU) POPE JOHN PAUL II USED A HIGH PROFILE, 
    INTERNATIONALLY TELEVISED VATICAN CELEBRATION WITH THE 
ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE BARTHOLOMEW I TO 
MAKE NEW EFFORTS FOR UNITY WITH ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS. 
BARTHOLOMEW I, THE "FIRST AMONG EQUALS" AMONG ORTHODOX 
PATRIARCHS, JOINED THE POPE IN SYMBOLIC AND CONCRETE ACTS 
THAT AUGER WELL FOR CONTINUED RECONCILIATION BETWEEN THE 
TWO CHURCHES.  THOUGH OUR VATICAN CONTACTS TOLD US THEY 
VIEW BARTHOLOMEW'S INFLUENCE UPON PATRIARCHS LESS EAGER FOR 
RECONCILIATION SUCH AS RUSSIA'S ALEXY II TO BE UNCERTAIN, 
THEY WELCOMED HIS GESTURES AT RECONCILIATION.  IN PERHAPS 
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT OF THE VISIT, THE TWO 
CHURCHES AGREED TO RESTART A THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION THAT 
HAD BEEN HALTED FOUR YEARS AGO.  WITH THIS AND OTHER 
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE RELATIONSHIP, BARTHOLOMEW'S VISIT 
SIGNIFIED A STEP TOWARDS UNITY, EVEN IF FORMIDABLE 
OBSTACLES REMAIN.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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PATRIARCH JOINS HIGH PROFILE CEREMONY 
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2.(U) IN A CEREMONY FRAUGHT WITH SYMBOLISM, POPE JOHN 
PAUL II AND ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE 
BARTHOLOMEW I SAT TOGETHER, SHARED A SERMON AND PROFESSED 
THEIR COMMON FAITH BEFORE A CONGREGATION OF SOME 15,000 
GATHERED IN VATICAN CITY FOR ROME'S PATRONAL FEAST OF 
SAINTS PETER AND PAUL.  BARTHOLOMEW ATTENDED THE MASS TO 
COMMEMORATE THE FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HISTORIC 
ENCOUNTER BETWEEN POPE PAUL VI (1963-78) AND THEN 
ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH ATHENAGORUS THAT INITIATED A PROCESS 
OF RAPPROCHEMENT BETWEEN THE TWO CHURCHES THAT FOR SOME TEN 
    CENTURIES HAD BEEN BITTER RIVALS. 
 
 
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VISIT COMES AMIDST DISPUTES 
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3.(U) BARTHOLOMEW'S VISIT WAS A WELCOME SHOT IN THE ARM 
FOR RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO CHURCHES.  CURRENT DIALOGUE 
IS BOGGED DOWN IN DISPUTES BETWEEN CATHOLIC AND ORTHODOX 
CHURCHES IN RUSSIA, ROMANIA AND OTHER EASTERN EUROPEAN 
STATES (REFTEL).  CHARGES OF CATHOLIC PROSELYTISM FROM THE 
ORTHODOX, ESPECIALLY RUSSIAN ORTHODOX PATRIARCH ALEXY II, 
HAVE ALSO KEPT THE TWO SIDES AT ARM'S LENGTH.  THE GREATEST 
MANIFESTATION OF THESE DIFFICULTIES IS PERHAPS THE 
UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH'S BID TO HAVE THE VATICAN NAME IT 
A PATRIARCHATE -- SOMETHING BITTERLY OPPOSED BY THE 
ORTHODOX.  AS A CONSEQUENCE, OFFICIAL THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE 
AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL HAS NOT TAKEN PLACE SINCE 2000. 
PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW SAID DURING HIS VISIT THAT NON- 
THEOLOGICAL OBSTACLES TO UNITY SHOULD BE RESOLVED 
IMMEDIATELY SO THAT BOTH CHURCHES CAN FOCUS ON THEOLOGICAL 
PROBLEMS.  THE POPE CLEARLY AGREES. 
 
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"SOMEONE WE CAN TALK TO..." 
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4.  (SBU) JOZEF MAJ, A POLISH JESUIT WHO IS POINT MAN FOR 
ORTHODOX RELATIONS IN THE HOLY SEE'S PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR 
PROMOTING CHRISTIAN UNITY, TOLD US THE VATICAN WAS VERY 
    PLEASED WITH THE VISIT.  BARTHOLOMEW IS "SOMEONE WE CAN 
TALK TO," HE SAID.  THE PATRIARCH STUDIED FOR SOME YEARS IN 
ROME, AND UNDERSTANDS THE LANGUAGE, MAJ SAID.  MAJ MEANT 
NOT SIMPLY BARTHOLOMEW'S ITALIAN, THOUGH THE PATRIARCH 
IMPRESSED THE CONGREGATION AT ST. PETER'S WITH HIS SMOOTH 
PRONUNCIATION, BUT ALSO THE LANGUAGE OF THE CATHOLIC 
CHURCH.  BARTHOLOMEW MAY NOT AGREE WITH US ON ALL THE 
DISPUTED MATTERS, MAJ SAID, BUT HE "KNOWS WHERE WE'RE 
COMING FROM."  THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH SOME OTHER 
ORTHODOX LEADERS, HE SAID.  THE BACKGROUND AND PERSPECTIVE 
OF HARDER-LINE PRELATES FROM DIFFERENT REGIONS LEADS THEM 
TO REGARD THE ROMAN CHURCH AS MUCH MORE FOREIGN THAN DOES 
BARTHOLOMEW.  THE FIRST STEP IN DIALOGUE IS TO KNOW AND 
UNDERSTAND YOUR INTERLOCUTOR, MAJ SAID.  ACCORDING TO THE 
VATICAN, BARTHOLOMEW GETS IT. 
 
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BARTHOLOMEW'S INFLUENCE 
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5.  (SBU) MAJ EMPHASIZED BARTHOLOMEW'S IMPORTANCE IN THE 
 
VATICAN 00002671  002 OF 002 
 
 OTHER CHURCHES HAVE 
SPRUNG.  STILL, HE RECOGNIZED THAT HIS INFLUENCE OVER OTHER 
PATRIARCHS LIKE ALEXY WAS NOT GREAT, SINCE THE NATIONAL 
ORTHODOX CHURCHES RELISH THEIR INDEPENDENCE.  FURTHER, SOME 
SENSITIVE ISSUES SUCH AS THE STATUS OF THE UKRAINIAN 
CATHOLIC CHURCH AND CHARGES OF ROME'S POACHING ON ORTHODOX 
TURF HIT HOME EVEN HARDER WITH THE RUSSIANS THAN THEY DO 
WITH BARTHOLOMEW.  ON THE OTHER HAND, MAJ CONCLUDED, 
    SOMEONE HAS TO LEAD, AND THE SYMBOLS AND CONCRETE STEPS 
TAKEN DURING THE VISIT LED HIM TO BE OPTIMISTIC. 
 
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POSITIVE STEPS 
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6.(SBU) ONE OF THESE CONCRETE STEPS IS THE RE- 
ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION FOR 
THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE TWO CHURCHES.  THESE TALKS 
WERE FIRST UNDERTAKEN IN 1979, BUT WERE DISCONTINUED WHEN 
MEETINGS IN BALTIMORE IN 2000 ENDED IN DISPUTE OVER THE 
STATUS OF THE EASTERN-RITE CATHOLIC CHURCHES (SUCH AS THE 
UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH) AND ON THE ROLE OF THE PAPACY. 
MAJ TOLD US THE RE-ESTABLISHED TALKS WOULD INCLUDE MEMBERS 
OF ALL ORTHODOX CHURCHES.  ALEXY'S ALLEGED INTRANSIGENCE 
NOTWITHSTANDING, MAJ SAID THAT RUSSIAN ORTHODOX 
REPRESENTATIVES HAD BEEN AMONG THE MOST CONSTRUCTIVE 
PARTICIPANTS IN PAST COMMISSIONS. 
 
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A CHURCH FOR THE ORTHODOX 
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7.  (SBU) AS A FURTHER SYMBOL OF THE RENEWED COMMITMENT TO 
COOPERATION BETWEEN THE TWO CHURCHES, POPE JOHN PAUL II 
ALSO MADE A GIFT OF A ROMAN CHURCH TO THE LOCAL GREEK 
ORTHODOX COMMUNITY.  [NOTE: A SIMILAR GIFT TO THE RUSSIAN 
ORTHODOX COMMUNITY SEVERAL YEARS AGO WAS REFUSED BY THE 
RUSSIANS.  END NOTE.]  ACCORDING TO MAJ, THIS WAS NO SMALL 
GESTURE IN AN ATMOSPHERE IN WHICH POSSESSION OF CHURCHES 
    AND RELATIVE TERRITORY IS HOTLY CONTESTED.  THE POPE'S 
GENEROSITY WAS ALSO A SIGN TO THE ORTHODOX THAT THE 
PRESENCE OF THEIR COMMUNITY IN CATHOLIC ROME IS NOT A 
THREAT, BUT RATHER AN EXPRESSION OF THE RICH DIVERSITY OF 
THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION -- A POSITION CATHOLICS WOULD LIKE 
TO SEE RECIPROCATED IN ORTHODOX TERRITORY. 
 
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ANTI-TERRORISM AND DIALOGUE WITH ISLAM 
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8.  (U) AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE PATRIARCH'S VISIT, HE AND 
THE POPE ALSO ISSUED A JOINT STATEMENT PROMISING TO 
COOPERATE ON EFFORTS TO TACKLE TERRORISM, RELIGIOUS 
INTOLERANCE, AND "ATTACKS AGAINST HUMAN LIFE."  FOCUSING 
SPECIFICALLY ON EUROPE, THE TWO SPIRITUAL LEADERS SAID 
THEIR CHURCHES SHOULD COMBINE THEIR EFFORTS TO CONSTRUCT A 
REAL DIALOGUE WITH ISLAM, AIMING TO COMBAT MISTRUST AND 
HATRED BY ELIMINATING "INDIFFERENCE AND MUTUAL IGNORANCE." 
 
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COMMENT: DREAM FOR A UNITED EUROPE STILL ALIVE 
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9.(SBU) THE HOLY SEE'S RECEPTION OF BARTHOLOMEW WAS PART 
OF THE VATICAN'S BROAD EUROPEAN STRATEGY TO CEMENT 
ECCLESIASTICAL ALLIANCES TO MATCH THE POLITICAL CONNECTIONS 
THAT ARE FAST-DEVELOPING IN TODAY'S EUROPE.  THIS IS 
PARTICULARLY URGENT GIVEN THE FAILURE OF THE HOLY SEE'S 
INTENSE LOBBYING TO ENSURE A REFERENCE TO THE CONTINENT'S 
CHRISTIAN HERITAGE IN THE NEW EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION.  EVER 
    SINCE HE ASSUMED THE PAPACY, JOHN PAUL II HAS BEEN DRIVEN 
BY A FERVENT DESIRE FOR A UNITED EUROPE FOUNDED ON 
CHRISTIAN VALUES, STRETCHING FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE 
URALS.  IN THE POPE'S WORDS, HE WANTS TO SEE A EUROPE 
BREATHING WITH TWO LUNGS -- WESTERN AND EASTERN, CATHOLIC 
AND ORTHODOX.  REMAINING OBSTACLES NOTWITHSTANDING, 
BARTHOLOMEW'S VISIT KEPT A GLIMMER OF HOPE ALIVE FOR THE 
REALIZATION OF THAT VISION.  END COMMENT. 
 
MARTIN 
 
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 2004VATICA02671 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED