US embassy cable - 04VATICAN3213

C O N F I D E N T I A L  VATICAN 003213 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/WE LEVIN; IO/UNP NARANJO; IO/T: BOOTH, COWLEY 
; G/TIP: ETERNO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2014 
TAGS: AORC, ECON, KDEM, PHUM, PREL, VT, UNGA 
SUBJECT: HOLY SEE BACKS U.S. UNGA PRIORITIES 
 
REF: A. STATE 152009 
     B. WILLSON - MARTIN EMAIL AUG 12 
     C. VATICAN 2518 
 
Classified By: Charge d'affaires D. Brent Hardt for 
reasons 1.5 (b and d). 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
1.  (C) Holy See Acting Foreign Minister equivalent Parolin 
told Charge August 18 that the Holy See was on the same page 
with the U.S. on most UNGA initiatives.  On cloning, Charge 
emphasized the Holy See's potential to influence Catholic 
countries to support a ban on human cloning.  Parolin 
emphasized the Holy See's agreement with the U.S. position 
and promised to support fully UN efforts to ban embryonic 
cloning.  He rejected the suggestion that the Holy See's UN 
mission had sent mixed messages on the issue last year, 
insisting that their widely disseminated position paper was 
strongly behind a complete ban.  Parolin suggested that the 
U.S. do more to make the scientific case for the 
possibilities of adult stem cell research as an alternative 
to embryonic stem cells as a means to build support for the 
ban.  On human trafficking, Parolin expressed support for the 
U.S. initiative to increase focus on child sex tourism, and 
suggested that Permanent Observer Migliore might make a 
statement on the issue in his UNGA intervention.  Turning to 
economic issues, Parolin agreed with Charge that developing 
nations had to take responsibility for their own economic and 
social development, but insisted that internal initiatives 
had to be bolstered by aid from a reformed international 
system.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Holy See, U.S. on Same Page for UNGA 
------------------------------------ 
 
2.  (SBU) Charge reviewed the U.S. UNGA priorities with the 
Holy See's Acting Foreign Minister equivalent Monsignor 
Pietro Parolin August 18, drawing on ref (a) points.  Parolin 
offered strong support for U.S. priorities on cloning, 
trafficking, and democracy, and support with caveats on the 
global development and Middle East priorities.  Embassy had 
shared points prior to the meeting, and Parolin offered the 
following comments. 
 
--------------------- 
Banning Human Cloning 
--------------------- 
 
3.  (C) Charge began by thanking Parolin for the Holy See's 
recent strong statement against all forms of human cloning 
issued in the wake of the recent UK decision to permit 
expanded cloning for therapeutic purposes.  Parolin responded 
that the Holy See's unequivocal position on the issue was 
well-known, and noted the close agreement between the Vatican 
and USG on the issue.  Charge raised points from ref (b), 
emphasizing the opportunity the Holy See's UN mission had, 
particularly among predominantly Catholic countries, to 
expand support for the Costa Rican resolution banning all 
forms of embryonic human cloning.  Charge stressed that an 
active role by Permanent Observer Archbishop Migliore could 
be crucial to several countries, not least of all Poland. 
After last year's lobbying efforts, Charge noted, some 
countries appear to have been left with the impression that 
the Holy See was willing to accept the Belgian compromise on 
the issue.  As it happened, the closeness of the vote showed 
that any such misconception may have been decisive. 
 
4.  (C) (Comment: A Polish diplomat accredited to the Holy 
See subsequently told us that he had found the Holy See's 
diplomacy on the cloning issue last year "strange."  He said 
that in 2003, the Nuncio to Poland had passed the Vatican 
paper on the subject not to the Polish Foreign Ministry, but 
to the Bishops' Conference.  This approach did not ensure 
maximum exposure for the document.  Our contact was unaware 
of the extent of lobbying by the Nunciature this year; in 
fact, before we spoke to him he had not been aware that the 
issue was to be taken up again.  End Comment.) 
 
5.  (C) Parolin acknowledged that there had been some 
internal discussion within the Holy See at the outset of the 
UN deliberations last year on whether to support the Belgian 
compromise, but he insisted that the Vatican had rejected 
that position and gone full speed ahead for the total ban. 
He maintained that Archbishop Migliore at the UN had been 
committed to the Holy See's position, and may have simply 
adopted "tactics" that were misunderstood.  Migliore, he 
added, had hoped to avoid dividing the international 
 
community on the issue.  Parolin stressed that there had been 
"constant communication" on the issue between Migliore and 
the Secretariat of State.  The Permanent Observer 
continuously updated the Vatican on his lobbying efforts in 
New York, and advised which countries the Secretariat should 
approach at the Vatican.  Parolin said he expected continuing 
close cooperation this year, and welcomed U.S. suggestions on 
countries that might be most susceptible to Vatican pressure. 
 
6.  (SBU) Parolin observed that while the Holy See would 
concentrate on the moral side of the argument, the U.S. might 
be able to sway some missions by being more aggressive in 
making the scientific case for alternatives to embryonic stem 
cell research.  The Vatican continues to believe that the 
scientific argument will likely be the most compelling for 
countries on the fence, and if alternatives to embryonic 
research can be shown to be credible, these countries will 
then have an acceptable foundation for supporting a ban on 
embryonic research. 
 
----------------- 
Human Trafficking 
----------------- 
 
7.  (SBU) Parolin, who represented the Holy See and spoke at 
Post's recent anti-trafficking conference (ref c), wanted to 
know more on how TIP would fit into the UNGA agenda and what 
specific initiatives we would be pursuing.  He expressed 
support for the U.S. goal of increasing the international 
focus on child sex tourism, and suggested that Archbishop 
Migliore might make a statement on the issue.  Charge 
encouraged this idea and went on to discuss further 
collaboration between the U.S. and Holy See on the issue. 
(Note: Post plans to increase outreach to seminarians 
studying in Rome to raise the profile of the "demand" aspect 
of TIP -- an aspect of the problem that priests might well be 
able to address from the pulpit or in their 
mentoring/pastoral roles.  End Note.) 
 
8.  (SBU) Charge also suggested that pastoral guidance from 
the Vatican on trafficking could be a big boost for anti-TIP 
efforts around the world.  He noted the usefulness of a 2002 
anti-TIP document put out by the Nigerian Bishops' 
Conference, and guidance that Pontifical Councils had 
published on other subjects (e.g., the Council for Health 
Care on the pastoral response to drug addiction and abuse). 
Parolin seemed intrigued, and promised to speak to the 
Council for Migrants and Itinerants (nominal lead 
organization on TIP at the Vatican) to explore ways of 
expanding Holy See engagement against trafficking. 
 
-------------------------- 
Advancing Economic Freedom 
-------------------------- 
 
9.  (SBU) Turning to economic issues, Parolin agreed that 
developing nations had to take responsibility for their own 
economic and social development and focus on good governance 
and anti-corruption initiatives.  In the Vatican's view, 
however, there had to be a balanced approach to the issue, in 
which these internal initiatives were bolstered by expanded 
aid from a reformed international system.  "The international 
community has a duty to help these countries," Parolin 
insisted. "They cannot do it alone."  Charge agreed that a 
balanced approach was needed, but suggested that UN debates 
had not reflected this balance, focusing almost exclusively 
on the international institutions and largely ignoring the 
critical steps countries needed to take domestically to 
promote economic growth. 
 
------------------------ 
Democracy, Anti-Semitism 
------------------------ 
 
10.  (SBU) In reference to our other UNGA priorites, Parolin 
said the Holy See agreed fully with U.S. efforts to promote 
democracy and build a greater voice for democratic countries 
within the UN.  He also indicated that the Holy See would be 
supportive of a UNGA resolution on anti-Semitism, noting that 
the Holy See had supported the OSCE's  anti-Semitism 
declaration and believed a similar resolution at the UN would 
be useful.  Charge reviewed U.S. concerns about anti-Israel 
resolutions and committees.  Parolin acknowledged U.S. 
concerns, but said there was an urgent need to revitalize the 
Road Map and restart some form of peace process in the 
region. 
 
HARDT 
 
 
NNNN 

 2004VATICA03213 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL