US embassy cable - 05VATICAN102

UNCLAS  VATICAN 000102 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EUR AND EUR/WE (Levin) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, VT 
SUBJECT: POPE ENCOURAGES DIALOGE OVER ARROGANCE; URGES 
FOCUS ON LIFE, FOOD, PEACE, AND FREEDOM 
 
REF:  04 Vatican 4882 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (SBU) In the face of the natural and manmade 
catastrophes that afflicted the world over the past year, 
Pope John Paul II's New Year address to the Vatican 
diplomatic corps set out four challenges facing world 
leaders that closely parallel priority U.S. policy goals: 
the defense of life, the conquest of hunger, the pursuit of 
world peace, and the advancement of liberty, particularly 
religious liberty.  In the face of armed conflicts on every 
continent, the Pope counseled reason and dialogue over 
force, in keeping with his World Peace Day theme of 
responding to evil with good.  Contrary to some media 
reports, the Pope did not suggest that the U.S. had acted 
with arrogance.  The context of his remarks makes clear 
that the "arrogance of power," as reflected in dictators or 
aggressors be met with dialogue rather than force.  To meet 
the challenge of "life," the Pope rejected human cloning, 
but welcomed adult stem cell research.  To combat hunger, 
he called for "a vast moral mobilization," and urged 
prosperous countries to step up assistance.  He lamented 
armed conflicts and condemned the "brutal, inhuman 
phenomenon of terrorism," but expressed hope that the 
Darfur settlement and the election of a new Palestinian 
president would lead to a decrease in armed confrontation. 
The Pope reinforced his fervent commitment to freedom, 
noting that religious freedom is a right "not yet 
sufficiently or adequately recognized.  The Pope's 
international agenda tracked closely with a series of 
Embassy initiatives this past year aimed at increasing Holy 
See attention to problems of hunger, religious freedom, and 
terrorism.  End Summary. 
 
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A MESSAGE OF HOPE AND CHALLENGE 
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2.(U) Addressing the 174 members of the Vatican 
diplomatic corps for the 27th year, Pope John Paul II 
called on represented countries to meet four fundamental 
challenges to restore hope in a world which has seen 
tremendous "anguish and distress" over the past year. 
Building on his theme for World Peace Day of "overcoming 
evil with good" (reftel), the Pope cautioned against 
discouragement and proposed a focus on "the common bonds of 
humanity" in meeting four specific challenges:  protection 
of human life, ending the evil of hunger, restoring peace, 
and expanding the reach of freedom. 
 
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UNDERSTANDING THE "ARROGANCE OF POWER" 
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3.  (SBU) Some American media has seized on the Pope's use 
of the phrase "arrogance of power" to suggest that the Pope 
was criticizing the U.S. for acting arrogantly in Iraq. 
Such an interpretation distorts the Pope's intention, which 
was to urge that dictators, corrupt leaders, and others who 
pursue armed conflicts be met not with force but with 
reason and dialogue:  "The arrogance of power must be 
countered with reason, force with dialogue, pointed weapons 
with outstretched hands, evil with good."  To the extent 
the Pope was speaking about Iraq, his words should be seen 
as a caution that an "arrogant" dictator such as Saddam 
should have been met with dialogue, reason, and patience 
rather than force.  This has been the Pope's consistent 
view on Iraq, and represents an elaboration of the theme of 
his World Peace Day message (reftel) of overcoming evil 
with good. 
 
4.  (SBU) The Pope's only specific mention of Iraq in his 
remarks was to condemn "the acts of barbarous terrorism 
which caused bloodshed in Iraq and other countries of the 
world.  While certainly there is implicit criticism of Iraq 
in his suggestion that recourse to arms had "increased the 
causes of tension," this comment was cast in reference to 
conflicts "from one end of the world to the other . . .  in 
the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where 
recourse to arms and violence has not only led to 
incalculable material damage, but also fomented hatred and 
increased causes of tension, thereby adding to the 
difficulty of finding and implementing solutions capable of 
reconciling legitimate interest of all the parties 
involved." 
 
 
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DEFEND HUMAN LIFE AND THE FAMILY 
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5.  (U) Noting that states have as their primary task the 
"safeguarding and promotion of human life," the Pope 
asserted that the challenge to human life has recently 
"grown in scale and urgency."  Describing abortion, 
assisted procreation, the use of embryonic stem cells for 
scientific research, and cloning as "ethically 
inadmissible," he nevertheless called for continued genetic 
research using adult stem cells.  The Pope also called 
attention to what the termed "the very sanctuary of life" - 
-- the family -- which he asserted was under threat from 
legislation in many countries permitting same-sex unions. 
 
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FOOD SECURITY THROUGH SOLDIARITY 
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6.  (U) Turning to an issue that has been a major focus on 
Embassy engagement with the Holy See, the Pope lamented 
that hundreds of millions of human beings are suffering 
from grave malnutrition and "millions of children die each 
year from its effects."  Unfortunately, the Pope stopped 
short of endorsing the potential of biotechnology to 
address world hunger, and instead stuck with the Vatican's 
standard call for a greater "commitment to justice" and 
"display of solidarity."  Significantly, however, he 
emphasized the Holy See's "great interest in this dramatic 
problem.  He praised the work of international 
organizations and NGO's who have been active in providing 
assistance, but insisted that current efforts were "not 
enough."  An adequate response to overcome the evil of 
hunger, he maintained, would require "a vast mobilization" 
of public opinion and political leaders, particularly in 
more prosperous countries. 
 
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BUILDING PEACE 
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7.(U) Peace, which the Pope characterized as "the dream 
of every generation" and a "supreme good" essential to 
attaining goods, was the third primary challenge facing 
humanity, according to the Pontiff.  As noted above, John 
Paul II denounced the recourse to armed conflict in the 
Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America.  He also 
issued a forceful condemnation of terrorism, terming it "a 
brutal, inhuman phenomenon" and "a scourge which has taken 
on a global dimension unknown to previous generations." 
The Pope noted that he has consistently sought to point out 
"paths to peace" and has counseled "courage and patience" 
in pursuing them. 
 
8.  (U) Despite the many threats to peace, the Pope sought 
to deliver an optimistic message that this challenge could 
be met through a common will to prevent conflicts and 
greater cooperation between international organizations and 
continental groupings.  In this regard, the Pope praised 
the efforts of the African Union to prevent conflicts and 
cited progress in Darfur, the Great Lakes and Somalia. 
Turing to the Middle East, the Pope welcomed the decrease 
in armed confrontation and expressed his hope for a 
political breakthrough with the election of the new 
Palestinian president.  The Pope hailed the European Union 
as an example of how past enemies could put their 
differences aside and consolidate their union, as well as 
remain open to new members. 
 
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YEARNING FOR FREEDOM 
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9.  (U) Citing the struggle of his native Polish people, 
the Pope concluded by reaffirming that freedom offered "the 
only way human beings can find fulfillment befitting their 
nature."  Religious freedom, the Pope elaborated, was "at 
the heart of all freedoms."   Noting the many express 
international guarantees for religious freedom, the Pope 
pointed out that in many states such freedom was "not yet 
sufficiently or adequately recognized."  He therefore 
appealed for religious freedom to be constitutionally 
guaranteed everywhere.  Responding to fears of Muslim 
states that such freedom would interfere with secular 
government, the Pope insisted the Church was able to 
distinguish "what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to 
God."  Freedom, he concluded, would allow the Church to 
cooperate effectively for the good of societies and 
 
 
consequently for the good of mankind. 
 
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COMMENT 
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10.(SBU) Despite the media's eagerness to find criticism 
of the U.S. in the Pope's 'state of the world' address, the 
Pope has consistently avoided looking backward at Iraq.  As 
he observed, he sees his goal as pointing out "paths to 
peace" and urging they be followed.  Since the decision to 
go to war, he has looked forward and offered support for 
U.S. efforts to help the Iraqis build stability and 
democracy.  Other freelancing members of the Curia, such as 
retired Cardinal Pio Laghi, whose recent outburst critical 
of the U.S. for failing to achieve a rapid and effective 
transition has been widely reported, have been more prone 
to try to score points through the Italian media.  Their 
views, however, do not reflect official Holy See policies. 
 
11.  (SBU) In fact, Laghi's remarks, according to an 
Italian journalist source, came in response to a question 
posed to him by a Vatican journalist, who surprised him 
with the question by quoting previous Laghi comments 
following his White House meeting that U.S. officials had 
promised the war would be quick and effective.  Laghi 
simply concurred with the journalist that the war had been 
neither quick nor effective.  In fact, Laghi's previous 
statement recounted a conversation not with the President, 
but with a military aide present during the White House 
meetings. 
 
12.  (SBU) Beyond the media focus on Iraq, the Pope's 
perspective on the primary challenges facing the world 
today and his agenda for dealing with them tracks closely 
with U.S. efforts.  From combating hunger and promoting 
religious freedom to defeating terror and protecting human 
rights, these goals parallel Embassy efforts this past year 
to heighten the Vatican's focus on these issues through a 
series of outreach conferences and regular engagement at 
senior levels.  We can expect to see the Vatican return to 
these themes -- the renunciation of war and violence, the 
condemnation of terrorism, economic solidarity to confront 
poverty and hunger, and insistence on religious freedom as 
a natural universal right -- in the year ahead.  It was 
unfortunate that the Pope was not yet willing to publicly 
embrace the potential of agricultural biotechnology in his 
discussion of hunger, and Embassy will continue to press 
the Holy See to see biotechnology as an important tool in 
addressing this priority challenge. 
 
Nicholson 
 
 
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 2005VATICA00102 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED