US embassy cable - 05VATICAN307

UNCLAS  VATICAN 000307 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
For the Secretary 
Also for D and P 
Also for EUR-BJones and GDavies, and EUR/WE 
From Ambassador Nicholson 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, KIRF, VT, Human Trafficking, religious freedom, Biotechnology 
SUBJECT:  Ambassador's Farewell Assessment of U.S.-Holy See 
Ties:  A Valuable Partnership for Promoting Human Dignity 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (U) Madam Secretary, 
 
As I leave my [post today concluding nearly three and a 
half years as Ambassador to the Holy See, I want to report 
that I believe our relationship with the Vatican has 
emerged as a very important bilateral partnership.  It has 
become increasingly valuable to our efforts to promote one 
of the core elements of U.S. national security policy:  the 
advancement of human dignity worldwide.  Because the Holy 
See, like the U.S., thinks and acts globally and shares 
many of our core goals including defending democracy, human 
rights, religious freedom, promoting sustainable global 
development, and providing essential humanitarian relief, 
our relationship offers great potential for worldwide 
cooperation. 
 
2. (U) During my tenure, Embassy Vatican has expanded and 
deepened the scope of our bilateral engagement by enlisting 
the Holy See's moral voice against terrorism, human 
trafficking and restrictions on religious freedom, by 
pressing upon them the vital connections between 
biotechnology and combating hunger, and by linking Catholic 
institutions to USG and private American initiatives to 
combat HIV/AIDS.  The Vatican has been responsive to our 
concerns and increasingly open to exploring creative ways 
to work with us on these priority U.S. concerns. 
 
3.  (U) Beyond our multifaceted diplomatic cooperation, I 
believe Embassy Vatican offers a unique and powerful 
platform for public diplomacy that until recently has been 
almost completely neglected.  When I arrived, we had no/no 
FSO or local PD staff in our mission despite the fact that 
the intensive international media focus on the Pope and the 
large Vatican and Rome press corps offers limitless 
potential to build understanding of American policies and 
values.  Radio Vatican alone broadcasts into 40 languages, 
and many Catholic publications are published in many 
languages reaching dozens of countries.  Operating at first 
without any Embassy PD staff, and subsequently with one 
locally engaged staff member, we have been able to reach 
audiences on every continent though the hundreds of 
interviews and appearances I have made to convey U.S. 
policy goals and values.  In particular, I have sought to 
emphasize the positive contributions the U.S. is making to 
protect human rights, end hunger, and promote sustainable 
development.  I am pleased that we will be obtaining a new 
PD FSO this year through the DRI initiative that will allow 
us to expand on this foundation.  It would be hard to think 
of a post that allows us to tap into so many audiences 
simultaneously to make our case to the world.  End Summary. 
 
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Making the Most of our Partnership 
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4.  (U) Twenty-one years after President Reagan decided to 
establish formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See, I 
believe our relationship today is strong and vital, but 
still capable of contributing even more to the advancement 
of our priority policy goals.  Despite clear and public 
differences over the Iraq war in 2002 and 2003, the Holy 
See has looked forward on Iraq and is firmly in our corner 
on many of the vital issues of our day, including: 
 
-- Terrorism:  Two days after September 11 when I presented 
my credentials to the Pope, he told me that the attacks on 
the U.S. were an attack on all of humanity.  Since then, 
the Holy See has been a consistent and outspoken voice 
against terror.  As the first Pope to visit a mosque and a 
frequent visitor to predominantly Muslim countries, John 
Paul II is widely respected in the Muslim world.  When he 
says that terror in the name of God can never be tolerated, 
his voice carries weight even in Muslim countries.  As the 
full dimensions of the terrorist threat have emerged, the 
Holy See has been developing a more sophisticated view of 
what is needed to meet it.  Last year, the Pope recognized 
that current international legal instruments were 
inadequate to threats posed by non-state actors, and called 
for consideration of a new legal framework to allow states 
to meet this threat within an agreed legal framework.  I 
encouraged such consideration with a conference on terror 
and international law last year.  We should continue to 
regard the Vatican as an important ally against terror, 
both for its strong moral voice of condemnation and its 
willingness to explore new international means to respond 
 
-- Defending Freedom and Human Rights:  It would be hard to 
think of a more effective defender of freedom and human 
rights than John Paul II, who played such a critical role 
in the dut against human rights abuses and restrictions on 
freedom wherever they occur, from Cuba to Sudan.  We have a 
particularly active dialogue on religious freedom, and work 
together to identify problems and to try to address them. 
The U.S. has g a conference in 
2002 with representatives from 35 countries to build 
awareness of the problem, we set about to do something 
about it by developing with PRM funding a training program 
for religious workers to prevent and deal with the 
consequences of human trafficking.  This program, which has 
trained nearly 100 people in Nigeria, Romania, Albania and 
Italy, is now in a second phase in which it will be further 
extended.  We have also appreciated the Department's 
support in encouraging U.S. Embassies to work more closely 
with Vatican Nuncios and Catholic Bishops' Councils on 
trafficking, and I have been pleased to see that such 
cooperation is developing in many countries.  Overall, I 
believe we have significantly strengthened the commitment 
and capacity of people who are both willing and able to 
help combat this modern-day slavery. 
 
-- Combating Hunger through Biotechnology:  As one of the 
major players in providing humanitarian relief in drought 
and famine-stricken areas through its CARITAS relief 
network, the Holy See is committed to preventing 
starvation.  Prior to my arrival, however, they had been 
reluctant to embrace the potential of biotechnology to help 
alleviate hunger in developing nations.  Over the course of 
my tenure, I have lobbied hard to overcome the Vatican's 
hesitation -- a hesitation driven largely by the anti-GMO 
environment in Europe -- and have made some strategic 
allies within the Pontifical Science Academy and the 
Council for Justice and Peace.  Our Embassy has organized 
four separate conferences that have expanded understanding 
of biotech's potential within the Vatican, while reaching 
public audiences in Italy and beyond.  Today, the Vatican 
is much more open to biotechnology, and has encouraged 
further study of its potential, including by hosting its 
own international conference aimed at preparing the ground 
for a stronger Vatican endorsement in the future. 
 
-- Confronting HIV/AIDS:  The Holy See and affiliated 
Catholic hospitals, clinics, and religious communities 
provide over 27 percent of care worldwide for people 
affected by HIV/AIDS and are active worldwide in prevention 
efforts.  The President's Global AIDS Coordinator has made 
clear that faith-based groups are playing a critical role 
in helping to meet the HIV/AIDS challenge, and we have been 
working with the Vatican to maximize that cooperation.  The 
Vatican-linked St. Egidio Community is doing innovative 
anti-retroviral work in six African countries, and my 
Embassy has helped them coordinate their efforts with U.S. 
Embassies in target countries to secure funding from the 
President's Emergency Fund.  Likewise, we have encouraged 
the Vatican's health council to expand its direct 
involvement, prompting them to develop a new "good 
Samaritan" foundation to facilitate requests for assistance 
from smaller Catholic institutions.  We have also put U.S. 
pharmaceutical companies in direct contact with the Vatican 
to explore possibilities for the provision of low-cost 
drugs and to overcome some negative Vatican preconceptions 
about the role of American drug companies. 
 
-- Advocate Against Cloning:  Throughout my tenure, the 
Holy See has been and will remain one of our strongest 
allies in our effort to secure an international ban against 
human cloning.  This flows from our common focus on human 
dignity and respect for the value of human life.  The Holy 
See has circulated a compelling document to all UN members 
arguing for a ban, and has lobbied key countries as we have 
worked to move this effort forward. 
 
 
-- Promoting Global Development and Overcoming Corruption: 
The Holy See has always been a strong voice for global 
compassion and has been active in promoting strategies for 
development.  While still supporting "a more equitable 
distribution" of the world's goods, the Holy See has become 
much more sensitive in the past three years to the 
importance of good governance among aid recipients and the 
need for governments to take greater responsibility for 
their own development.  In this regard, they have been 
supportive of U.S. Millennium Challenge goals, and can 
become another influential voice for U.S. efforts to ensure 
development assistance is well-used and targeted to 
critical areas such as education and health care. 
 
5.  (U) Given our shared commitment to the promotion of 
human dignity, the congruence of our policy goals, and the 
capacity of the Holy See to act and speak out in almost 
every corner of the globe, I believe the Department should 
continue to expand support for Embassy Vatican's diplomatic 
engagement and public outreach.  The Holy See is a unique 
bilateral partner for the United States, which often does 
not fit into the regular frameworks such as the EU or NATO 
within which we conduct much of our policy outreach. 
However, like many EU members, it is truly a global partner 
that is engaged worldwide and has the capacity to act 
worldwide whether providing needed assistance, mediating a 
conflict, or building inter-religious understanding.  I 
hope the Department will continue to build on the 
foundation we have developed at Embassy Vatican in actively 
engaging the Holy See as a vital partner for our own 
efforts to build a safer, more secure world. 
 
6.  (U) It has been an honor to serve my country and 
President as the sixth U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, and 
it has been a privilege to work with our many colleagues in 
the Department of State over the past three and a half 
years.  My small staff at Embassy Vatican -- Foreign 
Service and Local staff alike -- has accomplished much more 
than many would have thought possible.  Their 
professionalism, commitment and hard work have demonstrated 
the finest qualities of the Department of State and of 
commitment to country. 
 
NICHOLSON 
 
 
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 2005VATICA00307 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED