US embassy cable - 05VATICAN441

C O N F I D E N T I A L  VATICAN 000441 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/WE LEVIN; NEA/RA; NEA/NGA;DRL/IRF ABRAMSON,DEATHERAGE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  2/18/2015 
TAGS: IZ, KIRF, PHUM, PREL, SOCI, VT 
SUBJECT: IRAQI EXPAT PRIEST MARKED FOR REVENGE 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: D. Brent Hardt, CDA, AMEMBASSY VATICAN , US DEPT 
OF STATE. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C) Monsignor Philip Najim, Representative of the 
Chaldean Catholic Church to the Holy See, told us recently 
that his name had been published on a list of alleged 
collaborators with the Hussein regime published in 
the Iraqi Shi'a newspaper Al-Hawza.  The paper specifically 
accused Najim passing privileged information from his contacts 
at the Vatican to the Hussein government.  Najim has denied the 
charges and accused the Iraqi ambassador to Italy of planting 
his name on the Al-Hawza list.  Najim is a frequent embassy 
contact who has been based in Rome for many years.  He 
also spent some time in the UK after leaving Iraq.  He appears 
to be well-regarded by the Chaldean hierarchy, but we cannot 
judge the veracity of these charges or Najim's denials. 
End Summary. 
 
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Priest's Name on Shi'a List 
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2.  (C)  Monsignor Philip Najim, Representative of the 
Chaldean Catholic Church to the Holy See and a frequent 
Embassy contact, told us recently that his name had been 
published on a list of alleged collaborators with the 
regime of Saddam Hussein.  He said that the list, which 
included Iraqis, Americans, and members of other 
nationalities, was published in the Shi'a newspaper 
Al-Hawza, and then released on the internet. 
 
3.  (C)  Najim explained that he had been accused of passing 
privileged information from his contacts at the Vatican to 
the Hussein government, including confidential information 
from what Al-Hawza described as a "secret meeting" between 
President Clinton and the Pope several years ago.  Najim 
denied the charges, terming them "ridiculous."  He has few 
family members still in Iraq, but now fears for his own 
safety when he returns to his homeland on official business 
for the Patriarch.  Najim noted that Iraqi Ambassador to 
the Holy See, Edward Ismail Yelda, a Christian with good 
Shi'a contacts, was working to remove his name from the 
list, but was unsure how successful these efforts would be. 
 
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Ambassador to Italy Involved? 
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4.  (C) A subsequent conversation with Najim revealed more 
about the bitter rivalries among Iraqi expats and those 
connected to the former regime.  He charged that the Iraqi 
ambassador to the government of Italy, Mohammed Al-Amili, 
had likely been the one to plant his name on the Al-Hawza 
list.  "He is in charge of all the names [on the list] from 
Italy," Najim claimed.  He noted darkly Al-Amili's lengthy 
service to the Hussein regime in diplomatic assignments 
since 1968, and said that the diplomat seemed to be 
scheming against both Najim and Yelda.  [Note: Al-Amili told 
Embassy Rome that he was the only diplomat from the Saddam 
era still representing Iraq.  According to Al-Amili, this is 
because he is seen as a career diplomat not linked to the 
regime.  End Note.]  According to Najim, Al-Amili was lobbying 
Baghdad to close the Iraqi Embassy to the Holy See and 
have Yelda set up shop elsewhere as a non-resident 
ambassador. 
 
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Comment 
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5.  (C)  We have generally received good information on Iraq 
from Monsignor Najim, and he appears to have a solid 
relationship 
with the Chaldean Patriarch -- as noted most recently during 
a February 17 lunch that the two shared with the Charge 
(septel). 
However, we have no way to gauge the credibility 
of these charges.  Although he is critical at times of U.S. 
policy in 
Iraq, Najim is generally positive about USG intentions when 
speaking to us.  He is nevertheless known to tailor his message 
to his 
audience.  A French diplomatic colleague who speaks 
to Najim remarked to us recently that he found 
 
Najim "remarkably anti-American" in their conversations. 
 
HARDT 
 
 
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 2005VATICA00441 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL