US embassy cable - 05MANILA1543

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 001543 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/PMBS, DRL/IRF, EUR/WE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, SOCI, RP, VT 
SUBJECT:  Strong reaction to death of Pope John Paul II 
 
1.  (U) Summary:  The Philippines has reacted with deep 
sorrow to news of the death of Pope John Paul II.  President 
Arroyo announced an official mourning period that will last 
until the Pope's funeral, which she plans to attend.  The 
Catholic Church will hold a requiem mass in honor of Pope 
John Paul II on April 6 in Manila.  Cardinal Vidal is 
eligible to serve as an elector in the upcoming Conclave, as 
is Cardinal Sin, but the latter is ill and may not be able 
to travel.  National leaders, including prominent Muslim and 
Protestant clerics, have expressed their condolences, as 
have the New People's Army (NPA) and the Moro Islamic 
Liberation Front (MILF).  Filipino Catholics felt a very 
special bond with Pope John Paul II and he will be genuinely 
missed.  End Summary. 
 
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Sorrow in the Philippines 
------------------------- 
 
2.  (U) The Philippines, a predominantly Roman Catholic 
country, reacted with deep sorrow to news of the death of 
Pope John Paul II.  (Note:  Of the country's 86 million 
people, an estimated 83 percent are Catholic. End note) 
Millions of Filipinos expressed their grief publicly at 
crowded masses nationwide after news of the Pope's death 
spread early on April 3.  Media outlets blanketed television 
with news of the Pope's death throughout the day on April 3 
and into April 4. 
 
3.  (U) President Arroyo announced a period of national 
mourning that will last until the Pope's funeral, and 
ordered that flags at government sites fly at half-staff. 
In a public statement, Arroyo remarked that Pope John Paul 
II "was a holy champion of the Filipino family and of 
Christian values," that he had visited the Philippines 
twice, and that she had met him three times.  Malacanang 
Palace contacts confirmed press reports that Arroyo, a Roman 
Catholic who attends mass every day, and husband Mike Arroyo 
would attend the funeral, departing on April 5 or 6, 
depending on the date of the funeral.  Her advance team was 
due to depart Manila on April 4. 
 
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Catholic Church Reaction 
------------------------ 
 
4.  (U) The Catholic Church in the Philippines plans to hold 
a special requiem mass in honor of Pope John Paul II on 
April 6 at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, also 
known as the Manila Cathedral, in downtown Manila.  A large 
mass presided over by Archbishop Rosales of Manila and 
attended by President Arroyo, former Presidents Corazon 
Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos, and other Filipino notables 
already took place late on April 3.  As leader of the most 
populous diocese in the country, Archbishop Rosales issued a 
statement urging Filipinos to join others in the 
international community in their sorrow, stating that the 
Pope had given "himself completely to God.  As Filipinos, we 
especially recall the times he was physically present with 
us, being amongst us and blessing us."  A group of priests 
plans to plant 84 seedlings at a Manila park to be named 
after Pope John Paul II to mark his age at the time of his 
death. 
 
5.  (SBU) On a conversation with Dep Pol/C on April 4, 
Monsignor Hernando Coronel, the General Secretary of the 
Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said 
that Vatican-based Cardinal Ratzinger had already been in 
touch with the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila about funeral 
arrangements and other issues.  According to Msgr. Coronel, 
Ricardo Cardinal Vidal (74) is eligible to serve as an 
elector in the upcoming Conclave, as is Jaime Cardinal Sin 
(76), although the latter is ill and may not be able to 
travel.  (Note:  Vidal is not that well himself -- he 
recently had a heart-related medical procedure.  Sin, the 
former Archbishop of Manila who spoke out forcefully against 
the Marcos dictatorship, is in a wheelchair, has serious 
heart problems, and is undergoing regular dialysis. End 
note)  Jose Tomas Cardinal Sanchez (85), who resides in 
Rome, is too old to serve as an elector.  In a December 2004 
meeting, Cardinal Vidal had told Dep Pol/C that he has deep 
admiration for Francis Cardinal Arinze of Nigeria, who has 
been mentioned as a candidate for the papacy. 
 
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Other Reactions 
--------------- 
 
6.  (U) Scores of national leaders, including prominent 
Muslim and Protestant clerics, expressed their condolences, 
as did the NPA and the MILF.  Some of their comments follow: 
 
-- Senate President Franklin Drilon marked the opening 
ceremony of the 112th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary 
Union (IPU) in Manila on April 3 by stating that Filipinos 
would remember the Pope "for his fight for human dignity and 
steadfast work in bringing peace to all nations;" 
 
-- Opposition Senator Edgardo Angara lauded the Pope's fight 
against child abuse and his opposition to the Marcos regime; 
 
-- Senate Minority leader Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. 
said the Pope's life had had a tremendous impact and 
highlighted the Pope's proposal that debts of poor countries 
be forgiven by creditors; 
 
-- Brother Eddie Villanueva, leader of the Evangelical 
Protestant "Jesus Is Lord" movement and a 2004 presidential 
candidate, thanked the Pope for supporting the "marginalized 
and less privileged," and predicted that the Pope's death 
would spur a renewed interest in Christianity throughout the 
country; 
 
-- Shariff Julabbi, a leader of the Ulama League (an 
association of Muslim clerics in Mindanao), hailed the Pope 
for serving as a "bridge of understanding" between the 
world's Christian and Muslim communities; 
 
-- Mohagher Iqbal, commenting on behalf of the MILF's 
Central Committee through its website, called the Pope "a 
tireless campaigner of world peace and champion of religious 
reconciliation;" 
 
-- NPA spokesman Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal sent the NPA's 
condolences to leading print media on April 3 via a cell 
phone text message. 
 
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Comment 
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7.  (SBU) Filipino Catholics felt a very special bond with 
Pope John Paul II and he will be missed.  His two visits to 
the country met with wild enthusiasm and were also historic 
-- the first (in 1981) helped spur opposition to the Marcos 
regime while the second (in 1995) attracted a crowd of four 
or five million during a mass in Manila.  Pope John Paul 
II's doctrinal views, conservative on moral and family 
issues and socially liberal on economic issues, were popular 
among the local Catholic clergy and most Filipino Catholics. 
The Pope's ecumenical efforts also had special resonance in 
the Philippines, where the Church has reached out to Muslims 
-- who have long felt alienated from the Catholic majority - 
- in an effort to promote national reconciliation. 
Filipinos will watch the upcoming funeral and Conclave very 
carefully for signals on where the Church -- a very 
important institution in the Philippines -- might be headed 
next. 
MUSSOMELI