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### Viewing cable 09VATICAN134, AN INVENTORY OF THE VATICAN'S INTERFAITH DIALOGUES

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09VATICAN134 | 2009-12-18 11:11 | 2010-12-22 21:09 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Vatican

`

    VZCZCXRO0172
    PP RUEHBC RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHFL RUEHKUK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLH
    RUEHNP RUEHPW RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHTRO
    DE RUEHROV #0134/01 3521144
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    P R 181144Z DEC 09
    FM AMEMBASSY VATICAN
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1214
    INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
    RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE
    RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0111
    RUEHVJ/AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO 0002
    RUEHGE/AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN 0004
    RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0009
    RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0031
    RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0096
    RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0017
    RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN 1253

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 VATICAN 000134

    SIPDIS

    DEPT FOR G, S/P, S/GPI, AND S/SRMC

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/18/2019
    TAGS: PREL PHUM KIRF SOCI SCUL VT
    SUBJECT: AN INVENTORY OF THE VATICAN'S INTERFAITH DIALOGUES

    REF: A. 08 VATICAN 87
    ¶B. VATICAN 124
    ¶C. 08 USUN 1126
    ¶D. VATICAN 106
    ¶E. VATICAN 122
    ¶F. VATICAN 100
    ¶G. VATICAN 126

    VATICAN 00000134 001.2 OF 003

    CLASSIFIED BY: Julieta Valls Noyes, DCM, EXEC, State.
    REASON: 1.4 (b)
    ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Vatican is a leader or partner in many
    inter-religious dialogues, primarily with the "Abrahamic"
    religions - Islam, Judaism, and of course, other Christians.
    Vatican leaders are also beginning to reach out to Asian faiths.
    This cable describes the Vatican's primary, organized
    dialogues. Septels: A) analyze why the Vatican pursues
    interfaith dialogue, and B) propose USG-Holy See collaboration
    in support of such discussions. End Summary.

    Dialogues with Muslim Communities and Nations
    ---------------------------------------------

    ¶2. (SBU) Formal, modern-day Vatican dialogue with the Muslim
    world goes back for over a decade. It intensified following
    September 11, 2001, and again after the controversy that erupted
    over Pope Benedict XVI's September 2006 address in Regensberg.
    Some of these dialogues have delivered concrete results; others
    remain largely symbolic. Following are the formal,
    institutionalized Vatican dialogues with Muslims:

    -- Partnership with the Jordanian Royal Institute of Inter-Faith
    Studies. Held its first colloquium on "Religions and Civil
    Society" in Rome in 2009. Will meet every two years. The next
    meeting will be in 2011 in Amman or Rome. (Note: This
    institute is distinct from the Aal al-Bayt institute which is
    part of the Catholic Muslim Forum). (See www.riifs.org.)

    -- "A Common Word": The Catholic-Muslim Forum: First met in
    Rome November 4-6, 2008. Muslim delegates - both Sunni and Shia
    - selected by the Amman-based Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic
    Thought. Final declaration called for religious freedom,
    protection of minorities, respect for religious symbols, and
    equal rights. Will meet every two years: 2010 Forum may meet in
    Jordan or another Muslim-majority country (ref a). (See
    www.acommonword.com.)

    -- Saudi-sponsored dialogue: Initiated by Saudi King, through
    the Mecca-based Muslim World League (a.k.a. the Rabita). King
    of Spain hosted the first meeting in Madrid on July 18, 2008.
    Second meeting held on margins of 2008 UNGA, attended by
    then-President Bush and eighty-plus other senior officials.
    Participants criticized terrorists who claimed to act in the
    name of religion. Two additional meetings held in Vienna and
    Geneva; latest resulting in agreement to create secretariat --
    and possibly new center -- for interreligious dialogue in
    Vienna, Austria (refs B and C). (See www.world-dialogue.org )

    -- The Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions
    First held in 2003. Meets in Astana, Kazakhstan every three
    years. The next meeting will be in 2012. (See
    www.religions-congress.org.)

    -- Coordination Committee of the PCID and the World Islamic Call
    Society (WICS) of Libya. The focus of this meeting is relations
    between Muslims and Christians in sub-Saharan Africa, where the
    WICS is active. First held in 2002. Meets every two years in
    Tripoli or Rome. Next meeting in 2010.

    -- The Joint Committee for Dialogue between the PCID and the
    Permanent Committee of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, for
    Dialogue between Monotheistic Religions. First held in 1998.
    Meets at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo every year.

    -- Dialogue with Center for Inter-Religious Dialogue of the
    Islamic Culture and Relations Organization in Iran. This
    Vatican partnership with Iran's Islamic Guidance Ministry dates
    back to 1995. The subject of a recent meeting was "Human
    dignity with special reference to bioethics." Meets in Tehran
    every two years. The next meeting is in 2010. (See
    http://en.icro.ir .)

    -- The Islamic-Catholic Liaison Committee of the International
    Forum for Dialogue. First held in 1995. Meets in Jeddah, Saudi
    Arabia, every three years. Next meeting in 2012. (See
    www.dialogueonline.org.)

    VATICAN 00000134 002.2 OF 003

    Other Avenues for Catholic-Muslim Encounters
    --------------------------------------------

    ¶3. (SBU) The Holy See and the Arab League established diplomatic
    relations in 2000. The League has a representative to the Holy
    See based in Rome, and the Vatican's representative to the
    League is the nuncio in Cairo. The Holy See and the League
    signed a Memorandum of Understanding on April 23, 2009, to
    strengthen joint projects to promote peace and dialogue,
    especially on the political and cultural levels. The Memorandum
    was signed by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Holy See's
    Secretary of Relations with States, and Arab League Secretary
    General Amr Moussa. Vatican officials note that the MOU has not
    yet led to any concrete initiatives or dialogues.

    ¶4. (C) The Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue
    signed a "Declaration of Intent" with the Department for
    Religious Affairs of the Turkish Prime Minister's Cabinet on
    April 25, 2002. Its aim was to promote inter-religious
    dialogue, in particular by facilitating collaboration between
    academic institutions. Progress in discussions with the Turks
    is not coming quickly. The Vatican is disappointed that the
    former Church of Paul of Tarsus is now a Turkish government-run
    museum. The Vatican also supports Orthodox demands to reopen
    the Halki seminary in Turkey, have the GOT recognize the
    Ecumenical Patriarch as an international religious leader, and
    grant greater religious freedoms to Orthodox and other
    Christians.

    ¶5. (SBU) Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the
    Inter-Religious Dialogue Council, travelled to Indonesia in
    November 2009. It was the first visit of the Vatican's top
    dialogue official to Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority
    country in the world -- 206 million out of a population of 240
    million. (There are 7 million Catholics in the country.)
    Vatican and Indonesian officials continue to discuss concrete
    initiatives for follow-up to this visit.

    The Other Monotheistic Faiths: Jews and other Christians
    --------------------------------------------- -----------

    ¶6. (SBU) Unlike relations with Islam, Vatican relations with
    Jews are characterized by substantial theological common ground
    and historic roots. Discussions between the two religions are
    ongoing and broad-based. They are often intersected by
    politics, and sometimes hurt by missteps. The Vatican's
    long-standing dialogue initiatives with the Jews prospered in
    the years since the Vatican II Council removed obstacles to good
    relations. They took a big hit in January 2009, however, when
    the Vatican restored communion to a schismatic Catholic group
    that included a Holocaust-denying bishop. After considerable
    effort by the Vatican and the Pope himself, relations have been
    largely mended and were solidified with the Pope's visit to the
    Holy Land in May 2009. Nevertheless, the proposed conferral of
    sainthood on WWII-era Pope Pius XII and access by historians to
    the archives of his pontificate are recurring irritants in the
    relationship (ref D).

    ¶7. (SBU) Meanwhile, Vatican officials speak constantly with
    followers of other Christian faiths in ecumenical dialogue
    intended to overcome divisions between Christians. Indeed, the
    Vatican has a separate Pontifical Council for Christian Unity
    (which for historical reasons also covers dialogue with Jews).
    These discussions have their ups and downs. While the Vatican
    move in November 2009 to welcome disaffected Anglicans to the
    Catholic Church dealt a blow to ecumenical understanding (ref
    E), the rift is healing in part because few Anglicans will
    probably take advantage of the Vatican offer. Meanwhile,
    relations with the Russian Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow -- who
    commands the allegiance of a large number of Orthodox and is
    thus arguably more influential than Ecumenical Patriarch
    Bartholomew -- have improved. (ref F). This has allowed Moscow
    and the Vatican to upgrade their "special character" to "full
    diplomatic" relations (ref G).

    ¶8. (SBU) Ultimately, the monotheistic nature and shared historic
    roots of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam -- all "people of the
    book" - make dialogue between these three religions easier for
    the Vatican in some ways than discussions with other religions.
    An important interfaith meeting including senior leaders of the
    world's major monotheistic religions, Christians (Catholic and

    VATICAN 00000134 003.2 OF 003

    Orthodox), Jews and Muslims, took place in Seville, Spain,
    December 6-8, 2009. The King of Spain's "Three Cultures, Three
    Faiths" Foundation sponsored the event. (VATICAN 124).

    Outreach to Asian Faiths
    ------------------------

    ¶9. (C) Despite the difficulty for the Vatican of finding common
    ground with polytheistic religions, Holy See officials are
    starting to do just that in an effort to support peace,
    religious freedom, human rights, and local solutions to local
    problems (see septel). Cardinal Tauran travelled to India in
    June 2009 for initial dialogue with Hindus. Tauran's goal was
    to go beyond the positive assurances that had characterized
    previous meetings with Hindu leaders. Specifically, he sought
    to bridge the gap between his Indian interlocutors' stated
    goodwill and the continuing hostility toward Christians in parts
    of India like Orissa, especially by some Hindu nationalists.
    The Vatican also raised concerns about Indian anti-conversion
    laws -- although they have not been enforced. Cardinal Tauran
    also traveled to Japan in August 2009, to initiate discussions
    with Buddhists and other Asian faiths.

    ¶10. (SBU) Comment: Tauran acknowledges quietly that the Vatican
    has not paid sufficient attention to relations with Asian
    religions. He is not an expert on polytheistic religions and is
    unlikely to find -- or even seek -- common theological ground
    with their precepts. Instead, as he and his Council increase
    their outreach to these communities, they will challenge their
    interlocutors to remove obstacles to the enjoyment of religious
    freedom for all. End comment.

    Comment
    -------

    ¶11. (C) The number and scope of the Vatican's inter-religious
    dialogues is unparalleled by that of any other church or
    organization in the world. The dialogues are already effective
    in preventing or smoothing over misunderstandings and tensions.
    The big question is how to translate into concrete actions the
    high moral principles that the world's major religions bring to
    the dialogue table. Septel includes proposals for USG
    engagement with the Vatican in support of interreligious
    understanding and action.
    DIAZ

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