The Holy See’s deputy foreign minister equivalent Pietro Parolin said the Vatican was considering speaking out against Zimbabwe but it was waiting for the green light from Zimbabwe’s bishops because it felt that the local church, Archbishop Pius Ncube, in particular, was strong enough to stand up to President Robert Mugabe.
Parolin said he had no reason to think that the bishops would oppose the Holy See’s speaking out, but he had to be sure that the Vatican would not be complicating matters for the local Church.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 07VATICAN64, ZIMBABWE: HOLY SEE WAITING FOR OK FROM BISHOPS
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Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO3967
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHSR
DE RUEHROV # 0064 0821541
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 231541Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY VATICAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0692
INFO RUEHSB/AMEMBASSY HARARE PRIORITY 0002
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 0005
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN 0722
C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 000064
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EUR/WE LARREA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/23/2017
TAGS: PHUM SOCI KIRF PGOV PREL ZI VT
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE: HOLY SEE WAITING FOR OK FROM BISHOPS
REF: A. VATICAN 58; B. STATE 36885; C. MARTIN-TRENKLE MAR 23 TELCON
CLASSIFIED BY: Peter Martin, Pol/Econ Chief, Vatican, State.
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d)
¶1. (C) In response to ref (b) points, Holy See deputy foreign
minister equivalent Pietro Parolin told the Charge March 23 that
the Holy See was considering speaking out further on Zimbabwe,
but felt compelled to wait until it got the “green light” from
the Zimbabwe bishops to do so. He noted the Holy See’s
recognition of the seriousness of the situation, and alluded to
a similar demarche he had received from the British (ref a). He
also volunteered that the pope’s Easter message (ref a) would be
an ideal time for the pontiff to speak out.
¶2. (C) Parolin said he had no reason to think that the bishops
would oppose the Holy See’s speaking out, but he had to be sure
that the Vatican wouldn’t be complicating matters for the local
Church. He said that some had argued that the local Church (he
mentioned Bishop Pius Alick Ncube of Bulawayo) was strong enough
to stand up to Mugabe, and a word from the Vatican was just the
boost it needed. Even so, Parolin said, the Holy See needed to
hear that from the bishops themselves. He noted that nuncio to
Zimbabwe Adams is following events closely, but claimed that
nuncio to South Africa Green had little role to play.
¶3. (C) Comment: Parolin’s comments track with the Holy See’s
traditional preference not to get out in front of the local
bishops. We defer to Embassy Harare, but note that from our
perspective direct contact with the bishops, or contact through
Archbishop Adams seems the likeliest way to proceed. We still
believe nuncio to South Africa Green might have a useful role to
play, but suggest approaching him with the stated intention of
simply “keeping him in the loop”. He may then have some useful
input. Contact with other prelates who might have good contact
with the Zimbabwe bishops could also be useful (ref c).
SANDROLINI
(24 VIEWS)
