VZCZCXRO0098
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHROV #0161/01 3111016
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071016Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY VATICAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0832
INFO RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 0132
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES 0001
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 0001
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0056
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0064
RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN 0864

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 VATICAN 000161 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT. FOR EUR/WE; ROME FOR POL; NAPLES FOR CG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KIRF EC IS VT
SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL LEADERS GATHER TO ADVANCE WORLD 
PEACE 
 
VATICAN 00000161  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
This is a combined Embassy Vatican/ US Consulate General Naples 
cable 
 
 
 
Summary 
 
----------- 
 
 
 
¶1. (U) Religious and political leaders from around the world 
convened in Naples under the auspices of a Catholic 
non-governmental organization for three days of dialogue and 
debate on a broad range of issues under the overall theme of "A 
World without Violence".  Among the participants were heads of 
state, Italy's minister of foreign affairs, and Israel's 
minister of interior.  Panelists on a discussion on Israel and 
Palestine called for negotiations on final status issues for the 
upcoming Annapolis conference.  Muslim scholars underlined that 
Islam is a religion of peace and criticized USG policies in the 
Middle East.  Various speakers welcome the selection of Naples, 
a city with many social problems including violence, as the host 
for this year's gathering. 
 
 
 
Discussions draw crowds 
 
------------------------------ 
 
 
 
¶2. (U) The conference, which took place from October 21 to the 
23, was organized by the Community of Sant'Egidio, an 
association founded in Rome in 1968 dedicated to evangelization 
and charity in Italy and in more than seventy countries around 
the world (Note:  Sant'Egidio website, www.santegidio.org, 
describes the organization as a movement of lay people with more 
than 50,000 members.  End note).  Pope Benedict XVI's October 21 
Mass for 20,000 people in Naples served as a high-profile 
prelude to the conference -- Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi 
and the presidents of Ecuador and Tanzania later participated in 
the Conference's first plenary session. 
 
 
 
¶3. (U) During his homily, the Pope called on authorities to 
build more schools and create more jobs in Naples to combat the 
"disgraceful" Camorra.  The Pope also condemned 
religiously-inspired violence, stating that "in a world wounded 
by conflicts, where violence is justified in God's name, it's 
important to repeat that religion can never become a vehicle of 
hatred, it can never be used in God's name to justify violence." 
 
 
 
¶4. (U) At the opening ceremony of the inter-faith dialogue -- an 
event first organized by Pope John Paul II in Assisi in 1986 -- 
most of the speakers focused on the contribution that world 
religions can make to world peace.  Some dissonant notes were 
sounded by the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Yona Metzger, who called 
on the religious leaders to publicly and specifically condemn 
the Iranian President for his statements regarding Israel; and 
Dr. Ezzeddin Ibrahim, founder of the United Arab Emirates 
University, who referred to the US presence in Iraq as an 
occupation resulting from a war "based on false pretenses" and 
who criticized Metzger for singling out Iran. 
 
 
 
¶5.  (U) The inauguration was followed by three days of meetings. 
 Different sessions (32 in all) tackled such issues as AIDS, 
immigration, Latin America, and the plight of Africa.  Some of 
the sessions had overflow crowds, with organizers running out of 
headphones for interpreting. 
 
 
 
Panel discussion on the Arab-Israeli conflict 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
 
 
 
VATICAN 00000161  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶6.  (U) In a panel discussion under the banner "Israel - 
Palestine: a long struggle for peace," Italian Foreign Minister 
Massimo D'Alema underlined the need to achieve tangible 
outcomes, such an agreement or a "preface to an agreement" at 
the November Arab-Israeli Conference in Annapolis.  D'Alema also 
suggested that NATO could play a useful role in bringing peace 
to the Middle East through a partnership with Israel and the 
Arab countries similar to the "Partnership for Peace" agreements 
that NATO has negotiated with former Soviet republics. 
 
 
 
7 (U) Israeli Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit said he was in 
favor of discussing final status issues (Jerusalem, refugees and 
borders) in Annapolis.  He stated that the Roadmap had failed, 
and that there was a need for a new approach.  He added that 
there should also be direct negotiations between Palestinian and 
Israelis in Jerusalem and in Ramallah itself, criticizing what 
he viewed as an overdependence on the international community to 
solve the region's problems.  The Palestinian representative, 
Jamal Zakout, urged support for the Saudi peace initiative, 
stating that twenty-two moderate Arab countries were for the 
first time ready to support a peace treaty between Israel and 
Palestine. 
 
 
 
Ecuadorian President Condemns Violence of Economic Injustice 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------------- 
 
 
 
¶8.  (U) In a panel discussion entitled "Latin America: a Future 
without Violence", Ecuadorian President Delgado pointed to 
economic injustice as the root cause of violence in Latin 
America.  Delgado complained that "our peoples" are forced to be 
illegal immigrants because of the political and economic 
injustices created in the 80s and 90s by "Washington's 
policies".  He continued by charging that neo-liberal economics 
"has failed Latin America, and now I and other leaders in Latin 
America must undertake massive social transformations to rectify 
matters".  Delgado also criticized "commercial globalization", 
adding that "there are no illegal people, just illegal profits". 
 
 
 
Final statement condemns violence in the name of religion 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
 
 
¶9. (U) The official statement adopted by participants at the end 
of the conference condemned violence as "an illness that 
pollutes everything."  The statement affirmed that "anyone who 
uses the name of God to hate the other, to practice violence, or 
to wage war, is cursing the name of God." 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
------------ 
 
 
 
¶10.  (U) The International Prayer for Peace, now in its 21st 
year, has become an institution, and one which attracts a large 
number of prominent government and religious leaders from around 
the world.  Its panel discussions are interesting and sometimes 
provocative, but the event's significance lies rather in (a) its 
symbolic importance, and (b) its ability to serve as a 
networking site for odd bedfellows, i.e. key political and 
religious leaders who might otherwise find it difficult to meet. 
   In this regard it resembles Washington's annual National 
Prayer Breakfast.  In the past, the Community of Sant'Egidio has 
been able to develop these initial contacts into specific 
initiatives in areas such as retroviral programs for AIDS 
victims, birth registrations for children in poor African 
countries, and even concrete and lasting peace agreements, like 
in Mozambique in 1992. 
 
 
 
 
VATICAN 00000161  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Embassy Vatican regularly attends the Prayer for 
Peace, and this year Consulate General Naples also attended.  In 
spring 2006, when the event was held at Georgetown University in 
Washington, Under Secretary Karen Hughes spoke at the event. 
However, the USG is missing an opportunity by not participating 
at a high level on a more regular basis.  The next Prayer for 
Peace will be held in September 2008 in Cyprus, a location with 
evident potential for interfaith and political dialogue.  Post 
recommends that Department consider possible attendance at that 
time by a senior USG representative, perhaps at Cabinet level. 
Post would be delighted to work with Department and Embassy 
Nicosia to facilitate such participation. 
ROONEY