VZCZCXRO6365
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHROV #0028/01 0561334
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 251334Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY VATICAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0920
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN 0954

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 VATICAN 000028

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KIRF VT
SUBJECT: LAY MOVEMENTS, PART II: SANT'EGIDIO, COMUNION AND LIBERATION, AND OPUS DEI

REF: A. VATICAN 26 B. 07 VATICAN 195 C. 07 VATICAN 161

VATICAN 00000028 001.2 OF 003

Summary

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¶1. (U) This is the third in a series intended to facilitate
cooperation with Holy See and Catholic Church entities to
promote U.S. goals through a greater understanding of the Holy
See's institutions, agencies and structures (reftel B). In this
cable, we continue our discussion of ecclesial movements (reftel
A) by looking at three associations that are actively promoting
Church values in a secular world: The Community of Sant'Egidio,
Communion and Liberation, and Opus Dei.

Strength in diversity

---------------------

¶2. (SBU) Because of their number and diversity, no specific
organization can be said to be particularly representative of
ecclesial movements (a.k.a. lay movements and international
associations of the faithful) as a whole. A look at the Holy
See's Directory of International Associations of the Faithful is
revealing -- listed are movements such as ""the Community of the
Beatitudes"", ""the International Christian Union of Business
Executives"", ""Couples for Christ"", ""the International Catholic
Conference of Scouting"" and ""the International Union of Catholic
Esperantists"" (which, among other things, broadcasts in
Esperanto through Radio Vatican). Among the many associations
are two movements that originated in Italy and have been
particularly active and successful in reaching out to world
leaders and political personalities: the Community of
Sant'Egidio, and Communion and Liberation. Also well known in
Italy -- and beyond -- is Opus Dei, a prelature (i.e., a diocese
based on membership rather that geography) and lay movement that
originated in Spain but is headquartered in Rome and has a
presence in many countries.

Community of Sant'Egidio

------------------------

¶3. (U) The Community of Sant'Egidio was founded in the wake of
the Second Vatican Council by a group of enthusiastic Roman high
school students. Today, present in 70 nations on four
continents, it has some 60,000 members engaged in a variety of
development and charitable initiatives. The Community's mission
has five elements: prayer, the communication of the Christian
message, solidarity with the poor, ecumenism (i.e., the unity of
the Christian churches), and inter-religious dialogue.

¶4. (U) USG contact to date -- including a visit with the
Community by President Bush in the summer of 2007 -- has focused
on inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue, HIV/AIDS
programs in Africa, and Sant'Egidio's reconciliation and
peacemaking efforts in the Balkans and Africa. Working closely
with Sant'Egidio, Post has built support to help fund its
HIV/AIDS treatment program in key target countries. The project
has already received some funding in Mozambique through the
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and is
rapidly expanding to more countries in Africa. As a result of
our engagement, HHS formalized its relationship with Sant'Egidio
in January 2005, signing a Memorandum of Understanding that
promises expanded cooperation in the health field.

¶5. (U) Sant'Egidio is also known for its work in building on
the late Pope John Paul II's initiative in convening the World
Day of Peace in Assisi, Italy in 1986 - a meeting of all major
world religions. Sant'Egidio launched its own series of
inter-religious meetings with the aim of promoting mutual
understanding and dialogue among all religions. Since that
time, the Community has annually gathered representatives of
different faiths and cultures from more than 60 countries.
Often, as was the case in the 2007 meeting in Naples (reftel C),
the peace gatherings include presentations by heads of state,
ministers, and political personalities from around the world. A
summit was held in Washington in 2006. The next meeting will
take place in Cyprus in the fall of 2008.

¶6. (SBU) Sant'Egidio's leadership has proven to be shrewd in
its communications strategies, attracting generous media
coverage for the Community's activities. This, together with
its interest in conflict resolution in hot spots around the
world, has sometimes irked Vatican officials, who worry that the
worthwhile peace initiatives of Sant'Egidio may be mistaken for
the foreign policy of the Holy See. While the goals may be the
same -- and Sant'Egidio is very close to a number of prominent
Vatican officials -- the Holy See prefers quiet diplomacy and
long-term strategies over public activism and limited
timeframes. The Community of Sant'Egidio website is:
www.santegidio.org

Communion and Liberation

------------------------

¶7. (U) Communion and Liberation was established in Italy in
1954, originally as a group of Catholic public high school
students. Although it remains primarily an Italian institution,
Communion and Liberation established an international presence
during the pontificate of the late Pope John Paul II
(1978-2005). It currently has 48,000 members in 64 countries,
with a particularly strong presence in Spain and Brazil.

¶8. (U) An annual week-long cultural and political festival
known as the ""Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples,"" held in the
Adriatic coastal resort town of Rimini each summer, has grown
into a major Italian event, attracting thousands of visitors.
The event seeks to create points of contact between people of
different faiths and cultures. Among the world figures and
personalities that at some point since 1980 have attended are
Mother Teresa of Calcutta, former Polish ""Solidarity"" leader and
president Lech Walesa, the Dalai Lama, former German Chancellor
Helmut Kohl, the late Kosovar leader Ibrahim Rugova, US Supreme
Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., and the late Pope John Paul
II. Issues addressed have included the fight against female
genital mutilation in Kenya, religion in American society, women
as the primary victims of Islamic fundamentalism, economic
solidarity with the world's poor, European identity in the Third
Millennium, and sustainable development.

¶9. (SBU) Regarded during its early history as a Catholic
fundamentalist and anti-Communist political organization, today
Communion and Liberation has shifted its energy away from
partisan politics and more towards cultural, charitable and
educational activities. Nevertheless, Communion and Liberation
is said to be close to Silvio Berlusconi, former Italian Prime
Minister and current leader of the Italian center-right party
(Sant'Egidio, on the other hand, is said to be sympathetic to
the former mayor of Rome and current leader of the Italian left,
Walter Veltroni). The Communion and Liberation website is
www.clonline.org

Cooperators of Opus Dei

-----------------------

¶10. (U) The Cooperators of Opus Dei are men and women who
belong to an association inseparably linked to Opus Dei, itself
a one-of-a-kind ""personal prelature of the pope"". While the
cooperators are not incorporated in the Prelature, they work
with it to undertake educational and welfare projects with a
view to contribute to the common good of society.

¶11. (U) Opus Dei was founded in 1928 in Spain by Father Jose
Maria Escriva. Its purpose is to promote Catholic values in
society through its members' everyday activities -- particularly
work -- in the secular world. In 1930, the group was opened up
to women. The organization received official papal recognition
in 1947. Opus Dei has spread throughout Europe and in to Latin
America, and it entered the U.S. in 1949. While it does not
publish financial statements, it reports once every five years
directly to the pope.

¶12. (U) 2007 marked the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's
elevation of Opus Dei to the status of a personal prelature
(equivalent to a diocese but based on a specific group of people
rather than on geographical territory). The founder was
declared ""blessed"" in 1992 and elevated to sainthood in 2002.
According to Vatican statistics, Opus Dei has some 86,000 lay
members and almost 2000 priests. Opus Dei maintains 1800
churches and pastoral centers in 60 countries. It is governed
by a bishop who holds the title of prelate.

¶13. (U) Opus Dei development and charitable activities include
providing educational opportunities for rural families in the
Philippines, vocational training for Peruvian women, and
entrepreneurial formation for women in Kenya to start their own
micro-businesses. In 2002, Opus Dei initiated a major
development program focused on Africa. ""Harambee"" (All for One
in Kiswahili) promotes educational programs in Africa and about
Africa - developmental projects in the sub-Saharan region and
awareness-building activities elsewhere designed to encourage a
positive outlook on African culture. Most recent projects are a
clinic providing medical services to 600 mothers and 1000
children in the outskirts of Kinshasa, DRC; a crafts training
school in Madagascar for heads of family (70 percent male, 30
percent female); a teacher development project in Kenya
targeting some 4500 educators over the next 3 years; and
vocational training center for young refugee women in southern
Sudan.

¶14. (SBU) Opus Dei does not share its membership lists,
although members are not prevented from disclosing their own
membership, if they wish to do so. Church observers have noted
that this has contributed to accusations of secrecy and fueled
the imagination of writers and conspiracy theorists. According
to an officer at the Opus Dei's Information Office in Rome, in
the past few years Dan Brown's ""the Da Vinci Code"" has lead to
many public inquiries. Many of them, he said, come from
journalists of Asian countries who are hearing about Opus Dei
for the very first time. Opus Dei's official website is
www.opusdei.org.

Comment

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¶15. (SBU) Sant'Egidio, Communion and Liberation, and Opus Dei
show ways in which ecclesial movements can channel the religious
commitment of lay Catholics to specific charitable and political
initiatives. In Italy -- and elsewhere -- they can also
underpin the influence of the Vatican in domestic politics.
These three organizations excel in their organizational
capacity. The efficiency and effectiveness of their charitable
work is widely recognized. In the case of Sant'Egidio and
Communion and Liberation, the impact of initiatives in areas
such as inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue is
necessarily more difficult to quantify (Opus Dei does not
organize such events).

¶16. (SBU) While skeptics question the value of ""talkfests"" that
fail to translate into executable initiatives, the very presence
of political personalities -- and the large crowds the events
attract -- seem to indicate that political and religious leaders
and significant parts of the public think they are valuable. At
the very least, these gatherings provide a venue to float ideas
that would be difficult to present in more formal settings.
They also offer considerable scope for quiet networking that,
over time, makes possible substantive dialogues between parties
who once shunned each other. Both the Community of Sant'Egidio
and Communion and Liberation would welcome the participation of
high-ranking USG officials in their events. Post recommends
that the Department consider sending a high ranking official to
participate in the next Prayer for Peace meetings of the
Sant'Egidio Community, set to take place in Cyprus in the fall
of 2008.
GLENDON