The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See has condemned “in the strongest
terms” the unauthorized disclosure of State Department cables possessed
by WikiLeaks.
Disclosure of the cables’ contents could be harmful to
individuals and international relations, the embassy said in response to
questions from CNA.
More than 800 cables in the WikiLeaks “Cablegate” project appear to
involve the Vatican.
More than 700 were labeled as originating at the
U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, a CNA analysis of preliminary data found.
The cables’ subject labels indicate they involve issues regarding
intelligence, national security, the Vatican’s internal governance, and
Vatican relations with the U.S. State Department.
Human rights and
religious freedom were among the most numerous subject labels.
Vatican-related cables also involve other countries including China, Cuba, Iraq, Israel, Venezuela and Vietnam.
Around 250,000 State Department cables were reportedly obtained by
WikiLeaks, a self-described non-profit media organization.
The
organization says the documents will expose corruption and provide
“unprecedented insight” into the U.S. government’s foreign activities.
Nancy M. McNally, the State Department’s public affairs program
assistant for the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, sent CNA an e-mail
response Dec. 3.
“While we cannot speak to the authenticity of any documents provided
to the press, the Embassy condemns in the strongest terms any
unauthorized disclosure of classified information that could have
harmful implications on the individuals mentioned and on global
engagement in general between nations.”
The embassy’s response said the United States and the Vatican have “a
very productive
diplomatic relationship” on religious freedom and human
rights issues.
“Our interests and values are often similar, especially in the case
of religious freedom and human rights,” the embassy continued.
“We work
with our Holy See partners in a variety of ways to defend and advance
religious freedom in all nations and to advocate for the basic human
rights and fundamental freedoms of all people.”
The embassy spokesperson declined to speculate about whether the
leaks could endanger that work, saying that the State Department and its
embassies will not comment on materials, including classified
documents, which may have been leaked.
“As for our partnership with the Holy See, we plan to continue our
work in advancing human rights and religious freedom — along with other
important initiatives. The unauthorized disclosure of any classified
information will not change that.”
Noting the United States’ three decades of diplomatic relations with
the Holy See, the U.S. embassy told CNA it expected this “close
partnership” to continue “productively into the future.”
A journalist associated with WikiLeaks told the British newspaper The
Telegraph on Nov. 29 that some Vatican cables will be released “in the
next few weeks.”
Some international experts, including former National Security
Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, have voiced concern about whether the
WikiLeaks organization is being manipulated by “interested parties,”
including intelligence agencies, which are seeking to advance their own
objectives.
The organization is working with established media to obtain the
“maximum possible impact” and has given pre-release access to
journalists and researchers from five media partners.
These are the
French newspaper Le Monde, El Pais in Spain, The Guardian in Britain and
Der Spiegel in Germany. The Guardian shared its material with the New
York Times.
The five news organizations are working together to review the
material and to plan the timing of their reports, the Associated Press
says.
Le Monde's managing editor, Sylvie Kauffmann, told the Associated
Press that media partners have been advising WikiLeaks on which
documents to release publicly and what redactions to make.
New York
Times executive editor Bill Keller told readers in an online exchange
that the newspaper has suggested to its media partners and to WikiLeaks
what information it believes should be withheld.
Some of the redacted information includes sensitive material such as the names of State Department sources and personnel.
Earlier this year the New York Times came under fire for its coverage
of documents involving Pope Benedict XVI’s response to sex abuse
scandals in the Catholic Church.
The newspaper used documents provided
by a lawyer seeking to sue the Vatican in court.
Some media reports on
these documents also ignored a key Italian-language memo which provided a
broader perspective on the case of a sexually abusive Milwaukee priest.
SIC: CNA/INT'L