Washington's relationship with the Holy See is too strong to be
undermined by WikiLeaks revelations, the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican
said in an AP interview Friday.
Among thousands of U.S. diplomatic
cables being leaked by the secret-spilling site are comments on
aggressive Vatican diplomacy to head off law suits in the sex abuse
scandals and claims that some Vatican officials harbor anti-Semitic
sentiments.
Miguel H. Diaz said there are always "ups and downs"
in any relationship and they sometimes end in divorce, but he didn't see
the WikiLeaks issue as "one of those situations."
Diaz represents
the Obama administration, which has come under sharp attack by some in
the Catholic church for its support of abortion rights and embryonic
stem cell research.
Pope Benedict XVI stressed the church's
position on the issues when President Barack Obama visited the Vatican
in 2009. Vatican officials said Obama pledged to seek to reduce
abortions, a promise the president made publicly during a visit to Notre
Dame University.
The visit was nevertheless opposed by conservative
Catholics because Obama supports abortion rights.
Obama's election
presented a challenge for the Vatican after eight years of common
ground with President George W. Bush in opposing abortion, an issue that
drew them together despite the Vatican's opposition to the war in Iraq.
"There has never been a time in any administration in which there is 100 percent consensus across the board," Diaz said.
The
United States only established formal diplomatic ties with the Vatican
27 years ago under President Ronald Reagan, who forged a close
relationship with Polish-born Pope John Paul II helped by their mutual
opposition to Communism.
From an era with a rallying cry of "tear
down this wall," Obama has moved to "building bridges" to overcome
differences, Diaz said.
He cited U.S.-Vatican cooperation on
promoting human rights and religious freedom, opposing the trafficking
of human beings and working with the Catholic charity Caritas on relief
efforts after the deadly earthquake in Haiti and elsewhere.
Hispanics
make up a large segment of the U.S. Catholic population, and the
Havana-born Diaz, a university theology professor who is a Roman
Catholic, is the first Hispanic to serve Washington as envoy to the Holy
See.
Polls showed Obama received a majority of Catholic votes.
SIC: AP/INT'L