Pope wants Muslim Turkey out of EU: WikiLeaks

International

oi-Abdul Nisar

By Abdul Nisar

Washington, Dec 11: The United States diplomatic cables released by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks has exposed that Vatican had tried to crack Muslim state Turkey's entry to European Union (EU).

The latest cables published in Guardian revealed that a cable sent from US embassy to the Holy See in Rome in 2004 claimed Cardinal Ratzinger, current Pope Benedict XVI, spoke out against letting Turkey to join EU.

In the cables, US diplomat said about Ratzinger "clearly understands that allowing a Muslim country into the EU would further weaken his case for Europe's Christian foundations".

But another cable sent in 2006 said that Vatican's acting foreign minister, Monsignor Pietro Parolin, refused the charges of acting against Turkey. Her said, "Neither the pope nor the Vatican have endorsed Turkey's EU membership per se. The Holy See has been consistently open to accession, emphasizing only that Turkey needs to fulfill the EU's Copenhagen criteria to take its place in Europe."

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