t
CONFIDENTIAL
GVV 341/393/1
Reference
HKK 345/609/11.
Hong Kong Department
24
Cc EESD
WED
FED
Sce
FUSD
Flag A Flag E
Flag C
$$
Flag D
لله
No at
VISAS FOR HONG KONG FOR TWO POLISH ECCLESIASTICS TO ATTEND THE XVI WORLD CONGRESS OF THE AFOSTLESHIP OF THE SEA FROM 1-15 DECEMBER
1. Visa applications by the auxiliary Bishop of Gdansk Mgr Josef Kazimierz Kluz and his Chancellor Fr Wieslaw Zygmunt Lauer were referred to the Director of Immigration Hong Kong by our Embassy in Warsaw in early August. These applications were refused and on 2 November 1977 the Apostolic Delegation in London made representations to us for Mgr Kluz's refusal to be reconsidered.
2. A telegram Visa 662 was duly sent to Hong Kong by MVD on 8 November and later on 17 November a further telegram No 1 was sent to Hong Kong by the Holy See who had also been approached by the Vatican Government Secretariat on behalf of both the Polish
Both these telegrams appealed against the refusal
ecclesiastics.
of the visas.
3.
Hong Kong's reply to MVD tel Visa 214 of 12 November states that they are willing to reconsider the Bishop's application provided he travels on a Holy See travel document and not on a Folish passport. Hong Kong add that they are not prepared to extend such facilities to Fr Lauer.
4. A further telegram from Hong Kong to the Holy See MISC 141 of 21 November confirms their previous decision and explains that they remain opposed to any representation of Soviet bloc groups at moetings in Hong Kong and they would prefer the Bishop not to attend as a representative of the clergy in Foland or as a Polish national. They therefore suggest that if the Bishop can obtain a Holy See travel document they would reconsider his application but not that of Fr Lauer. They quote as a precedent the case of the Baptist Alliance Conference which is planned to be held in Hong Kong in 1978 and in respect of which the Hong Kong authorities are adopting a similar stand.
5. The probler seen by MVD is that the Bishop will be unlikely to be in a position to get a Vatican travel document which we understand are normally only issued to ecclesiastics who are serving in the Vatican and who apply for such documents in the Vatican itself. These documents are not normally issued outside the Vatican but even if exceptionally one was to be issued in respect of the Bishop the latter could hardly be expected to travel out of Poland on such a document.
6.
Unless it is considered that Hong kong should be urged to relax their policy on this occasion, and presumably for other future religious occasions, then there seems to be no alternative but to explain that the decision has been taken by the Hong Kong Government and that the FCC having questioned the decision is unable to intervene further.
23 November 1977
O
J H Mallett
Migration & Visa Department CI408 213-4266
CODE 18-77
SS 10/76
CONFIDENTIAL