Departure of ambassador offers new test of Obama administration's commitment to religious freedom
October 23, 2013
The resignation of Suzan Johnson Cook as US ambassador for religious freedom raises questions about the future of the American diplomatic efforts in that field, the Catholic News Agency notes. The Obama administration has been criticized for a failure to emphasize religious-freedom issues, and Cook’s post was vacant for over two years before she was finally appointed. Even when she took office, she was not given adequate resources for the task, said Thomas Farr of the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown University.
“If the position remains vacant, or if it is filled with someone not qualified to move this issue into the mainstream of diplomacy, that will confirm the views of the critics – including me – that the administration does not see (international religious freedom) policy as a priority,” Farr told Christianity Today.
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Posted by: unum -
Oct. 24, 2013 8:37 AM ET USA
Memo to Professor Farr: The Obama administration is not interested in religious freedom (as defined by the U.S. Constitution. The Church is considered the enemy of liberal progressive orthodoxy.
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Posted by: Defender -
Oct. 23, 2013 7:23 PM ET USA
I wouldn't hold your breath about a new ambassador. It took two years to appoint one and it seems that the position means little to this president. If one is appointed, it would probably be a career diplomat on his/her last job until they retire because it's obvious that religion means nothing to Obama nor to the people around him.
