Via Religion Clause, the US Senate last week finally confirmed Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook to be the country's International Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom. President Obama was heavily criticized first for leaving the position vacant for as long as he did, and then for naming Dr. Cook, whose nomination was subsequently stalled for months in the Senate and had to be resubmitted earlier this year. RNS reports:
Thursday’s (April 14) voice vote positions Cook to become the first female and the first African-American in the post after a lengthy and controversial nomination process.
“I am … persuaded in my mind, heart, and soul that religious freedom is the birthright of all people everywhere; a foundation of civil society, a key to international security, and it must always be a pillar of U.S. foreign policy,” she said in a statement.
Cook will be the third person to hold the post, after Bob Seiple and John Hanford.
