WASHINGTON (RNS) The State Department fired back at a prominent Catholic ambassador who said the agency has a “rigidly narrow” view of foreign policy that neglects the role of religion in world affairs. “I can’t imagine an agency that has a broader portfolio,” State Department spokesman Evan Owen said on Monday (April 18). “We have…

(RNS) The State Department has a “rigidly narrow” view of diplomacy that neglects religion’s role in foreign affairs, a prominent Catholic ambassador charged on Sunday (April 17) as he announced his resignation. Other foreign policy experts have another name for it: Religion Avoidance Syndrome. And the departure of Douglas Kmiec as ambassador to Malta, they…

WASHINGTON (RNS) A New York minister will soon fill the Obama administration’s long-vacant position to oversee international religious freedom after the Senate voted to confirm the Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook for the post. Thursday’s (April 14) voice vote positions Cook to become the first female and the first African-American in the post after a lengthy…

WASHINGTON (RNS) The U.S. ambassador to Malta, who helped rally Catholic support for President Obama’s 2008 campaign, has spent “considerable time” writing on topics beyond the mission of his office, particularly about matters of faith, according to a new State Department investigation. The report from the department’s Office of Inspector General said Ambassador Douglas Kmiec’s…

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