WASHINGTON, D.C., July 15, 2014Russell D. Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Conventions Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, sent a letter to President Obama today, recommending he nominate U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R.-Va.) as the new Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.
Congressman Wolf is a tireless and unparalleled advocate for persecuted religious minorities, Moore wrote in the letter. No one has done more in fighting for human rights and the protection of religious minorities than him during his distinguished career of over thirty years in the United States House of Representatives.
Moore said the nomination of Wolf would be a signal to the world that passion for human rights is of key importance to the United States of America.
Obamas previous nominee to this role, Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook, served from April 2011 to October 2013, and the position has gone unfilled in the nine months since her resignation. In the letter Moore urged Obama to nominate another ambassador for this position without further delay.
The continual delay of a nomination communicates an indifference to the cause of religious freedom around the world on the part of the United States, Moore wrote. As you know, religious freedom is key in peacemaking, stability and security on the global stage. The ambassadorship is a key piece in our nation’s responsibility to act on behalf of the persecuted around the world, and to help fulfill the ideals you set forward in your speech.
The Southern Baptist Convention is Americas largest Protestant denomination with more than 15.8 million members in over 46,000 churches nationwide. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is the SBCs ethics, religious liberty and public policy entity with offices in Nashville, Tenn. and Washington, D.C.
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