Senate confirms Cook for religious freedom post

A New York minister will soon fill the Obama administration's
long-vacant position to oversee international issues of religious
freedom. The Senate voted April 14 to confirm Suzan Johnson Cook for the
post.

The vote, coming after a lengthy and controversial
nomination process, positions Cook to become the first female and the
first African American in the post.

"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.