[…] Walter Grazer, a consultant for the National Religious Partnership for the Environment, highlighted the role faith communities in America have played in caring for the environment and detailed President Obama’s climate change policies during a three-day visit to the Holy See. Over the course of his visit from June 3-5, Mr. Grazer met with Holy See officials, interviewed with print and radio journalists, and met a variety of lay and religious organizations.

[…] On May 28, 2009, the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See hosted a reception in honor of American veterans of the Anzio campaign in Italy during World War II. The veterans, each of whom had fought at the Anzio beachhead, were in Italy for Memorial Day ceremonies at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy, where many of the American soldiers who died at Anzio are buried.

[…] Embassy Vatican hosted a gospel music concert on February 20, 2009, featuring Timothy Martin and the Amazing Grace Gospel Choir in honor of Black History Month. More than 200 people listened to rousing renditions of gospel classics like "Amazing Grace" and "Little Light of Mine." Adding to the music was the setting in the centuries-old Jesuit church of Oratorio del Caravita. Guests - including a Cardinal, Ambassadors, and members of the Caravita community - received a colorful program highlighting the history of African-American achievements and describing the soulful story of gospel music.

Il giuramento di Barack Obama del 20 gennaio 2009 sarà il 56º giuramento presidenziale degli Stati Uniti, da quando George Washington giurò nel 1789.

Il giuramento avverrà durante una cerimonia che si svolgerà presso il Campidoglio degli Stati Uniti, sul lato Ovest dell’edificio che guarda il National Mall, seguendo una tradizione iniziata nel 1801 con il giuramento di Thomas Jefferson.

[…] In honor of the 25th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See, the U.S. embassy on January 13 convened an international conference on the American model of church-state relations. More than 200 officials, academics, diplomats, and students seized the opportunity to examine the success of the American system in enabling many religions to not only co-exist peacefully but to flourish. Three noted American experts on constitutional law laid out the history, and current understanding, of church-state relations in the United States.

[…] The powerful possibilities offered by philanthropy in terms of expanding access to the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the subject of a conference co-sponsored by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See and the Acton Institute on December 3, 2008. Ambassador Glendon began the conference by noting that while “U.S. assistance efforts over the past eight years represent the single largest development initiative since the Marshall Plan,” the “financial flows from private sources come to four and half times U.S. government foreign aid.”

[…] On June 20, the United States joined the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the international community in marking World Refugee Day. Secretary Clinton was scheduled to speak at a ceremony at National Geographic headquarters on June 18 to salute the fortitude of the world’s refugees and internally displaced persons. Unfortunately, she was unable to attend the event because of an injury.

[…] On June 18, 2009, President Obama sent to the U.S. Senate the nomination of Miguel Humberto Díaz, of Minnesota, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Holy See. Dr. Miguel Díaz is a Professor of Theology at St. John's University and the College of Saint Benedict in Minnesota.

[…] Secretary Clinton (June 16): "Today, the State Department releases our annual report on trafficking in persons. It underscores the need to address the root causes of trafficking, including poverty, lax law enforcement, and the exploitation of women. The Trafficking Report is not an indictment of past failures, but a guide for future progress. ...With this report, we hope to shine the light brightly on the scope and scale of modern slavery so all governments can see where progress has been made and where more is needed."

[…] The fifth issue that we must address together is religious freedom. Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition. I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia, where devout Christians worshiped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country. That is the spirit we need today. People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind and the heart and the soul. This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive, but it's being challenged in many different ways.

[…] On June 4, President Obama will give a speech in Cairo, Egypt, outlining his personal commitment to engagement with the Muslim world, based upon mutual interests and mutual respect, and will discuss how the United States and Muslim communities around the world can bridge some of the differences that have divided them. Be among the first to get highlights of the speech and tell us what you think.

[…] On May 12, 2009, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly announced that the United Nations General Assembly had elected the United States to a three-year term on the UN Human Rights Council. The United States sought a seat on the UN Human Rights Council at this time to underscore our commitment to human rights and to join the efforts of all those nations seeking to make the Council a body that fulfills its promise. We deeply appreciate the support of all UN member states that endorsed our bid. We pledge to work closely with the international community to ensure that together we address the pressing human rights concerns of […]

[…] "Our priorities are clear. We are deploying the tools of diplomacy and development along with military power. We are securing historic alliances, working with emerging regional powers, and seeking new avenues of engagement. We are addressing the existing and emerging challenges that will define our century: climate change, weak states, criminal cartels, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, poverty, and disease. And we are advancing our values and interests by promoting human rights and fostering conditions that allow every individual to live up to their God-given potential.

[…] We’re trying to green diplomacy and we want to do it every day, not just on Earth Day. That starts with our foreign policy, and accepting that climate change is more than a scientific phenomenon. It’s a political challenge, it’s an economic force, it’s a security threat, and a moral imperative.