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. 

They were joined later by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Italian Senator Marcello Pera for a roundtable discussion on similarities and differences in church-state relations between the United States and Europe. Media coverage was extensive. Journalists from major Italian and international news outlets, such as Panorama and the New York Times, were present; Ambassador Glendon conducted an on-camera interview with Rome Reports. At the event, Embassy Vatican distributed the published proceedings of two earlier conferences commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.