Working to promote freedom of conscience for every person, no matter who they are or where they live.

ANNUAL LIBERTY DINNER FEATURES AMBASSADOR ANDREW BENNETT

Looking at someone’s picture can be much different than sitting next to him for two and a half hours.  Several weeks ago I saw the picture of the new Canadian Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, Andrew P W Bennett. I was interviewed by the “Voice of America” for Africa regarding this new position soon after Ambassador Bennett was appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on February 19, 2013.

But last Thursday I saw him in person and talked with him during the 11th annual Liberty Dinner.  We were delighted that Ambassador Bennett could be the keynote speaker and accept an award at the dinner.  Last year I had the privilege to sit at the same table number with the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Baird. He was the keynote speaker and he announced the new Canadian Office for International Religious Freedom. Having the newly appointed Ambassador with us this year justified hosting the annual dinner at the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC for the second year in a row.Ambassador Bennett  and Dr. Graz

The presence of Ambassador Bennett encouraged the visit of his US counterpart, Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook, who was the keynote speaker in 2011. Ambassador Bennett is not well-known in the family of religious freedom defenders. He is not a lawyer, but a teacher and a theologian. He is also a Catholic believer. His speech was precise, well documented, and marked by conviction. His audience was positively impressed. He accurately defined religious freedom and expressed his concern about the way it was being violated and threatened around the world. He also showed a willingness to cooperate with those who have been fighting this battle for many long years.  

Canada and Ambassador Bennett bring new life to the defense of religious freedom. The banner of this precious freedom is being lifted up by another country. This is good.  We can hope and dream to see other democratic countries joining Canada and the USA.

All countries which claim to take human rights seriously should think about their contribution to the defense and promotion of this basic human right.  Religious freedom is about more than religion; it is about human dignity and freedom of conscience to choose what we want to believe.

It was very appropriate to give the National Religious Liberty Award to Dr Charles Haynes, who is known for his work on First Amendment issues in public schools.  He is currently director of the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum in Washington DC.Dr. John Graz & Dr. Katrina Lantos-Swett

I also had the privilege of sitting with Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, the current Chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). I was honored to give her the International Religious Liberty Award. She belongs to a family of freedom defenders which has experienced tyranny and persecution. Her father, the late Congressman Tom Lantos, was the only survivor of the Holocaust ever elected to the United States Congress. I have something in common with her, as my Grandfather never came back from Dachau.

This 11th Liberty Dinner, and the second one hosted by the Embassy of Canada, was an event not to be missed. It again provided a great opportunity for officials, ambassadors, members of the diplomatic corps, and religious leaders to meet each other and talk together about how to defend this precious freedom. We must remember that there is neither human dignity nor human rights where there is no religious freedom.