Source: Zenit
h ttp://w ww.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=62889
On December 1, 2004 Zenit reported, "This Friday the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See is sponsoring a conference on 'Religious Freedom: The Cornerstone of Human Dignity.' U.S. Ambassador Jim Nicholson spoke with ZENIT about the event and its context. [When asked,] 'Where did the idea for this conference come from and what are its aims?' [Nicholson said,] President Bush has said that religious liberty is the first freedom of the human soul. America stands for that freedom in our own country, and we speak for that freedom throughout the world...Religious freedom is a central element of United States' foreign policy, whose primary goal is to promote human dignity worldwide. Promoting religious freedom is closely linked to our broader efforts to build respect for democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and economic freedom and prosperity worldwide. Religious liberty is also a value and a goal we share with the Holy See, and a subject on which we collaborate closely."