U.S. Ambassador: celebrating diversity and religion as positive force for good

This week Americans are celebrating 236 years of independence from Great Britain. And they’re taking their fourth of July party around the world, wherever they may be. The U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, Miguel Diaz hosted one of the events here in Rome this week, speaking of his pride to be the citizen of a country which celebrates diversity. Speaking to Vatican Radio's Tracey McClure, he recalled one of his favourite mottos found on official U.S emblems and money: “e pluribus unum” or "out of many, one."

The son of Cuban exiles who fled to the United States, Ambassador Diaz recalls growing up in a multicultural Florida filled with Latinos, Europeans and Canadians.

“To me, it’s very meaningful because it does speak to the great diversity that constitutes the United States of America and to me, this is one of the greatest gifts that we can offer not only to ourselves but to the rest of the world. It really is about not affirming ‘sameness’ but really unity – and unity built upon distinction, human differences.”

The Ambassador recently returned from meetings at the State Department in Washington where he is a member of the Working Group on Religion and Foreign Policy instituted in the Fall of 2011.
In this interview with Tracey McClure, he explains why religion should not be viewed as a problem but an asset in the public sphere.

“When we hear about religious, religious actors or religion in society, we oftentimes hear from a negative perspective. So rather than see religion as a problem, we should primarily see it as a source of creativity, inspiration and commitment to human flourishing – that was very much part of the conversation in the United States.”

Listen to the full interview with Ambassador Diaz: