US envoy criticised for religious activism resigns

The US ambassador to Malta, an important Roman Catholic supporter of President Barack Obama, said Sunday he would resign after a State Department report criticised him for spending too much time writing and speaking about his religious beliefs.
In letters to Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Douglas Kmiec said he would step down August 15. He told The Associated Press that no one pressured him to leave. Kmiec was a well-known conservative law professor and commentator before taking the post in 2009. But a report this month by the State Department's inspector general rebuked Kmiec for concentrating too much on issues such as abortion and his faith, while neglecting his ambassadorial duties.