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In early August the venue for
the WORLD CONGRESS OF FAMILIES V was decided by the Selection Committee after it
had heard detailed proposals from potential hosts in a meeting held in
Washington DC between 28th to 30th July. This meeting was
held at the Army & Navy Club in which 16 experts selected from all over the
world participated as an adjudicatory panel. This Committee recommended
Amsterdam as the venue for the next World Congress which was endorsed by the
Managing Committee.
It may be mentioned that the
Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society is the organizer of the World
Congress of Families project that aims to unite people of goodwill and
coordinates the efforts of pro-family groups from more than 60 countries
worldwide.
This Center located in Rockford,
Illinois is an independent, non-profit research and education center that
strives to be the leading source of fresh ideas and new strategies for
affirmation and defense of the natural family, both nationally and
transitionally.
The Howard Center as an
institution assists in advocating the traditional norms of acceptable behavior
in the sense in which it has been handed down to us for centuries in
understanding marriage and family relationships. This message is firmly
entrenched in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which ordains in Article
16 (3) that:
“The family is
the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection
by society and the state.”
The World Congress of Families
(WCF) is thus an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars,
and leaders of public opinion that seeks to restore the natural family as the
fundamental social core unit and the ‘seedbed’ of civil society. The WCF was
founded in 1997 by Dr. Allan Carlson, president of The Howard Center who has
been rightly accorded the honor of being recognized internationally as the
leading moving spirit of this pro-family movement. Until now there have been
four World Congresses of Families with the first being held in Prague (1997) and
followed by congresses in Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004), Warsaw and Poland
(2007). Each Congress had its own place in historical evolution of this subject
and we hope that the next one will be as impact producing, if not more than its
predecessors. This can be stated categorically that these WCFs have helped to
encourage and support the natural family as an institution that is pivotal to
any society’s well being
The Selection Committee heard
proposals from the five potential host cities. It was a very difficult decision
that the Committee had to make and after examining a variety of factors,
Amsterdam was chosen. These discussions began on July 28th and
concluded on July 29th July after hearing presentations from
delegations that were bidding from five locations for an opportunity to host WCF
V. They were: Abuja (Nigeria), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Moscow (Russia), Riga
(Latvia), and Santa Cruz (Bolivia). Delegations from the bidding countries
included government and embassy officials as well. The Vice-Mayor of Riga
accompanied the Latvia delegation and high level officials from the Embassy of
Holland also appeared to support their country’s bid to host this mega event.
The key guideline for
a successful WCF V has to be that the forthcoming Congress demarcates an
emphatic policy of a positive, and clearly defined pro-family message about
the basic postulates and foundations epitomized by these kinds of inquiries :
“what we stand for?”, “why we are for it?” and “why our worldview is a better
choice for society?” These questions are indicative of the current
controversies surrounding this subject; it is hoped that during this next
congress powerful and well articulated addresses by learned speakers from across
the world will help answer these inquiries and also lay the platform for an
espousal of objective underlying this quest.
It is well to
remember and keep in mind that the time frame in which this Congress would be
convening is most important from an historical perspective. As I have pointed
out in considerable detail (see my two articles outlining these quintessential
points
http://www.greaterdemocracy.org/archives/696 dated Saturday 19 Jul 2008 and
http://www.greaterdemocracy.org/archives/701#more-701 dated
Wednesday 06 Aug 2008) we are certainly in an evolutionary sense at an
important juncture in the history of “family” at this time.
The Amsterdam Proposal included an identification of the three major thematic
lines on which discussions may take place in World Congress of Families V: (1)
traditional values & modern family (2) mirror images of the traditional family
in a global perspective by a comparative viewpoint and (3) Globalization, Family
on the move. Clearly this approach envisages an examination into a number of
contemporary problems pertaining to this field by keeping before us the history
of the many controversies that are currently troubling many who wish to see that
needed nourishment and protection of the traditional family values can be
located and provided in a timely manner.
Around the world several notable events on the subject of Family were taking
place when the Selection Committee for WCF V met at the end of July in
Washington. Some of these matters that I would now briefly advert to were
encouraging while some were positively most worrisome.
Clearly a land mark event that took place almost simultaneously with the meeting
of the Selection committee was the world dialogue between the great Religions of
the World. This meeting was held in Madrid, Spain (16th to 18th
July) and I had the privilege of witnessing contemporary history being made on
this delicate topic. In the presence of King of Spain the Saudi monarch Abdullah
opening this tremendous event observed
“We all believe in one God. We are meeting here today to say that religions
should be a means to iron out differences and not to lead to disputes.” In other
words the necessity of relying on religious beliefs was acknowledged to provide
the basic foundation in contemporary times in furthering the causes of moral
philosophy of marriage and the family.
The Madrid conference
had been organized on an initiative of King Abdullah (whom I had the privilege
of meeting in 2003 when I went to deliver the King Faisal Memorial Award Lecture
in Riyadh). Over 200 participants attended, including representatives of the
world’s major religions. Among them were the secretary general of the World
Jewish Congress, Michael Schneider, and Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who is
responsible for dialogue between the Vatican and Muslims. The International
Dialogue’s final communiqué had something very positive to say about Family.
The declaration issued at the end of the final
Session on July 18th in a press conference, inter alia, called for:
“Observing
peace, honoring agreements and respecting traditions of peoples and their right
to security, freedom and self-determination that are the basis for building good
relations among all the people of the world. Achieving this is a major objective
of all religions and prominent cultures.”
The declaration however did highlight the:
“Significance
of religions and moral values as well as the need for human beings to revert to
their Creator in the fight against crime, corruption, drugs and terrorism.
We also call upon the people to preserve the institution of the family and
protect societies from deviant behaviors.” (Emphasis supplied)
I think this
reference to the family in this declaration is the most powerful statement to
emanate in the international field since the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights referred to by me above. The Madrid Declaration manifestly contains the
genesis of the international legal issues that have been in the forefront of
many interesting arguments and debates regarding the place of the Family in
positive transnational law and the codified norms on this subject at the UN both
in New York and in Geneva.
An important statement that came simultaneously
with the issuance of the Madrid Declaration also needs to be noticed. Speaking
in Sydney, Australia, on the 18th July, the Pope warns of ‘critical juncture’
for Christianity. Pope Benedict XVI warned Christian leaders on Friday the push
to “unite” the major Christian churches was at a “critical juncture”, as
Anglicans leaders met in England to avert a schism over the ordination of women
and gays. The pontiff, leading hundreds of thousands of Catholics in World
Youth Day celebrations in Australia, also called on people of all religions to
unite against “sinister and indiscriminate forms of societal violence”. At a
local meeting with around 50 Christian leaders, including those from the
Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran and Uniting churches, the pontiff called on them to
fight for unity within the Christian faith. “I think you would agree that the
ecumenical movement has reached a critical juncture,” the leader of the world’s
1.1 billion Catholics told a meeting in Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral. “We must
guard against any temptation to view doctrine as divisive and hence an
impediment to the seemingly more pressing and immediate task of improving the
world in which we live.”
However, as submitted above about the same time
the Lambeth Conference was convened in the United Kingdom in which the mental
agony of the English Church was visible. Anglican bishops from around the world
gathered at Canterbury in England on the 18th July for a once-a-decade
conference amid splits between liberal and conservative elements of the church.
Around 650 bishops were to attend the 20-day conference, with the issue of gays
and women in the church was expected to dominate. About a quarter of the
church’s bishops — including most from Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda —
stayed away, a week after the Church of England approved the ordination of women
bishops. The matters of retaining the traditional concepts of Family were to be
raised in this conference. But the non participation of major African Christian
clergy from the Third World is most relevant. It strongly points to the fact
that perhaps the problems in following their routine religious practices in such
countries are different from those being seriously faced by their counterparts
in Europe and North America.
Two developments that have
recently emerged in the US are, however, quite significant for the pro-family
protagonists to ponder over. First, the question of adoption by same sex
couples apparently became an issue in this year’s Presidential Campaign. Senator John McCain was asked
whether he thought same-sex couples should be permitted to adopt children.
Senator McCain, an adoptive parent himself, replied, “I think that we’ve proven
that both parents are important in the success of a family, so no, I don’t
believe in gay adoption.” Homosexual
activists were greatly disturbed by this unequivocal stand and consequently
protested. Kara Suffredini of the Family Equality Council, a
group that promotes homosexual adoption accordingly remarked “He's
completely out of touch; there's no reason, except for the sake of red meat for
his base, to throw up screens in the way of children in foster care getting
homes.”
Contemporary research indicates that both a mother and a father are essential
for the healthy development of children.
Fathers and mothers are not interchangeable.
Yet, a number of U.S. states allow same-sex adoption, and many professional
institutions endorse it. While a more detailed examination of this topic is not
relevant to this piece, it is sufficient to mention that such delicate and
potentially provocative subjects may well be dealt within dealt with in the next
congress.
The second disturbing news for
the activists of the family came when a week prior to the convening of the
Selection Committee meeting in Washington; Governor Patrick of Massachusetts
signed into law the repeal of a 1913 state law that had prohibited couples from
being married in the Commonwealth if their marriage would not be recognized as
legal in their home states.
The effect of this repeal is quite significant
Because the overwhelming
majority of U.S. states do not recognize same-sex marriages regardless of where
they are performed, this Massachusetts law had effectively prevented non
residents of this state who were same-sex couples from marrying there. However,
now same-sex couples from any state who want to marry can marry in either
California or Massachusetts. Accordingly,
Massachusetts and California have legalized same-sex marriage for the entire
country, even if the couples’ state of residence does not recognize it as legal.
The only way to prevent this
particular development is by the passage of a federal statute to this effect or
by strengthening the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). A fundamental provision of the federal
DOMA is that it aims to protect any state from having to automatically recognize
a same-sex marriage performed in another state.
Ultimately the matter may well end up in
the US Supreme Court; but it is clear that the writing is visible on the
horizon.
Thus I
want to emphasize that if the federal
DOMA is repealed or fundamentally altered, it would severely undermine the
efforts to preserve man/woman marriage. In the current
environment therefore, the best option to protect man/woman marriage at the
state level is to pass state marriage amendments in as many states as possible
and to work to pass state DOMAs in the states that still do not have them. But
it is equally clear that, the recent
action in Massachusetts makes it even more crucial to pass the state marriage
amendments on the ballot this fall in states of, Arizona, California and Florida
As such it seems to me that the
next congress would be dealing with a variety of tough questions about
traditional marriage and family issues. I am certain that newer approaches would
be suggested to deal with the ensuing issues.
I submit, therefore, that there
may well be recourse to the following five point approach by us in the WCF to
acquire the level of protection and recognition for the Family.
The five-point
methodology for the realization of the objectives articulated above should be:
(1) Cooperation among religious,
cultural, educational, and media organizations to
(2) Consolidate ethical values,
(3) Encourage noble social
practices and
(4) Confront sexual promiscuity,
family disintegration and
(5) To combat other societal
vices.
The problem areas for
the family basically remain in North America and Europe; on the other hand the
support for the traditional values system for the family remains strong and
vibrant in most of the Third World and particularly so in Islamic countries. So
it can be hoped that with collective goodwill we may still be able to achieve
meaningful improvement qua such issues in such problem areas.
I have been an active
supporter of such avocations since 1997 when as a delegate to then GA Third
Committee I supported many initiatives of the pro family advocates in the
General Assembly and in the UN agencies in Geneva such as the erstwhile Human
Rights Commission and the Sub-Commission on Human Rights. I clearly notice
that while those that have a different life style are manifestly “successful" in
their efforts, the Family as an institution has grown and found more
enthusiastic followers world over. In this movement the international efforts of
the WCF is an important vehicle for achieving these goals and I felicitate Larry
Jacobs for having us put in our best towards the realization of these aims. | 
