|
WCF Dialogue of Civilizations in Abuja, Nigeria – June
4-7, 2009
|
 The World Congress of Families’ first African conference will take
place in Abuja, the Federal Capital of Nigeria, June 4-7, 2009. The conference
is called World Congress of Families Dialogue of Civilizations. The theme is
“Plan of Action on the Family in Africa.”
The conference is being organized by the Foundation for African Cultural
Heritage (FACH) an umbrella group which includes NGOs such as the Association of
Concerned Mothers, Nigerian Association for Family Development, Doctors Health
Initiative, Life League Nigeria, Christian Association of Nigeria, Catholic
Bishops Conference of Nigeria and the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs,
Nigeria.
 Theresa Okafor, Chief Executive of Life League Nigeria, explains: “The
Conference will critique the African Union’s Plan of Action on the African
Family, particularly the promotion of abortion under the guise of women’s rights
and health, and the misrepresentation of the family and family values in
Africa.”
Speakers will include Prof. Chantal Epie (“Work and Family: Life Balance and
Family Friendly Corporate and Social Policies”), Engr. Jerry Okwuosa (“HIV/AIDS
Awareness/Prevention and Sexuality Education”), Prof. Steve Afolami (“Effective
Parenting: Strengthening the Family Through Parenting Courses”), Hon. Mrs. A.J.
Offiah – former Attorney General, Anambra State Nigeria (“Legal Framework for
Safeguarding Traditional Family Values”) and Theresa Okafor (“Abortion and
Women’s Health”).
A complete program will be available by November 30, at which time a website
for the conference will be up. The World Congress of Families Dialogue of
Civilizations will be held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
Abuja made a bid for World Congress of Families V. Theresa Okafor presented
for Nigeria at the International Selection Committee meeting, July 28-29, 2008. |
Marriage Amendments Pass In Three More States
|
 In the U.S. election on November
4, there were at least a dozen state ballot questions impacting the natural
family.
Amendments defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman passed in
California (52%- 48%), Arizona (57%-44%) and Florida (62%-38%). Arkansans passed
an initiative preventing adoption by unmarried couples. Defense of marriage
amendments now have been submitted to voters in 31 states – and passed every
time.
Elsewhere, the family did not fare well. Californians rejected a
 measure
requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor (52%-
48%). In Colorado, voters rejected an amendment defining human life as beginning
at the moment of conception (73%-27%). In South Dakota, an amendment limiting
abortion to rape, incest and risk to the mother’s life lost (55%-45%).
Washington became the second state to allow doctor-assisted suicide (59%-41%).
Embryonic stem-cell research was endorsed in Michigan (53%-47%). Massachusetts
decriminalized the possession of certain quantities of marijuana (65%-35%).
Michigan OKed so-called medical marijuana, including the cultivation of hemp
plants for that purpose (63%-37%).
And the United States elected the most anti-family president in its history.
Clearly, pro-family activists have their work cut out for them. |
Carlson's Speaking Tour
of Australia
|
 World Congress of Families International
Secretary Allan C. Carlson conducted a whirlwind tour of Australia (October
11-20), sponsored by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. Carlson visited
Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, delivering speeches in each city.
In Brisbane, he spoke at the Tattersails Club on “Third Ways” (how
family-centered economies developed and why they disappeared), a speech he also
delivered in Melbourne at a gathering of key leaders, thinkers, theologians and
writers.
In Sydney, the WCF International Secretary lectured on “The Natural Family in
an Unnatural World” on the Sydney campus of the University of Notre Dame -- an
address he later gave in Perth.
 Allan finished his tour in Perth, where he spoke to more than 200 at the 2008
National Convention of the Australian Family Association on “Just What Is
Marriage For?”. He also met with Michael Casey, private secretary to Cardinal
George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney.
Allan Carlson is the founder of World Congress of Families. He has a Ph.D. in
history, is the aut hor of many books, and is currently a Visiting Professor of
Political Science and History at Hillsdale College.
His book “The Natural Family: Bulwark of Liberty,” co-authored with Paul
Mero, is reviewed in this issue.
Dr. Carlson was recently interviewed by author Bruce Chapin on the connection
between mass schooling and declining fertility rates.
Click here for a transcript. |
World Meeting of Families in Mexico City – Jan. 13-16, 2009
|
  The World Meeting
of Families 2009 will take place at the Expo Bancomer, Santa Fe in Mexico City,
January 13-16, 2009.
Every three years, the Pope summons Catholic families to an international
encounter of unity in which thousands of families from five continents meet to
share, dialogue, pray and study in-depth important aspects of the role of the
Christian Family, including the family as a teacher of values. Confirmed
speakers include: Former Norwegian Foreign Minister Janne Haaland Matlary,
Cardinal Christian Tummi, from Cameroon, Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Québec, Dr.
Jaime Antúnez, Chile (Director of “Humánitas” magazine); Prof. Xavier Escrivá
Ivars from Spain and Anna Zaborska, member of the European Parliament from
Slovakia.
The initial blessing will be given by Cardinal Ennio Antonelli,
 President of
the Pontifical Council for the Family, Cardinal Norberto
 Rivera of Mexico, and
Msg. Carlos Aguiar Retes, President of the Mexican Bishops Conference.
Registration for the World Meeting of Families is $195 (U.S.) for individuals
and $350 for families.
Click here for more information.
A World Congress of Families representative is expected to bring greetings to
the conference. |
John Howard Speaks At The Heritage Foundation
|
 Dr. John Howard, a senior fellow
of The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society – parent organization of
World Congress of Families -- spoke on his new book, “Christianity: Lifeblood of
America’s Free Society,” at the Heritage Foundation on October 21.
Historian Paul Johnson says: “Dr. Howard has written a powerful and highly
rea dable series of reflections on the role Christianity has played in the
history of the United States. … This is a book those who love America will
cherish and learn from.”
The President of Rockford College (Rockford, Ill.) for 17 years, John
Howard also served as National President of the American Association of
Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities for three years. He is the
founder of The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society, and addressed World
Congress of Families III (“Thoughts About A Pro-Family Think Tank”).
Click here to order “Christianity: Lifeblood of America’s Free Society.”
Click here for Dr. Howard’s Heritage Foundation remarks (“Liberty
Revisited”). |
“The Natural Family: Bulwark of Liberty” Now Available
|
Anew edition of “The
Natural Family: Bulwark of Liberty,” by Allan Carlson and Paul Mero, is now
available from Transaction Publishers (in paperback for $29.95).
The book defines the family based on universal human experience. Insisting,
unapologetically, on the reality of the natural family, the manifesto calls on
men and women to rediscover this fundamental source of life, joy and freedom.
The authors frankly admit that, in the 1960s, champions of marriage and the
family were asleep at the switch, leading to a failure to challenge the left’s
assault on life, morality and the family. “Family values” has become an empty
slogan for those with a nostalgic attachment to the traditional family, but who
have little understanding of what and why the family is. Carlson and Mero
examine the family in crisis and describe what families can do to preserve the
most fundamental and wholesome human relationship.
Click here to order “The Natural Family: Bulwark of Liberty.” |
Summit On Marriage and Family – Atlanta, Georgia, November 19-20 |
  The Institute
for American Values will hold a conference (“For Children’s Sake: A Summit on
Marriage and Family”) at the Loudermilk Conference Center, Atlanta, Georgia,
November 19-20. The Summit is co-sponsored by the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue will welcome attendees. Speakers include Leah
Ward Sears (Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Georgia), David Blankenhorn
(President of the Institute for American Values), Joan E. Ohl (Commissioner,
Administration for Children, Youth and Families, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services), Brad Wilcox (University of Virginia) and author Barbara Dafoe
Whitehead (also of the Institute).
The summit will feature a dialogue between Blankenhorn and Jonathan Rauch of
the Brookings Institute (author of “Gay Marriage”) called “The Future of The
Family: A Conversation.”
  Other topics include: “Planning and Launching a Community Marriage
Initiative,” “The African-American Marriage Crisis: A Vision for Change,”
“Social Science and The ‘Family Wars,’” “Aging, Death and Dying in an Era of
Family Fragmentation,” and “Is Religion an Answer? Marriage and the Problem of
Fatherhood.”
Registration is $125 for those seeking continuing education credits (8 hours
offered for legal professionals, 13 core hours for marriage and family
therapists, and 13 related hours for social workers and licensed professional
counselors), $75 for all others.
Click here to view the full schedule and to register.
Click here for David Blankenhorn’s speech to WCF II. |
Partners Publish Issue Guides And Research Reports
|
 United Families
International, a World Congress of Families Partner, has a series of issues
guides (from 34 to 84 pages in length). Titled “Guides to Family Issues,” they
cover: Abortion, Sexual Orientation, Cohabitation vs. Marriage, The Marriage
Advantage, Divorce, and The Harms of Pornography. Each Guide may be ordered in
magazine format for $10.00 plus $2.95 shipping and handling from United Families
International (PO Box 2630, Gilbert, AZ 85299-5450) or downloaded by clicking
here.
 The Family Research Council, also a World Congress of Families Partner, has a
new Insight publication – “Should We Legalize Voluntary Euthanasia And
Physician-Assisted Suicide? A Review Of The Ethical Arguments And Of The
Empirical Evidence From The Netherlands And Oregon” by John Keown, PhD.
Available from Family Research Council.
Order line: 1-800-225-4008.
|
“DemographicWinter” Now Available In 5 Languages |
“Demographic Winter: the decline of the human family” -- the first
documentary on falling birth rates worldwide, and the consequences for humanity
in this century -- is now available subtitled in Spanish, Portuguese, Russian
and Romanian – as well as English (for the hearing-impaired).
Pro-family leaders agree that “Demographic Winter” is crucial to
understanding a mega-crisis which confronts us.
World Congress of Families International Secretary Allan C. Carlson explains:
“’Demographic Winter’ explores the severe economic and social consequences of
catastrophically falling birth rates, which are well below replacement level, in
many places around the world. You can not afford to ignore this warning of the
threats we face from what some call the Demographic Winter of Western
Societies.”
Tony Perkins, President of The Family Research Council (a World Congress of
Families Partner), observes: “Demographic
 Winter is a timely account of a crisis
we can not ignore. The loss of confidence and decline of faith that afflict much
of the West are leaving us with empty cradles and emptier hearts. This film is a
call to recover the family so that we can renew our future.”
Filming for “Demographic Winter: the decline of the human family,” started at
World Congress of Families IV (Warsaw, May 2007). Those interviewed for the
documentary include WCF leaders like Patrick Fagan and Managing Director Larry
Jacobs.
To view a 4-minute trailer or to order “Demographic Winter,” click here. |
Second International Symposium on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide,
May 29-30,
2009 |
The Second International Symposium on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide will be
held at the National Conference Center near Dulles Airport, in the Washington
D.C.-area, May 29-30, 2009.
Co-sponsors are the Canadian-based Euthanasia Prevention Coalition,
Physicians for Compassionate Care, Not Dead Yet, the Care Not Killing Alliance
and No Less Human in the United Kingdom.
Given the recent legalization of physician-assisted suicide in Washington
State, the symposium should be of interest to pro-family activists everywhere.
Euthanasia is currently legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and
Luxembourg. Its socialist government would like to take Spain down this ominous
road. Oregon became in first state in the U.S, to legalize assisted suicide in
1997.
The First International Symposium was held in Toronto last year and covered
in the January World Congress of Families News.
Click here to read the story.
Click here for more information on the upcoming symposium. |
|
|
World Congress of Families relies on the generous support of pro-family
donors and activists such as you. Help us to build a truly international
profamily movement and set the stage for World Congress of Families 5.
Click here to make a
tax-deductible donation. |
Institute
for
American Values
 |
|
Spain’s Queen Sofia Speaks Out For
Natural Family
 Queen Sofia of Spain, the
Greek-born wife of King Juan Carlos, expressed pro-family views to journalist Pilar Urbano, as related in the just-published book, “The Queen Up Close.”
Generally known for her reticence, the 70-year old queen came out strongly
against a 2005 Spanish law allowing homosexual marriage. “I can understand …
that there are people with other sexual orientations,” the Queen told Urbano,
“But should they feel proud of that? Should they climb on top of cars and hold
parades?” The Queen said such unions should not be called marriages. Queen Sofia
also expressed opposition to abortion -- which was legalized in Spain over 20
years ago -- and euthanasia (which Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez
Zapatero wants to legalize). She also supports religious instruction in schools.
A socialist spokesman advised the Queen to “shut up.” Gay activist Beatriz
Gimeno attacked the monarchy as an “absurdly anachronistic institution opposed
to any social progress.” Juan Carlos’s sister, Pilar de Borbon, commented, “The
queen says what she thinks and does it divinely.” Polls show a high level of
support for the Spanish monarchy.
|
U.K. Counselor Fired For Refusing
To Offer Sex Therapy To Homosexual Couples
 Gary McFarlane, formerly a therapist with the Relate counseling service in the
United Kingdom, told The Daily Mail he was fired for refusing to offer sex
therapy to gay couples. A devout Christian, McFarlane says he didn’t mind
counseling gays on relationships, but could not, in good conscience, do anything
that would promote homosexual acts. When colleagues complained that he was a
“homophobe,” McFarlane was first suspended for three weeks, then terminated. The
therapist said he is “sad and disappointed” that Christians are subjected to
such discrimination. “If I was a Muslim, this would not happen,” McFarlane
declared. “They would find a way to make the system work. But Christians seem to
have fewer and fewer rights.” McFarlane hopes an employment tribunal will agree
that Relate violated his religious rights. In a similar case last year, a
marriage registrar was threatened with dismissal for refusing to marry samesex
couples. Instead of complying, she brought a suit against her employer – the
Islington Council – and won.
|
U.N. Agency Pressures Nicaragua To
Change Pro-Life Law
 In Geneva, Nicaragua was
attacked for its protection of the unborn. Diplomats from that nation were
called on the carpet by the Human Rights Committee (HRC), the U.N. body charged
with monitoring implementation of the International Convenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR). Although the 1966 treaty makes no mention of abortion
– which then was illegal in most countries – the Committee has chosen to read a
right to abortion into the convention. HRC members asked how a ban on abortion
could be justified in a secular state? The Nicaraguans responded that while
their government is secular, their society is 90%Christian and overwhelmingly
opposed to feticide.After Nicaragua outlawed abortion in 2006, Sweden cut off
all aid to Managua. Finland linked continued aid to changes in the abortion law.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega supported access to abortion when he headed
the Sandinista regime. Since being democratically elected to the presidency two
years ago, Ortega has consistently defended Nicaragua’s pro-life policies. Some
observers attribute the change to Ortega’s return to the Catholic Church.
Nicaraguan First Lady Rosario Murillo denounces the international push for
abortion as cultural imperialism by soulless societies where people “prefer to
raise pets instead of children.”
|
Queen’s Representative In Canada
Celebrates Androgyny
 Canada’s Governor General, Michaelle Jean, has installed a 20-ft mural celebrating androgyny (the condition
of having both male and female organs or characteristics) in Rideau Hall, where
government officials, including the prime minister and cabinet ministers, are
sworn in. The Governor General is the British sovereign’s representative in
Canada, as well as head of state and commander of the armed forces. The mural is
meant to depict the Okanagan tribe’s so-called androgyny. According to the
Governor General’s website, “In many Native tribes, the order of life learning
is that you are born without sex as a child; through learning, you move toward
full capacity as either male or female.” This endorses the notion of homosexual
groups that gender is not innate but chosen. The gay lobbying group EGALE asked
candidates in Canada’s recent federal elections if they would “commit to
fighting the discriminatory practice of labeling children male or female at
birth?” Presumably, the sex designation on birth certificates should be blank –
to be filled in later, according to whim. Androgynous indigenous native
Canadians were not available for comment.
|
|
|
|
World Congress of Families: Profiles
in Leadership
|
This continues our regular feature celebrating the women and men
who have contributed to the growing success of the international pro-family
movement.
|
C. PRESTON NOELL III
|
 C. Preston Noell has served as the Director of Public Liaison of the American
Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) for the past 15
years. He is also the TFP's Chicago Bureau Chief, and the editor of “Crusade
Magazine”, the TFP's bi-monthly journal.
Founded in 1973, TFP is a civic, cultural and educational organization of
Catholic inspiration that defends the perennial values of Christian civilization
and supports tradition, family and private property, with its two-fold function
-- individual and social. Mr. Noell is also president of Tradition, Family,
Property, Inc., a 501(c) (4) organization.
Noell splits his time between Washington, DC, and Chicago, where he works
with pro-life, pro-traditional family values organizations and those promoting
strong national defense. His work involves liaising with members of Congress and
the Administration, as well as with like-minded groups interested in preserving
Christian civilization in America.
Preston is fluent in French, Portuguese and Spanish and has traveled widely.
A direct-mail expert, from 1983 to 1989, Noell served as the TF P's Director
of Development. In this capacity, he launched and ran direct-mail campaigns
reaching well over one million people.
Under Preston’s leadership, on June 5, TFP – a World Congress of Families
Partner – ran double truck (two full-page) ads in The New York Times, The
Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, opposing the ruling of the California
Supreme Court (recently overturned by voters) mandating homosexual marriage.
For the entire month of October, TFP volunteers crisscrossed California
defending marriage as God intended it – between one man and one woman.
At noon on October 11, TFP held Public Square Rosary Rallies in cities across
the United States – over 70 in the Miamiarea alone and 50 in the Chicago-area.
Born in 1955, C. Preston Noell grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended
the University of Missouri at St. Louis.
Click here for the website of The American Society for the Defense of
Tradition, Family and Property. |
Marika Bertule
|
 Marika Bertule has a bachelor's degree in teaching and a diploma in financial
management (both from Latvia University) as well as a certificate in Crisis
Pregnancy and Post-Abortion Counseling from Care Confidential in the United
Kingdom.
Bertule has more than 15 years of business experience, including secretarial
and managerial experience.
Her involvement in the pro-life movement started in 2004, when she was living
in London and received training in crisis pregnancy counseling from Care
Confidential.
After graduation, Marika returned to Latvia and started the Crisis Pregnancy
Center in Riga (in August 2005), which she currently manages.
She has helped to train more than 100 volunteers for the Center. Bertule also
opened a Crisis Pregnancy Center in Kuldiga. Others are scheduled to open in the
next few months. In all, hundreds of people have received help, comfort and
counseling involving unplanned pregnancy and post-abortion syndrome.
The Riga Center also works with youth and the general public, explaining the
damage abortion does to women, men and families.
The Centers seek dramatic changes in Latvian abortion law, beginning with
mandatory counseling before an abortion is performed, and information packets,
given to all women.
Marika is a member of the board of directors of the Family Association, a
coalition of NGOs (including the Latvian Crisis Pregnancy Centers) working to
make Latvian law more family friendly, as well as developing and implementing
family education programs in the schools. The Crisis Pregnancy Center is a
founder and participant in Riga’s annual Family Day celebrations in May.
 Bertule is also a member of the Mother and Child Health Council in the
Latvian Ministry of Health. The Council is charged with making policy
recommendations to improve the health of mothers and their children.
As the head of the Crisis Pregnancy Centers, Marika has done interviews for
print and broadcast, including with LNT and TV3, the nation’s leading television
stations.
Along with Riga Vice Mayor Almers Ludviks, Marika Bertule presented for Riga
when it made a bid to host World Congress of Families V, at the International
Selection Committee Meeting in July.
Along with other pro-family leaders, Bertule is working to bring a World
Congress of Families Inter- Parliamentary Meeting to Riga next May.
Marika is actively involved in Morning Star Church Latvia, a
non-denominational, evangelical church. She enjoys spending time with her
family, including her mother, father and brother. |
|
|
|
|
|
Americans United for Life
|
 The role of Americans United for Life (AUL) is crucial to the goal of
restoring a culture that respects human life, both young and old, born and
unborn. Its mission is to shape American law and culture through strategic legal
initiatives and public education.
AUL model education is drafted by its legal department to provide reasonable,
common sense solutions to an issue that has divided America for over 35 years.
AUL attorneys consult with legislators and grassroots lobbyists in all 50 states
on a pro-bono basis. It also conducts television, radio and print interviews,
and speaks before college and law school audiences.
When abortion- industry lawyers go to court to block life-protective
legislation, AUL attorneys provide strategic consultation to the offices of
state attorneys general who defend the laws. From providing a moot court to
preparing state attorneys for hearings, to handling cases themselves by
appointment, AUL attorneys use their litigation skills at all levels of state
and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, where they’ve filed briefs
in every major abortion case (including Roe v. Wade).
Finally, AUL lawyers shape public opinion and policy by talking with media
and authoring articles in major newspapers, magazines and review journals.
Click here for the website of Americans United for Life. |
Family First Foundation
|
 The Family First Foundation declares that the family is the fundamental unit
of society. Its strength, continued growth and stability are essential to every
state and home economy.
The Foundation believes that strong and stable marriages provide a safety net
for every age group in every society, in both developed and developing nations.
In this regard, it is working to affirm these fundamental principles and to
fortify and strengthen fathers and mothers as caregivers to their children.
The Family First Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that promote,
defend and support the natural family, in addition to providing financial
support to profamily, non-profit organizations. Family First Foundation also
provides organization, management, development and finance training and tools
that enable these organizations to provide programs and services that promote
the natural family.
The Family First Foundation provided initial support for the documentary
“Demographic Winter: the decline of the human family,” on rapidly falling birth
rates worldwide and what the phenomenon means for humanity’s future. Filming
began at World Congress of Families IV.
Click here for the Family First Foundation website. |
|
|
|
Join Us In AMSTERDAM: 10-12 August 2009
|
|
Thank you to all WCF Co-Sponsors for your
continuing support.
|
|
