Pro-Family Leaders from 35 Countries Oppose Same-Sex Marriage

On March 5, Mexico City began issuing “marriage” licenses to homosexual couples, based on a law passed last December by the legislature for the federal district including Mexico’s capital. WCF Managing Director Larry Jacobs called it “another body blow to the institution of marriage and the family.” Earlier, more than 130 pro-family/pro-life leaders from 35 countries signed the World Congress of Families Leadership Petition To Save Marriage In Mexico City. The Petition was transmitted to Red Familia (The Family Network), a World Congress of Families Partner, which is leading the fight for traditional marriage in Mexico. The Petition notes that, “Mexico’s Constitution defines marriage as between a man and a woman.” Further, that all social ills begin with the decline of the family. Also that “marriage substitutes … undermine marriage and the family.” The Petition observes that “children need both a mother and a father” and that those raised by two men or two women are “psychologically and socially disadvantaged.” The Petition called on the government of Mexico City to refrain from implementing same-sex marriage and demanded that the issue be decided at the national level, “with due regard to the nation’s religious traditions, the wishes of the Mexican people and the needs of children and families, and consistent with Mexico’s Constitution.” U.S. signers (signing as individuals) include: Gary Bauer (American Values), Allan Carlson (World Congress of Families), Gwendolyn Landolt (REAL Women of Canada), Tom DeLay (former Majority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives), Joseph Meaney (Human Life International), Tony Perkins (Family Research Council), Michele Velasco (Priests for Life), Tim Wildmon (American Family Association), Wendy Wright (Concerned Women for America), Maggie Gallagher (National Organization for Marriage), Dr. Paige Patterson (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary),Yuri Mantilla (Focus on the Family) and Dr. Jerry Newcombe (Coral Ridge Ministries). Worldwide, signers include leaders of: the Free Synod of the Swedish Church, the Institute for Family Policies (Norway), the Association for the Defense of Life (Costa Rica), the Alliance of Romania’s Families, the World Movement of Mothers, the Family Values Organizing Committee (United Kingdom), the Christian Legal Centre (U.K.), The Pro-Family Coalition of Moldavia, Action for the Family (Belgium), Forum for Life (Slovakia), Endeavor Forum (Australia), Foundation for Family and the Future (Ecuador), Trinity Foundation (Bolivia), Campaign Life Coalition (Canada), the Forum of Polish Women, the Parents Forum (Switzerland), the National Association, Pro-Life and Pro- Family (Brazil), Gift of Life (Malta), Alliance for the Family (Latin America and Europe), the Institute of Politics and the Family (France), the Association for the Defense of Christian Values (Italy), the Fr. Peter Skarga Institute (Poland), the Zhin Life Center (Russia), the Foundation for African Cultural Heritage (Nigeria), the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations, the Spanish Family Forum, Make Yourself Heard (Spain) and Pro-Life Aragon (Spain) among others. Jacobs observed: “Marriage substitutes degrade the family and deny children the right to a mother and father. The Federal District of Mexico City is essentially saying that any two people who are living together can designate themselves a family and have that arrangement endorsed by the state. After homosexual marriage, can group marriage be far behind? Anti-family forces are intent on undermining the family, by attacking its uniqueness and denying children their biological mothers and fathers.” Red Familia will deliver the Petition to Mexican officials. We hope it will strengthen the hand of Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who’s gone to court to have Mexico City’s move nullified. Click here to read the World Congress of Families Leadership Petition to Save Marriage In Mexico City, along with the full list of signers. Click here for the WCF press release of February 15, “World Congress of Families Dismayed by Mexico City’s Attack on Children and Marriage.”

WCF Letter of Solidarity Read at Pro-Life Rally in Madrid 

On March 7, huge pro-life demonstrations took place in over 100 cities to protest Spain’s new abortion law, which went into effect on March 5. The new law allows abortion for children as young as 16 without parental consent, provides for abortion on demand up to the 14th. week, up to the 22nd. week if an abortionist certifies a health risk to the mother, and – in the case of fetal deformity and alleged threats to the mother’s life – beyond the 22nd. week. In the course of a march that drew over half-amillion to Madrid, Ignacio Arsuaga, president of HazteOir.org (Make Yourself Heard) – one of the march’s organizers and a WCF Partner – read a letter of solidarity from World Congress of Families to the Spanish pro-life movement. The letter is reproduced below. Dear Friends, The World Congress of Families (and our network of profamily groups from more than 65 countries) is grateful for the opportunity to express our unequivocal support for the Spanish pro-life movement as it fights against a new law which will allow abortion on demand. We sadly note that even under the current law, in 2008, abortion was the number-one cause of death in Spain, with more than 120,000 abortions taking place in the country that year – more than double the number in 1996 (51,000). All of this, while Spain faces the social and economic challenges of having one of the lowest birthrates in the world (as low as the birthrate in Greece). We congratulate the Spanish citizens who will march for life in dozens of cities and towns on March 7. We applaud the work of "HazteOir.org" (a World Congress of Families Partner), "Derecho a Vivir", "Médicos por la Vida" and the "Plataforma La Vida Importa." The commitment of the World Congress of Families here is reflected in our Mexico City Declaration of World Congress of Families III, which reads in part: “Every human person has intrinsic value throughout the continuum of life from fertilization until natural death. Every human life is a gift to the person, the family and society. >Taking innocent human life through abortion and euthanasia is a direct attack on human life and dignity.” Other World Congress of Families pro-life partners include the National Right to Life Committee, Priests for Life, Human Life International and Americans United for Life – as well as HazteOir.org. Please accept our gratitude for your efforts, and know that World Congress of Families stands in solidarity with you to oppose the expansion of abortion in Spain. God bless you in this noble cause. Respectfully, Larry Jacobs Managing Director, World Congress of Families

Jacobs to Speak at Leadership Institute Int’l Fundraising School 

World Congress of Families Managing Director Larry Jacobs will once again participate in the “Leadership Institute International School of Fundraising: How to Raise A Lot of Money in Your Country for Your Cause,” March 30–April 3, at Wellington College: Crowthorne, Berkshire, United Kingdom. The Leadership Institute has trained tens of thousands of activists from around the world in every aspect of political and non-profit work. This year’s International Fundraising School will cover such topics as: Personal Solicitation, Writing a Fundraising Plan (budgeting for long-term success), Vital Research on Donors and Prospective Donors, Building Strong Donor Relations, Adapting Fundraising Methods to Your Own Country, Direct Mail Fundraising, Building a Housefile, Analyzing Results, Foundation Fundraising, Planning and Organizing Successful Fundraising Events, Grant Writing, Effective Online Fundraising, and Organizations that Fund International Non-Profit Organizations (presented by Larry Jacobs). Jacobs also lectured at LI’s 2009 International School of Fundraising (March 24-28, also at Wellington College). The Leadership Institute has conducted activist training sessions during WCF IV (Warsaw) and WCF V (Amsterdam). Applications will be accepted up to the day of the event. Click here to reach LI International Coordinator Miguel Moreno. Click here for the website of the Leadership Institute.

Carlson Speaks At Regent University and Washington State University  

World Congress of Families Founder and International Secretary Dr. Allan C. Carlson, Ph.D., gave two important lectures in February. On Feb. 5, Carlson participated in the 5th Annual Reagan Symposium at Regent University – “The Future of American Culture.” Carlson explained how Swedish activists succeeded in replacing the role of parents as caregivers by moving the nation to collective (state-operated) day care, starting in the 1930s. He noted that this was a “Trojan horse tactic designed to smuggle socialist policies into capitalist societies through the family.” Whereas previously only 3% of Swedish children were in non-parental childcare, by the early 1980s, virtually all were. Dr. Carlson observed that the same process is occurring in the United States, where economic necessity has forced more women into the workplace and tax policies penalize marriage. However, Carlson reported, strong resistance is coming from home-schooling families, traditional religious groups that affirm marriage and family and a growing number of home-based businesses. Over 400 people attended the symposium, which was broadcast on C-SPAN on February 10. On February 18, Carlson spoke at Washington State University at Vancouver on “Beyond Capitalism and Socialism: Rebuilding an American Economy Focused on Family and Community.” In his address, Carlson focused on political thinkers and activists who: “In their deep respect for the integrity of the human person, in their allegiance to natural communities of family and village, in their celebration of the family farm and the independent shop, and in their devotion to private property could be labeled conservatives. At the same time, their commitment to the ideal of economic democracy, their refusal to treat human relationships as commodities like any other, their sympathy for the pluralism and peculiarities of small communities and their rejection of imperialism and military adventurism seem more attuned to the modern progressive label. They have been seekers after a ‘Third Way,’ a social and economic system that in important respects would be neither capitalist nor socialist.” Click here for Allan Carlson’s speech “Beyond Capitalism and Socialism”

In Oxford Union Debate, Crouse Opposes Legalizing Prostitution 

Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse, Ph.D., Senior Fellow and Director of the Beverly LaHaye Institute and a member of the World Congress of Families Management Committee, debated the legalization of prostitution before the Oxford Union (Oxford University) on February 23. Perhaps the world’s most famous forum, since 1823, 12 British prime ministers and five U.S. presidents have appeared at the Oxford Union, along with dignitaries like Mother Theresa and Henry Kissinger. A four-member team represented each side in the debate. Crouse’s con team included a member of the British Parliament noted for his pro-family stands, a superintendent of the Suffolk Constabulary, and a researcher for a British social service agency serving the homeless and rescuing prostituted girls and women. In her article: “What’s Wrong with Legalizing Prostitution?” on the American Thinker website, Crouse writes: “Our culture markets the ‘Pretty Woman’ myth of the glamorous prostitute earning big money from handsome johns. That works occasionally – as long as the girl is young, beautiful and lucky. Even then, the ravages of prostitution over time are not pretty. Street prostitutes often service as many as 10-15 men a night: little wonder they age rapidly, get tired out, used up and end up drug addicted, bruised and battered often at the hand of their pimps who take most of their earnings and get rich. …. Nearly half of the women in prostitution attempt suicide.” Click here for the Beverly LaHaye Institute website Click here for the Concerned Women of America website

WCF Nigerian Regional Congress Organizer On U.S. Speaking Tour 

Theresa Okafor, organizer of the World Congress of Families Dialogue of Civilizations in Abuja Nigeria (June 2-4, 2009) was in the United States in February on a speaking tour organized to coincide with Black History Month and National Marriage Week. The tour was organized by Susan Dutton Freund of ThinkMarriage, who met Okafor at WCF V, where the Nigerian leader reported on the Abuja prep-con. Among other forums, Okafor spoke at a Rockford, IL event, sponsored by WCF and The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society. She also spoke with students at St. Bernard’s School in Green Bay, Wisconsin. According to the University of Michigan’s World Value Surveys, Nigeria is the happiest country in the world. Okafor relates that to African family values. “It’s because we love God. As a result, we have a lot of hope. We also have unified families with a mom and dad, a love for children and a respect for our elders.” Okafor emphatically rejects the “conspiracy to strip Africa of its cherished values by international organizations like Planned Parenthood and the United Nations.” Theresa Okafor is CEO of Life League Nigeria and a director of the Foundation for African Cultural Heritage. Among the League’s accomplishments, Okafor noted, it’s kept sex education out of Nigerian schools. “The education of youth in the matter of sex is not something that should be done by the schools. It is something that should be done by families. The home is the first school of the child. It’s up to the parents to live up to their responsibilities to teach virtues.” Click here for Theresa Okafor’s “Report on the African Pre-Summit” at WCF V. Click here for the website of ThinkMarriage.

U.N. Report On A World Growing Old 

Last December, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the U.N. Secretariat issued a 96- page report – “World Population Aging, 2009.” Its conclusion: The most dramatic population aging in history, going on now, is the result of the worldwide decline in birthrates (by more than 50% since 1979). Since the United Nations usually opposes the natural family perspective, the report’s findings – which confirm what World Congress of Families has been saying for over a decade – are particularly interesting. We quote verbatim from the executive summary (emphasis added): “1. Population aging is unprecedented, a process without parallel in the history of humanity. A population ages when increases in the proportion of older persons (that is, those aged 60 years or over) are accompanied by reductions in the proportion of children (persons under age 15) and then by declines in the proportions of persons in the working ages (15 to 59). At the world level, the number of older persons is expected to exceed the number of children for the first time in 2045. In the more developed regions, where population aging is far advanced, the number of children dropped below that of older persons in 1998. 2. Population aging is pervasive since it is affecting nearly all the countries of the world. Population aging results mainly from reductions of fertility that have become virtually universal. The resulting slowdown in the growth of the number of children coupled with the steady increase in the number of older persons has a direct bearing on both the intergenerational and intra-generational equity and solidarity that are the foundations of society. 3. Population aging is profound, having major consequences and implications for all facets of human life. In the economic area, population aging will have an impact on economic growth, savings, investment, consumption, labor markets, pensions, taxation and intergenerational transfers. In the social sphere, population aging influences family composition and living arrangements, housing demand, migration trends, epidemiology and the need for healthcare services. In the political arena, population aging may shape voting patterns and political representation. 4. Population aging is enduring. Since 1950, the proportion of older persons has been rising steadily, passing from 8% in 1950 to 11% in 2009, and is expected to reach 22% in 2050. As long as old-age mortality continues to decline and fertility remains low, the proportion of older persons will continue to increase.” Some demographers have warned that rapidly falling birth rates could lead to a “demographic train wreck” – a situation where there aren’t enough people to maintain an industrial civilization. To order copies of “Demographic Winter: the decline of the human family,” and/or “Demographic Bomb: demography is destiny – the only documentaries on the phenomenon – click here

Second Annual Riga Family Forum Scheduled 

Last May, the Riga Family Forum took place at Riga City Hall, in Latvia’s capital. The Forum, which was a prep-con for WCF V, had the theme, “The Natural Family As A Value And The State’s Priority.” Speakers included: Inese Slesere (member of the Latvian Parliament), Almers Ludviks (Vice Mayor of Riga), Dr.Catherine Vierling (then on the staff of the European Parliament), Ainars Bastiks (former Latvian Minister of Families and Children) and WCF Managing Director Larry Jacobs. A second Riga Family Forum, also co-sponsored by World Congress of Families, is scheduled for May 14. The Forum, supported by the Riga City Council, will again be held at the Riga City Hall. Organizers are planning to invite local and international speakers and participants. This year’s Forum will focus on the following: 1) Family based on marriage: The best place for children to develop 2) Education: Family education in public schools 3) Health: Male reproductive health in the family context 4) Politics: Demographic Winter in Europe – birth rate, migration, abortion, euthanasia The Second Riga Family Forum will be a day-long event. Additionally, organizers are considering a discussion in the national parliament and a brainstorming session among international participants on May 13. For more information, contact Gunta Irbe by clicking here.

World Congress of Families Regional Congress – London, June 2-3 

World Congress of Families will have its first regional Congress in the United Kingdom in London, June 2-3, at the historic Baden-Powell House. The local host committee is the Families Values Organization. Invited or confirmed speakers include: Ted Baehr (Christian Film and Television Institute), Benjamin W. Bull, Esq.(Alliance Defense Fund), Paul Diamond (Barrister, Christian Legal Centre), Brenda Almond (Professor of Moral and Social Policy, University of Hull), Don Feder (WCF Communications Director), Dr.Farooq Hassan (Distinguished Jurist, Pakistan Family Forum), Marie-Claire Hernández,(Institute for Safety and the Internet), Louise Kirk, (Alive to the World), Miguel Moreno (Leadership Institute), Kathi Scott (Enduro Africa), Samantha Smethers (Grandparents Plus) and Christine Vollmer (Alliance for the Family – Latin America and Europe), as well as several members of the British Parliament known for their strong pro-family positions. Topics to be covered include: Politics of Marriage, public efforts to strengthen marriage – How Families Flourish in the 21st century – Strengthening Motherhood, a view of the profound meaning in the mundane – Balancing Work and Family – Strengthening Fatherhood – Family Values, without which a society can not flourish – Mental Health, how it impinges on the family – Declining Birth Rates, the economic, social and personal consequences. Information on registration will be included in the next World Congress of Families News. For more information, contact Vanessa Theed by clicking here

The Importance of Religious Liberty and Freedom Of Speech to the Family: International Legal Issues 

Excerpts from the World Congress of Families V speech of Benjamin Bull, chief counsel, Alliance Defense Fund “It is virtually accepted dogma among homosexual activists that religion and the Church pose a final obstacle that must be surmounted in order to achieve full ‘recognition.’ Cathy Renna, the former spokeswoman for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance against Defamation (GLAAD) has stated, ‘People often get their views [about homosexuality] from their religion, so we don't want the pulpit saying that being gay is wrong.’ Indeed, radical advocates of homosexual behavior will seek to censor or shut up any voice that disagrees with their views.” “In short, extremist homosexual activists have embraced an aggressive and radical agenda that promotes same sex ‘marriage’ and homosexual behavior above all else. Their goal is the destruction of any objective standard of sexual morality, attacking all institutions that reflect traditional religious views on these topics, and the censoring of any persons or institutions that express disagreement with their views. As prominent lesbian activist and Georgetown Law Professor Chai Feldbloom has stated, where there is conflict between the assertion of homosexual demands and religious liberty, ‘I’m having a hard time coming up with any case in which religious liberty should win.’” “The attacks against any expression or manifestation of religious beliefs opposing this agenda have taken on many forms. In recent years Alliance Defense Fund has been involved in numerous cases in which protected expressive rights and the exercise of religious beliefs and freedom have been assaulted.” “We have seen an ever-increasing and intentional application of ‘hate speech’ laws to religion-based expression and free exercise of religion. We have also seen a similar substantial increase in the intentional application of ‘anti-discrimination’ regulations to Christian ministerial organizations and associations that espouse traditional views on marriage and sexual morality.” “In the state of Washington in the U.S., we represent a Christian student club named the Truth Club, which was established to promote Christian virtues and moral behavior. Incredibly, the club was banned from its public school campus because it required that its officers and voting members be professing Christians and live a sexually moral lifestyle. The case has been in litigation for almost five years. In the UK, the University of Exeter banned the Christian Student Union, which was established over 50 years ago as a student Christian ministry for prayer, devotion, and fellowship. The group was banned because the Christian Union limited voting rights and leadership positions to students who were professing Christians and whose lifestyles reflected Christian moral values. After lengthy administrative and legal proceedings, the university finally relented and allowed the Christian Union to return to campus. The threat posed by such ‘nondiscrimination’ requirements to religious associations cannot be overstated. Indeed, such requirements are an existential threat to their very existence. Religious organizations exist for the very purpose of advancing and promoting their religious views, including views on marriage and sexual behavior. Requiring that non-adherents be permitted to lead or vote for leadership of such religious entities necessarily pre-stages their complete loss of identity and utter destruction. Indeed, it seems completely absurd that any group could be coerced by government action to allow people to join their group when those people want to defeat that group's mission or destroy the religious group itself.” “As already noted, ‘hate speech’ laws are equally pernicious. I was involved in the defense of Swedish Pastor Ake Green. As you may know, Pastor Green was sentenced to 30 days in jail for engaging in ‘hate speech’ when he preached a Sunday sermon in his church from the Bible on the biblical position on immoral sexual behavior. Pastor Green was prosecuted under Sweden’s ‘hate crimes’ law for ‘causing offense’ to the ‘homosexual community.’ After three years in the courts, his conviction was finally overturned by the Supreme Court of Sweden.” “These cases illustrate that we, as a society, are in grave danger. With the adoption and application of ‘hate speech’ laws, we have re-created the notion of ‘heresy’ and ‘orthodoxy’; some ideas are protected, others persecuted, and lives can be destroyed for holding the wrong ideas. Having re-instituted this post-modern brand of heresy, its old friend and companion, inquisition, cannot be far behind.” “It’s no exaggeration to state that unless formal safe-guards are adopted in the arena of traditional religious teaching and beliefs about sexual morality, we may well usher in a new period of darkness.“ “Religious charitable institutions with traditional scriptural views on sexual morality and marriage are now disqualified from obtaining government contracts or any financial assistance for the social services they provide, including feeding the hungry and helping the poor. Many of these religious-based charities provide extraordinary social services - like hospitals, half-way houses, and homeless shelters.” ”They are now forced to choose between providing assistance to the poor and the sick on the one hand, and adhering to their religious convictions on the other. Similarly, the Boy Scouts of America have lost equal access to public after-school facilities, the right to participate in state charitable fundraising programs, and berthing rights at municipal marinas generally available to the public. All of this has occurred because of the group's ‘unwavering requirement’ that members ‘not advocate for or engage in homosexual conduct.’ We have even seen the manipulation of tax laws used against churches that adhere to traditional biblical views on marriage and sexual morality.” “In Massachusetts, public schools have introduced students as young as kindergarten and second grade to books like ‘Who's in a Family,’ which prominently depicts homosexual and lesbian couples, and ‘King & King,’ which shows two princes marrying each other and engaged in romantic kissing. The state does not allow religious families to remove their children from these lessons. This is being replicated in several states.” “In considering the threat to religious liberty associated with same-sex ‘marriage,’ it is important to realize that none of the religious liberty cases I have discussed involve a choice between protecting religious beliefs on the one hand, and allowing persons to live in same sex unions on the other. Indeed, they involve no direct threat to such arrangements. Instead, the choice is between protecting the fundamental right to religious freedom and expression, on the one hand, and mandating that all individuals and institutions in society, including the Church, affirm homosexual behavior.” Click here for the full text of Bull’s speech.

World Congress of Families: Profiles in Leadership

MATHEW STAVER

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