Values Voter SUMMIT – September 17-19, Washington, D.C.

The annual Values Voter Summit will be held September 17-19 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. The Summit is sponsored by FRC Action, Family Research Council, AFA Action, American Values, The Heritage Foundation, Liberty University and Liberty Counsel. Family Research Council and American Family Association are World Congress of Families Partners. This year ’s Summit includes a stellar lineup of speakers. Those confirmed include Gov. Mike Huckabee, Bill Bennett, Senator Rick Santorum, Rep. Michelle Bachmann, Rep. Mike Spence and Star Parker. Invited speakers include Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Michelle Malkin and Gov. Sarah Palin. Breakout sessions include: “American Apocalypse – When Christians Do Nothing Secularists Do Everything – The Case for Christian Activism,” “Indivisible: Social and Economic Foundations of American Liberty,” “Social Justice: Am I My Brother ’s Keeper?,” “The Falsehood of the Inevitability of Same-Sex ‘Marriage’,” “How to Reach the Online Generation (Without Losing Your Soul)” and “Who are the Tea Party and Christian Voters and What Do They Believe?” Saturday evening features a Special Gala Honoring Don Wildmon (Chairman Emeritus, American Family Association), and includes presentation of the James C. Dobson Leadership Award. The Values Voter Summit is the premiere family values event of the year. Registration is only $99, students $50 (scholarships available). Click here for more information. For more information, call 1-877-372-2808.

Allan Carlson To Speak At National Marriage Day Celebration In Australia 

World Congress of Families International Secretary Dr. Allan C. Carlson will be the Keynote Speaker at a dinner for Australia’s National Marriage Day on August 12th, in Sydney. National Marriage Day is celebrated on August 13 and marks the passage of the Marriage Amendment Act of 2004, by which the Australian Parliament defined marriage as “a union between a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.” The 2010 National Marriage Dinner will be held at the York Conference & Function Centre in Sydney, starting at 6:45pm. The leading historian of the family (the sponsors call him “one of the foremost pro-family warriors of our time”), Dr. Carlson will speak on “Why Australia Needs a Renewed Culture of Marriage.” Carlson maintains that the natural family, not the individual, is the “source of ordered liberty, the fountain of real democracy (and) the seedbed of virtue.” AFA is also involved in a national petition drive – a grass-roots campaign to retain the traditional definition of marriage. In conjunction with National Marriage Day, AFA is selling gold rosettes (roses fashioned of tinfoil) symbolizing marriage. Its goal is to have 100,000 rosettes worn across the country on August 13. The message of National Marriage Day – “Marriage is good for you, good for children and good for society.” Click here for more information on the National Marriage Day Dinner and to order tickets Click here to order rosettes Click here for the website of the Australian Family Association Click here to order “The Natural Family: A Manifesto” by Allan Carlson and Paul Mero

More Than 180 Leaders From 25 Countries Sign World Congress Of Families Petition Supporting “No” Campaign – Kenyans Opposed To Pro-abortion Constitution 

World Congress of Families Managing Director Larry Jacobs announced the conclusion of an historic petition drive “In Support Of The ‘No’ Campaign – Kenyans Opposed To The Pro- Abortion Constitution.” In less than a week, the Congress gathered signatures from more than 180 pro-life and pro-family leaders in 25 countries. Signers include former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Former Boston Mayor and Vatican Ambassador Ray Flynn and Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, as well as current or former members of the parliaments of Britain, Australia and the European Union, and the Congresses of Poland and the Philippines. Organizations whose leaders are represented include: Endeavour Forum (Australia) – Alliance for Romania’s Families – Christian Legal Centre (U.K.) – Family Values Organization (U.K.) – Priests for Life – Population Research Institute – National Federation of Orthodox Pro-Life Associations from Romania – Family Watch International – Tradition, Family and Property – Parents Forum Switzerland – Concerned Women for America – Alliance Defense Fund – The Family Network (Mexico) – Action for the Family (Belgium) – Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute – International Council of Catholic Men – Spanish Federation of Pro-Life Organizations – Spanish Pro-Life Association – Right to Life Spain – REAL Women of Canada – Lutherans for Life (Latvia) – Human Life International – Women for Life International – Catholics for the Common Good – United Families International – Heartbeat International – Liberty Counsel – Americans United for Life – National Right to Life Committee – Marriage and Family Centre (Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, Australia) – Filipino Family Fund – Silent No More Campaign – Christian Heritage Party of Canada – Religious Freedom Coalition – The Free Synod of The Church of Sweden – LifeSiteNews.com – LifeNews.com – Malta Unborn Child Movement – Hazte Oir.org (Speak Out, Spain) – The Justice Foundation – The John Paul II Movement for The Family (Mexico), Family and Society (Mexico) – Latin American Alliance for the Family – Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society – March of Repentance (U.K.) – Life Legal Defense Foundation – American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists – American Alliance of Jews and Christians – Association for the Defense of Christian Values (Italy) – Doctors Health Initiative (Nigeria) – African Anti-Abortion Coalition/Global Po-Life Alliance – Eagle Forum – Foundation for African Cultural Heritage – Institute for Judaism and Civilization (Melbourne, Australia) – Fr. Piotr Skarga Institute (Poland) – Campaign Life Coalition (Canada) – Vision America Action – International Right to Life Federation – Association for the Family (Congo) – Forum of Polish Women – Friends of Human Life Club (Poland) – Catholic Families for America – Zhin Pro-Life Centers (Russia) – United for Life (Guatemala) – Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission – The Beverly LaHaye Institute – Focus on The Family – Family Talk – Charismatic Episcopal Church for Life – Traditional Values Coalition – John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family (East Melbourne, Australia) –Women for Life Taiwan – Torah Jews for Decency – Rabbinical Alliance of America – Human Life International, Nigeria – Catholic Laity Council, Nigeria – National Institute of Family Life Advocates – Anglicans for Life – Happy Home Foundation (Nigeria) – Precious Life Ireland – European Network, Institute for Family Policies – Family First Foundation and Right to Life, Netherlands. Jacobs observed: “Kenyans are literally fighting for life – the lives of unborn children. The Constitution, which will be voted on by Kenyans on August 4, includes language which overturns current Kenyan law prohibiting abortion except to save the mother’s life. It would allow abortion when the mother’s ‘health’ is affected by a continuation of pregnancy. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines ‘health’ to include ‘complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.’ Thus, Section 26 of the proposed Constitution sets up a mechanism for abortion on demand.” Africa has been targeted by international population control groups for legalized abortion. It’s reported the Obama administration has spent over $23 million to promote Kenya’s pro-abortion Constitution in the referendum. Jacobs urged the people of Kenya to carefully consider the consequences of this fatal move, which could be the first step on a tragic road the West has followed, leading to one-quarter of all pregnancies in the U.S. ending in abortion. Click here for the text of the Petition and a full list of signers and affiliations.

WCF Communications Director Lectures On Declining FRC 

WCF Communications Director Don Feder delivered a Family Policy Lecture on June 24, at the Family Research Council, on “The Roots of Demographic Winter and the Global Economic Crisis.” Feder recently spoke on falling fertility rates at the WCF Regional Congress/Family Values Conference in London (June 2-3), at Warrane College at the University of New South Wales (May 13) and to the Endeavour Forum in Melbourne, Australia (May 14). Feder remarked: “We wonder why there’s no recovery. Liberals say more stimulus spending is the answer. Conservatives say cut taxes. They’re both missing the big picture – the impact of declining fertility and aging societies on economies. According to a June 16 story in The New York Times, in many parts of the country in May, housing sales dropped by 20% over the same period last year. Few observers relate this to the fact that the Baby Boom generation (the largest in U.S. history) is trying to sell large homes they no longer need, and the much smaller Generation X can’t pick up the slack.” Demographic Winter is a signature issue of World Congress of Families, which began discussing falling fertility in 1999 at World Congress of Families II. At the last Congress (WCF V, Amsterdam, 2009) the problem was addressed by both plenary session speakers and panelists. Click here for a webcast of Feder’s lecture. Click here for Feder’s speech “The Philosophical Roots of Demographic Winter” at World Congress of Families V. Click here to order “Demographic Winter: The Decline of The Human Family” and “Demographic Bomb: Demography Is Destiny,” the only two documentaries on Demographic Winter.

Real Women Of Canada Scores Victory with Human Trafficking Law   

On June 29, an amendment to Canada’s Criminal Code establishing a minimum sentence for child trafficking was signed into law. The legislation was championed by REAL Women of Canada, a World Congress of Families Partner. This amendment provides a minimum sentence of five years imprisonment for anyone convicted of trafficking a minor in Canada, and a minimum of six years imprisonment for cases with aggravating factors. Prior to this, Canada did not have a minimum sentence for child trafficking. An October 2008, “Report of the Canada-U.S. Consultation in Preparation for the World Congress III Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents,” recommended that Canada enact a mandatory minimum penalty for child trafficking. Last year, the “2009 U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons Report” noted the difficulties reported by Canadian law enforcement with securing adequate punishments against offenders. At a hearing of the Justice and Human Rights Committee of the House of Commons, on June 1, 2009, REAL Women of Canada (which was the only group to testify for the legislation) noted: “Human trafficking, which involves the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of individuals for sexual or labor exploitation, is in our opinion modern-day slavery. The offense of human trafficking is one of the three most lucrative enterprises carried out worldwide by organized crime, outranked only by the trade in weapons and drugs.” According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 600 individuals annually are known victims of human trafficking for sexual purposes in Canada; 800 individuals are victims for drug trafficking purposes, forced marriage, or domestic labor; and between 1,500 and 2,000 are transported across Canada for purposes of exploitation in other destinations, mostly the United States. The domestic trafficking of aboriginal and other women and youth from within Canada is a concern equal to that of the importation of individuals from abroad for the purposes of human trafficking. Congratulations to REAL Women of Canada on a job well done. Click here for REAL Women’s website.

Saunders Addresses 10th Annual Free Society Seminar in Slovakia 

The Free Society Seminar (FSS) celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. FSS was founded in 2000 by the eminent scholar, Michael Novak, in order to articulate the principles of a free society – economic, political and personal – for young people living in nations emerging from Communism. Novak, who founded the Tertio Millennio seminar a decade earlier (held annually in Krakow, Poland), based FSS in the nation of his ancestors, Slovakia. WCF Management Committee Member and Americans United for Life Senior Counsel William L. Saunders, who lectured there this summer, said: “I believe, that the future of Europe hinges on a few nations, including Slovakia, which have held fast to their cultural, religious, and moral traditions. Only they can prove a counter to the ‘liberationist’ agenda coming out of Western Europe.” Along with Saunders, instructors included Michael Novak, Father Derek Cross, and Robert Royal, the president of the Faith & Reason Institute in D.C., who is himself of Slovak descent. FSS divides its ten-day course between the Slovak capital, Bratislava, and Spes, a small town in the west. There are cultural outings aplenty (the wood carving in the Cathedral near Spes, for instance, is the finest seen anywhere in Europe), but the heart of the course is, of course, the lectures. The four teachers cover a range of subjects from human rights to political institutions to social theology to Lord of the Rings. Since students spend a full 10 days together, the normal barriers come down, and discussions are free-flowing and fruitful. Though FSS is located in Slovakia and half of its students come from there, the other half are mostly Americans, though other Central Europeans – Ukranians, Croats and Poles – are also represented. If you know young people (college and grad students) who would benefit from joining FSS as it enters its second decade, they may direct inquiries to Professor Royal at info@frinstitute.org The FSS webpage is www.freesociety.sk Click here for the website of Americans United for Life (a WCF Partner).

National Right to Life Committee Annual Convention 

The three-day, annual convention of the National Right to Life Committee was held this year on June 24-26 in Pittsburgh, PA. Upwards of 1,000 people heard excellent presentations from outstanding speakers on a wide range of pro-life topics. These included: Dr. Steve Zelinski on the Pain of the Unborn; Steven Mosher on Sex-Selection Abortions; Dr. Angela Franks on Margaret Sanger ’s Eugenic Legacy; and NRLC’s Douglas Johnson and Burke Balch, Esq., on the dangers of ObamaCare. Mark and LaRee Pickup gave a riveting account of a much-regretted abortion and Monsignor James Lisante, presented an inspirational speech that closed the convention at the Saturday night banquet. A primary concern for those gathered at the Convention was the strategy for repeal of the Obama Health Care Plan. President Dr. Wanda Franz declared: “Now, under the new health care law, it is not just the unborn who are threatened by the cold hand of government. Now it is also we, the already born, who are in danger, because the inevitable result of the new health care law will be the rationing of medical care. And rationed care leads to involuntary euthanasia of the elderly and of those whose ‘quality of life’ is considered too poor for modern medical care.” House Republican Leader John Boehner received the National Right to Life Legislative Leadership Award for outstanding pro-life leadership in Congress. Leader Boehner deplored the passage of the Health Care bill and expressed his concern, noting: “When human life takes a back seat to other priorities–personal comforts, economics–freedom is diminished. By contrast, when we affirm the dignity of life, we affirm our commitment to freedom…The defense of life and the defense of freedom are necessarily linked. We know this to be true. And if we accept it, then the current political agenda in Washington is a threat to freedom.” In spite of the set-back represented by the passage of the Obama Health Care Bill, the mood was optimistic. Executive Director, David O’Steen reminded attendees that 61% of the public does not want government health care providing any funding for abortion and 51% of Americans identify themselves as pro-life. They heard about new legislative initiatives, such as the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, and had many opportunities to learn about strategies to provide pro-life education and outreach. The National Teens for Life organization holds a parallel conference at each NRLC Convention. This year, NTL celebrated its 25th anniversary. Past presidents of the organization helped with the anniversary, including Derrick Jones, current Communications Director for NRLC; Joleigh Little, NTL co-advisor and Director of Wisconsin Teens for Life; speaker Dr. Angela Franks; and NTL founding president, Jack St. Martin. The next convention will be held June 23-25, 2011 in Jacksonville, FL. CD’s of the speeches may be obtained from NRLC.

WCF Sadly Notes The Passing of Father Paul Marx 

“Father Paul Marx was a good friend and supporter of the World Congress of Families,” said WCF International Secretary Allan Carlson. A pioneer of the pro-life movement, Father Paul Marx, OSB, died on March 20, 2010. Fr. Marx was born on May 8, 1920 in St. Michael, MN. He attended St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN and was ordained in 1947. He earned a doctorate in family sociology from the Catholic University of America in 1956. As a sociology professor at St. John’s, he recognized imminent threats to the sanctity of life and began to speak out against abortion, euthanasia and population control. In 1959, Fr. Marx became one of the first to fully commit to pro-life activism upon the American Law Institute’s release of its model abortion law. Fr. Marx founded the Human Life Center at St. John’s University in 1972. Human Life International, a World Congress of Families Partner, became Fr. Marx’s principle vehicle for spreading the pro-life movement. His 13 books include “The Death Peddlers: War on the Unborn” (1971) and “Death Without Dignity: Killing for Mercy” (1982). He traveled to all fifty states and 90 countries, helping to found Family Life International in the U.K, Australia and New Zealand, as well as the U.S. Population Research Institute, also a World Congress of Families Partner. Pope John Paul II told him, “Fr. Marx, you are doing the most important work on earth.” Click here for Human Life International (a WCF Partner). An international champion of the unborn, Fr. Marx will be missed.

Dr. Alveda King of Priests for Life Addresses the European Parliament 

Dr. Alveda King, niece of legendary civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., told the European Parliament in Brussels on June 22, 2010,“Abortion, like racial discrimination, is an assault on human dignity.” She continued, “In our hearts, we know this. For too long, though, we have looked the other way. We have not wanted to get involved. We have convinced ourselves that people will never change when it comes to abortion. I’m here to tell you that this is not true. I have seen change, in myself, in others, and in my nation. What happened with slavery and racism is now happening with abortion.” Dr. King is a Special Representative for Human Dignity for the Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues (PNCI) and Priests for Life’s Director of African American Outreach. Priests for Life is a World Congress of Families Partner. Gay Mitchell, MEP from Ireland, invited Dr. King to be the featured speaker at several well-attended events organized by Working Groups for Human Dignity. In addition to her address before lawmakers and staff in Brussels, she spoke at Parliaments in Westminster and in Dublin. During her visit, Dr. King met separately with Members of Parliament including Nirj Deva, President of the International Committee on Human Dignity and a Member of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group which co-sponsored the event in Brussels. In Westminster, Dr. King was the guest speaker for the launch of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Human Dignity.

A Different Approach To Sex Education 

Excerpts from the remarks of Louise Kirk at The Family Values Conference/World Congress of Families Regional Congress (June 2-3, London) “Teaching marriage makes practical as well as moral sense as soon as you look at the whole of life’s progression. One speaker well known to the World Congress of Families is Patrick Fagan. Had he been here I am sure that he would have told us how marriage lifts children out of poverty. It is obvious that a married couple is better off than a single mother, but did you know that a married man living with his wife and family can expect to be 20-30% better off than a co-habiting man in the same position? A large part of school education is designed to prepare children to earn a good living, and on these grounds alone it does not make rational sense to avoid teaching marriage. Marriage also provides an answer to a second sexual crisis which we are currently experiencing, one which I consider even more serious than that of teenage pregnancy: I am talking about the crisis of adult loneliness. I predict that the problems caused to society by teenage pregnancy will pale into insignificance beside the problems coming to us from loose unattached adults. We are beginning to hear about this in the press, but we haven’t even begun to meet its seriousness when the current generation of promiscuous youngsters grows into old age, having so messed up their lives that they are unable to bond into lasting relationships either with spouses, partners or children. We know about the financial problems of providing for pensions, but I am also talking about the social problems of actually caring for such unattached elderly people. One can understand why euthanasia has the potential to become as much of a scourge as abortion if we do not do something to stop it. So first, what are we going to teach? And second, how are we going to teach it? 1. The truth about relationships – We relate to others in our whole persons: spirit, mind and body. Authentic relationships are formed when the language of our bodies matches the language of our spirits and of our minds. Within marriage and the family, warm physical relations are appropriate, but most relationships in life are minimally physical. This includes the relationships we have with others at school, at work and in society at large. These relationships are not unimportant just because they are not physical. The reverse is true. The relationships we have with others, both of our own sex and with members of the opposite sex, are many and are extremely important and it is on them that the strength of society also rests. This needs training, and it is appropriate in youth to be shown how to relate well with others without thinking first of the physical.” “It is by learning how to form good friendships and working relationships with others that we forge the characteristics of a good husband or wife and in the process become good citizens.” “Part of understanding the physical side of sexual relationships is understanding the truth of our fertility. This knowledge should be imparted to children at the appropriate time and in an appropriate way. Here, I want to say something very important: Society talks about ‘Reproductive Technology.’ Add the word ‘Modern’ and we are given the impression that we have made solid scientific advances in methods of family planning and birth control. This is a sham. Using Modern Reproductive Technology we as a society have in fact: • Lost control of procreation – births occur out of turn and do not appear when they are wanted; and • Lost control of bonding – youngsters are bonding inappropriately at school and then failing to make the lasting bonds necessary in their 20s and 30s to found new families. Fascinating new knowledge of brain development actually shows us how sexual relationships change the physical pathways of the brain. Bonding really does happen, and if it happens inappropriately the capacity to bond again in the future is damaged. 2. Values – In addition to teaching the truth of human relationships, we need to teach that there are universal values, that there is such a thing as good behavior and bad behavior and that this includes sexual morality. 3. Virtues – These are habits of good behavior, which require knowledge of right and wrong but also strong willpower. The greatest of all the virtues is, of course, charity, the emptying of the self to love and serve others.” How are we going to teach “One cannot preach: children are quickly enticed if only by curiosity to try out the behaviors which are prohibited. One has to attract. Here we have to have confidence that the resonance of truth can in itself go a long way to appeal to children. But lessons must be fun and age appropriate, so that children want to learn. At this point, I return to Alive to the World. Christine Vollmer’s answer to creating an enticing program (of moral instruction) was to return to the age-old method of conveying moral truths, and that is by telling stories. The stories are about two cousins, Charlie and Alice, who grow up through the books alongside their readers, sharing the concerns typical of children of that age. Subjects are introduced at the appropriate time and not according to government diktat. The first book in our UK series, for age 7-8, talks about teamwork. Beginning with school games and sport, it shows how what is learned about rules and positions of responsibility on the games pitch also applies in the home, at school and in the wider community. The books are attractive so that children want to pick them up and read them. Because they are stories, there is no invasion of privacy (as one finds with some government sex-education curricula), and marriage and family life are portrayed very positively. The more intimate facts of sex education are reserved in separate stories downloadable by teachers from our website. These can then be printed out and given to parents to share with their own children with all freedom at an appropriate time. Before coming to a close, I want to draw attention to two features of Alive to the World: • By using stories, Alive to the World is able to set realistic scenarios which show how difficult life can be and how it presents us with conflicting priorities. The program is not based on sentiment, on general platitudes about being kind and thinking of others. It puts before the children the reality of temptation because, as we all know, virtue is forged by facing up to temptation, falling into it, saying sorry and starting again. • It is not a religious program, but it prepares the bed into which the seeds of faith can be planted. In this room we represent many faiths and we have talked about how we can co-operate in teaching family values. Alive to the World is an offering to all faith communities, and I hope that many of us will be able to work together in using it. Thank you.” Louise Kirk is the U.K. Coordinator of Alive to The World Click here for the full text of her remarks Click here for Alive To The World (www.alivetotheworld.co.uk)

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