Christian leaders from over 50 countries have registered to participate in the World Congress of Families V to be held in Amsterdam early next month.
Larry Jacobs, Managing Director of the World Congress of Families, commented: "We’re delighted by the way national representation is shaping up at World Congress of Families V. Delegates will be coming from 11 African states, and from as far away as Venezuela, South Africa, Moldova, Pakistan and Australia.”
Jacobs continued: “In terms of nations represented, this will truly be a World Congress of Families. And we expect that other countries will add their voices to a rising chorus in the next few weeks.”
Pro-family leaders, activists, scholars and officials from over 50 countries on five continents will gather in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, from 10 to 12 August to discuss abortion, marriage, pornography, and the exploitation of women and children.
The organisers say more countries are still expected to sign up for what it considers to be the first truly worldwide congress of families.
Jacobs noted: “The broad national representation at WCF V demonstrates that the issues we’ll discuss – including abortion, marriage, declining birth rates, child-care vs home care, education (including home-schooling), Internet pornography, the exploitation of women and children, threats to the family from radicals and multi-national organisations, and the role of faith in sustaining families – are universal, touching families in North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. A challenge to the family somewhere is a challenge to families everywhere.”
An anti-family group in the Netherlands, the Autonomous Feminist Action (AFA), has been mobilising against the congress. It is calling upon its supporters to stop the congress which it claims is against the “right of persons”.
An article posted on the IndyMedia Netherlands website by the AFA called the World Congress of Families a group of “fundamentalistic Christians” who “will plead for going back to the Christian traditions of traditional relationship between man and woman; whom it claims is against the right of persons, how they want to form and live their lives.”
The AFA characterised the Congress as “anti-feminist, anti-choice, homophobic and against divorce”.
“They see the Netherlands as a good place now to spread their ideas, which is not acceptable,” AFA stated.
“Clearly, the social left is terrified of the Congress bringing a pro-family message to what it considers its turf,” Jacobs responded. He has called upon more pro-family leaders to add their voices.
The World Congress of Families was founded in 1997 by Allan Carlson and is a project of The Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society in Rockford in the US.
