Congratulations to World Congress of Families for withdrawing invitation to Iain Duncan Smith

I was heartened earlier this week to receive the email below from the World Congress of Famililes, announcing that it has withdrawn its invitation to Iain Duncan Smith, the British Cabinet minister, to address the next Congress in Sydney this May, following his vote in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill:

Decision to Withdraw Invitation to Hon. Iain Duncan Smith to Speak at WCFVII Sydney 2013

Dear Friends of the Natural Family, World Congress of Families, and the International Pro-Family Movement,

In a little over three months, we will convene the 7th World Congress of Families (WCF) in Sydney, Australia, May 15-18.  This Congress, with the theme “Happy Families, Healthy Economy: A New Vision for National Prosperity and Social Progress”, will be an historic event as the first Congress in the southern hemisphere, the first in the Asia-Pacific region and the first in an English speaking country.  Arrangements for the Congress are going very well and we hope you will make plans to join us and the delegates from more than 70 countries, in Sydney to affirm and defend the Natural Family (www.wcfsydney2013.com.au).

I feel obliged to inform you, however, that the Local Organizing Committee of WCF VII, with the backing of WCF Management Committee and the International Planning Committee, has withdrawn the invitation to the Hon Iain Duncan Smith, MP, UK Secretary of State, to be one of our keynote speakers at WCF VII.

In an unfortunate change of position, Mr Duncan Smith voted last week in favor of “same-sex marriage,” despite his many years of support for the natural family and traditional marriage as the first Roman Catholic to serve as the Conservative Party leader. The letter to Mr Duncan Smith from the Local Organizing Committee and Mary Louise Fowler (Chairperson) is quoted here for your reference:

“The World Congress of Families Organizing Committee has watched the debate in the United Kingdom regarding the government recognition of “same-sex marriage” with considerable interest and growing apprehension.

Regrettably, you cast your vote in support of the Marriage (Same-Sex) Bill last week, a bill which is at odds with the World Congress of Families’ definition of the natural family, marriage, and a child’s right to be raised by its mother and father. As a consequence of your vote, it is the decision of the Organizing Committees (Australia, New Zealand and International) that the invitation extended to you to be a Keynote speaker at the upcoming World Congress of Families 7, to be held in Sydney 15-18th May this year, be withdrawn.”

The WCF exists to affirm and defend the natural family as the fundamental unit of society necessary to renew a stable, free and prosperous  civilization.  The definition of natural family comes from a working group of the World Congress of Families, crafted in May, 1998, in a Second Century B.C. room in the ancient city of Rome. It is informed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), by the findings of science, by the wisdom of human nature through the ages and is consistent with the beliefs of the Abrahamic religions.  This definition reads:

The natural family is the fundamental social unit, inscribed in human nature, and centered around the voluntary union of a man and a woman in a lifelong covenant of marriage, for the purposes of:

• satisfying the longings of the human heart to give and receive love;
• welcoming and ensuring the full physical and emotional development of children;
• sharing a home that serves as the center for social, educational, economic, and spiritual life;
• building strong bonds among the generations to pass on a way of life that has transcendent meaning
• extending a hand of compassion to individuals and households whose circumstances fall short of these ideals.

Thanks to you, the leaders and supporters of the international pro-family movement, we will continue to stand strong for the natural family and for the children of the world!.

Blessings to you and your family,

Larry (Jacobs)

The World Congress of Families (WCF) is an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars, leaders and inter-faith people of goodwill from more than 80 countries that seek to restore the natural family as the fundamental social unit and the 'seedbed' of civil society (as found in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948). The WCF was founded in 1997 by Allan Carlson and is a project of The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society in Rockford, Illinois. To date, there have been five World Congresses of Families – Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004), Warsaw, Poland (2007) and Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2009), and Madrid (2012.)

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