(“I have prayed but one prayer: oh Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. And God granted it” [Voltaire]. The attack on the World Congress of Families IV and PRI’s participation is noteworthy; we’re in good company.)
“Allan Carlson, International Secretary of the World Congress of Families, called an attack by certain members of the European Parliament (MEPs) ‘an act of desperation.’ Carlson observed. ‘They are afraid of ideas about the family which diverge from their own.’
“In a recent letter… 19 European Parliament members urged Ellen Sauerbrey, Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration, to withdraw from World Congress of Families IV; which will convene in Warsaw, May 11–13 .…
“In their letter, the MEPs charged that some participants and attendees at World Congress of Families IV have ‘extremist and intolerant views,’ including ‘prejudiced attitudes toward foreigners, people from other religions, homosexuals, and the inclusive vision of what represents a family unit that has been developed by the United Nations and European Union.’
“Among those singled out for censure are Steven Mosher of the Population Research Institute (for speaking of the ‘demographic destruction’ of Europe), the Family Research Council, and Austin Ruse of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute. According to the letter, Ruse committed the unpardonable offense of joking about Hillary Clinton at a U.N. forum.”
“World Congress of Families Responds to Attack by Certain Members of European Parliament,” Christian Newswire MEDIA ADVISORY, 16 April 2007, http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/420282797.html; World Congress of Families Responds to Attack by Certain Members of European Parliament, Earthtimes.org, 16 Apr 2007 http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,90139.shtml
“The European Parliamentary Working Group on Separation of Religion and Politics has asked Ellen Sauerbrey, the Assistant Secretary of State For Population, Refugees and Migration, to withdraw from a forthcoming meeting in Warsaw organized by the World Congress on Families .…
“The letter…outlines the parliamentarians’ concerns about several individuals, including: Fr. Thomas Euteneuer of Human Life International, Steven W. Mosher of Population Research Institute, Austin Ruse at the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute and Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, as well as key sponsors including the Family Research Council and the Association for Christian Culture. The parliamentarians also voiced their concern about recent events in Poland, whose president Lech Kaczynski has made several homophobic statements and will give the opening address at the conference.”
“Members of the European Parliament Ask Assistant Secretary Sauerbrey to Withdraw From Conservative Meeting in Europe,” PRNewswire-USNewswire, Source Catholics for a Free Choice, 17 April 2007, http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=ind_focus.story&STORY=/www/story/04-17-2007/0004567469&EDATE=TUE+Apr+17+2007,+01:10+PM
“Joseph D’Agostino of the Population Research Institute, a non-profit research and educational organization, asserts that the American Psychological Associations report stops short by failing to mention the sexualization of girls as a result of the feminist movement. In a weekly briefing, he wrote, ‘The politically correct view is that the sexualization of girls and feminism are opposing forces, but in fact they have gone hand-in-hand.’
“D’Agostino attested that feminism teaches girls that chastity oppresses them and a girl must liberate herself sexually to be equal with men.
“‘They have taught that there are no natural limits to sexuality,’ he wrote. ‘Based on feminist principles, why shouldn’t little girls sexualize themselves? And why shouldn’t adult men and women view them as sexual if there is no such thing as unnatural sexuality?’”
Bethany Noble, “Too Young, Too Soon, Too Bad,” National Catholic Register, 1–7 April 2007, http://ncregister.com/site/article/2151
“Already, the skewed sex ratio has resulted in a rise in the kidnapping and trafficking of women, both within the country and internationally. Mail order bride services have mushroomed. which, for a fee of up to $2,400, import wives for Chinese men from other countries, especially Burma. Joseph D’Agostino, vice president for communications with the Virginia-based Population Research Institute (PRI), calls the one-child policy ‘a massive violation of human rights’ which affects both women and men.
“‘When it comes to sex selective abortion, it’s something that’s leading to grave social problems — the extermination of tens of millions of girls,’ says D’Agostino. ‘And of course it’s bad for the boys too because they’re going to grow up and not be able to get married. It seems to be against everyone’s interests except the very elite and the communist government that runs China, which has its own agenda and its own goals.’
“D’Agostino says Beijing has now become aware of the problems of sex selection, and recently introduced cash bonuses tor families who have girls, but the gap in the boy-girl ratio is still widening. Meanwhile, the one-child policy will remain firmly in place for another 50 years, the goal being to reduce China’s population from the present 1.2 billion to 600 million .…
“The Dying Rooms, a… documentary that created an outcry around the world, showed children abandoned in some of China’s state orphanages, uncared for and left to die in unimaginable misery and squalor, victims of the one-child policy. D’Agostino says 95% of China’s orphans are girls .…
“D’Agostino, who believes the gender imbalance ‘is turning into a huge global problem that’s getting, worse every year,’ says his organization would like to see sex selective abortion outlawed in the U.S. He says it should be more prominent on the U.N.’s agenda, and that countries need to work to ‘change the culture around this and hopefully change the laws.’
“‘There needs to be some sort of global approach to this because it’s fast becoming a social problem,’ says D’Agostino. ‘It’s not only immoral, it’s impractical, and people need to have a different mentality.’”
Joan Delaney, “Preference For Sons Causing Global Shortage Of Women,” Epoch Times, 16 March 2007, http://en.epotchtimes.com/news/7-3-16/52898.html.
