World Congress of Families Joins in Celebrating National Marriage Week -- Points Out Marriage/Procreation Connection

World Congress of Families Managing Director Larry Jacobs stated: “The World Congress of Families is delighted to join with other organizations in celebrating National Marriage Week USA, February 7-14, 2011.”

The organizers of National Marriage Week call for strengthening the institution of marriage and celebrating the joy and fulfillment that marriage brings.

Jacob’s noted that the WCF Amsterdam Declaration, adopted at the conclusion of World Congress of Families V (2009), proclaims: “In solidarity with earlier WCF Declarations, we define the natural family to rest on the lifelong marriage of a man and a woman, for the purposes of welcoming and nurturing new human life, providing love, companionship and mutual support, building a home rich in functions, and strengthening the bonds of the generations.”

The Amsterdam Declaration calls for “sound laws and policies that will: support the natural institution of marriage; discourage divorce, especially when children are involved; protect the primary rights of parents to guide their children’s moral and practical education; protect the physical, mental, social and spiritual development of children; and guard vulnerable human life, especially at the beginning and end of the life cycles.”
World Congress of Families International Secretary Dr. Allan Carlson is the author of “Conjugal America: On the Public Purposes of Marriage,” from Transaction Publishers. In it, Carlson re-examines the basic bond of marriage to procreation.
Jacobs remarked: “It’s not surprising that the worldwide decline of marriage has coincided with a precipitous drop in fertility – 50% worldwide since the late 1960s. Demographers believe this birth-dearth will lead to depopulation sometime in this century. According to a Pew Research Survey, in 1960, two-thirds of those in their twenties were married, compared to only 26% in 2008″

“By highlighting the importance of marriage to our culture, National Marriage Week USA is providing an invaluable service,” Jacobs added.

In 2011, World Congress of Families will hold regional conference events in Riga (Latvia), London, Moscow – a first-ever Demographic Summit – and Lagos (Nigeria). Spain, India, Australia and Russia have submitted bids for World Congress VI (2012) or VII (2013).

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