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August 23, 2007
We Are Different, but Together
We Are Family That Believes In Family
�Certain truths are self evident �nature does not lie. Great nations cannot wish reality away or they will soon become the great nations of yesterday.�
Dr. Margaret A. Ogola, Kenya, pediatrician and director for Medical Affairs, Cottolengo Home for Children Living with AIDS
Dear Friends of the Family,
As a citizen of the great nation of Canada, the statement above has stuck with me since attending the World Congress of Families IV (WCF IV) in Warsaw, Poland last spring. Poland stands tall in Europe as a great nation and as one of the last remaining habitats for the traditional family. This nation and its leaders have paid a stiff price for their values.
Even so, Lech Kaczynski, president of the Republic of Poland and honorary patronage of WCF IV, courageously leads the people of Poland on a journey to the future, a future that depends on the family. His message included the following words:
�the future of our Motherland depends on the today�s condition of Polish families just as the fate of the world depends on the future of the families in all countries on all continents. That is why, as the president of the Republic of Poland, I support all initiatives for the consolidation of the rights of the family�
Thinking about the future, at the beginning we should consider what changes should be made as to make Poland, the European Community and other institutions of the international community become more friendly to families to which they owe its existence and for which wellbeing they are created.
I am convinced that we need today � in Poland as well as in all developed countries � the consolidation of the pro-family policy and promotion of attitudes and mentality within which friendliness towards families and affirmation of family values would be a natural thing. Decreasing population observed in the whole of Europe, tied with ageing may lead to a lasting collapse in the economic growth...
President Kaczynski acknowledged that raising families and nurturing marriages are not always seen as conveniences:
��starting of a family and having children is experienced as an inconvenience. Parenthood is postponed, a model of a small family is getting popular, with one child at the most, and more numerous are people who completely give up parenthood.�
Furthermore, many are giving up on marriage altogether, as evidenced by my seatmate on the flight from Warsaw to Frankfurt. She was a friendly Polish woman of 37 years, well educated and successful in her career. She was an only child, unmarried and cohabiting with her boyfriend. In our conversation, I stated some divorce statistics I�d heard at the conference: 80 percent in Jamaica, 60 percent in the U.S., 25 percent in Poland and just five percent in Taiwan. She seemed quite surprised and stated that 80 percent of her married friends in Poland had divorced. Another that she had just spoken to was considering divorce again as an option, they were both very busy traveling because of work requirements, they never see each other and have nothing in common to talk about. I said �how sad,� and she agreed.
My Polish flying companion was close to her mother and father and I could tell she would be there for them in their later years, but I couldn�t help but wonder who would watch over her in her later years, with no siblings, nieces, nephews or children.
This was a conference of hope and energy, of many working within their elements to protect and bless families� worldwide on such issues as the European population crisis, euthanasia, pornography, abortion, traditional marriage, tax relief for families and the natural family.
Although difficult, pro-family forces must come together to work on behalf of the family.
Dr. Richard Wilkins, a highly respected constitutional law professor, urged us to do two important things, on behalf of the families we treasure:
We need to work together,
We need to work smart
I want to personally thank all who contributed to make it possible for me to attend the World Congress of Families. We met great people from all over the world � people of different faiths, nationalities and cultures, yet, united in purpose. Yes, we are different. But together, we are family that believes in family. Let us not only believe in family, let us turn that belief into action.
Warmly,
Jo-Anne Dobson
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