Contact: Don Feder, Communications Director, 508-395-0142; Judy Hodge, 815-964-5819, thc.wcf@gmail.org; both with World Congress of Families 

MADRID, Spain, May 25, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- World Congress of Families VI (May 25-27) opened at Madrid Palacio de Congresos today.

More than 3,000 will attend the Congress over the course of 10 days.  Speakers included religious figures, economists, sociologists, historians, legislators and pro-family leaders. Speakers on the first day of the conference (which touched on such issues as the case for marriage, Demographic Winter, the natural family and the revolution against the family) included Erich W. Kopischke (Elder, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) who noted: "Even though many people yearn for traditional family life, fewer and fewer have it. ... Too many young people do not marry any more. Many foster a variety of personal lifestyles, often driven by fun, freedom, and self-fulfillment.  The 'shareholder value' principle of the business world has crept into individual lives and families: low investment, quick and high return."

Douglas A. Silva, Ph.D. with Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, in a speech, "Demographic Winter as a Threat to World Peace" stated: "Third, this new age will not be the dawn of a 'geriatric peace.' It may be true that, as populations age, there might be no money for guns and no stomach for causalities.  But nations are aging at different rates.  In fact, this uneven demographic decline might serve as a catalyst for war: one's own demographic weakness as an incentive to act before it is too late (like Serbia in the 1990s), or the demographic weakness of one's enemies as a provocation to act."

Gwen Landolt (National Vice-President, REAL Women of Canada), speaking on: "Family, Social and Government Policies" observed: "In no way can a government supply the love, attention and self-sacrifice that most parents spontaneously offer their children."

Father Jaroslaw Szymczak (Family Institute of Poland) said: "The availability of contraceptives has left its mark on mentality: (1) fertility ceased to be a value and a symptom of health, while infertility and childlessness have become the desired condition; (2) the natural link between the sexual act and life-giving has been negated and the integrity of man-woman relationship -- undermined; (3) woman's psyche has been trained to oppose contraception; therefore, abortion not infrequently becomes the outcome of contraceptive failure."

Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse Ph.D. with Concerned Women for America, speaking on the benefits of marriage, commented: "The husband and wife together become a wealth-creating and wealth-preserving institution.  When marriage fails to perform that function -- as when single mother families predominate, the government has stepped in as a surrogate husband."

In the days ahead, the Congress will hear from individuals on the cutting-edge of pro-family policy research and advocacy.

For More Information Contact Don Feder (508) 395-0142 or Judy Hodge (815) 964-5819 or thc.wcf@gmail.org