WHEREAS we the delegates at this World Congress of Families place our trust in God and His Guidance in our deliberations; and

WHEREAS the delegates at this Congress have come together from all parts of the globe recognizing the present profound world crisis as is demonstrated by the decline of families in many countries both as the prime social unit and as the greatest contributor to the well-being, stability and moral values in those countries; and

WHEREAS Marxist and totalitarian regimes have intruded into and diminished family life preventing its normal operation and functions; and

WHEREAS in many democratic countries, cultural revolutions, materialism and sexual permissiveness have resulted in a destruction and denigration of moral values, thereby producing hedonistic societies in which extra-marital relationships, adultery and divorce proliferate leading to widespread abortion, illegitimacy and single-parent children; and

WHEREAS the United Nations, its N.G.O.s and agents, have pursued dangerous philosophies and policies that require population control, limitation of family size, abortion on demand, sterilization of men and women and have sought to persuade Third World countries to adopt such policies; and

WHEREAS this world crisis now involves well-recognized demographic implosions which, if unchecked, will ultimately lead to the extinction of entire nations and their cultures; and

WHEREAS those policies of Marxism, neo-Marxism, totalitarian welfare states and economic consumer capitalism which have forced mothers into the work force, have thereby deprived children of the proper benefits of full and continuous maternal care; and

WHEREAS the structures and family policies of modern societies (including their taxation systems) tend to weaken family life and discriminate against large families; and

WHEREAS we recognize and pay tribute to those developing nations which, despite poverty and economic hardship, have retained strong family-centered systems; and

WHEREAS we, the delegates at this Congress, realize that the need to confront these problems has become a matter of extreme urgency; therefore

WE DECLARE the family to be a man and woman bound in a lifelong covenant of marriage, as ordained by God, for the purpose of 

1. providing support, protection, love and companionship for both husband and wife; 

2. satisfying of male/female sexuality; 

3. welcoming and nurturing of children; and 

4. the continuation of the human race; and

WE DECLARE the natural family holds fixed characteristics rooted in human nature. The complementary nature of men and women is rooted in the psychological and physical differences between the sexes. The love of parents for their children, also rooted in human nature, uniquely qualifies parents to rear their own young. Children, for their part, innately long for a direct bond with their parents in whom they place their trust. Parents and their children constitute a unique natural community that is necessary to human spiritual, moral and intellectual development; and

WE DECLARE that the family is the first social unit, and it holds primacy over all man made communities, economic entities and governments; and

WE DECLARE that the family is the most important of all social units and holds primacy above all governments, institutions, the United Nations and other communities and that political theories and systems which place governments, their officials, institutions or other communities in a position of supremacy over the family are to be condemned and opposed. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 (and Amendments) recognize as inviolable the rights of families, parents and children to protection from state intrusion; and

WE DECLARE that all political theories and systems which elevate "the state" or a social class or "the collective will" to a position of supremacy are to be deplored and condemned; and

WE DECLARE that those philosophies which elevate the abstract "individual," thereby encouraging social fragmentation, are to be deplored. Radical individualism, often thought to expand liberty, has instead resulted in the consequent loss of liberty; and

WE DECLARE that many methods of reproductive bio-technology, such as gene manipulation, in vitro fertilization and cloning, can threaten marriage, the family, morality and religion; and

WE DECLARE that policies which undermine the family erode the bedrock of society, thereby undermining the very source of their own authority. Such policies include:

WE DECLARE that communities in harmony with human nature exhibit common traits in custom and law that include:

WE DECLARE that there is eternal hope arising from the knowledge that the destruction of human family relationships can never be complete; that love and mutual aid between family members are among the strongest of innate human motives and spring up in each generation; and that, while many persons in our age have been confused or mislead, we can yet celebrate that so many yearn for the restoration of the family to its central place in natural and loving communities.

WE CALL on all governments and the United Nations to promote policies supportive of the traditional family. We dedicate ourselves and our organizations to creating and sustaining communities that will protect and support family life. We pledge to establish ongoing structures of cooperation and communication that will defend the entity of the family and all its members in the millennium ahead.