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  <title>Right Wing Watch</title>
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  <updated>2008-08-07T15:58:29-05:00</updated>
  <entry>
    <title>U.S. Religious Right Groups Not So Welcome in Europe</title>
    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/us-religious-right-groups-not-so-welcome-europe" />
    <id>http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/us-religious-right-groups-not-so-welcome-europe</id>
    <published>2007-04-18T14:48:23-05:00</published>
    <updated>2008-08-07T15:58:29-05:00</updated>
    <author>
      <name>Kyle</name>
    </author>
    <category term="Concerned Women for America" />
    <category term="Family Research Council" />
    <category term="Focus on the Family" />
    <category term="Religious Right" />
    <category term="World Congress of Families" />
    <summary type="html"><![CDATA[<p>The &ldquo;world&rsquo;s largest conference of   pro-family leaders and grass-roots activists&rdquo; is slated to take place next month   in Warsaw Poland.   Known as the <A title="http://www.worldcongress.org/" href="http://www.worldcongress.org/">World Congress of Families</a>, the event   is backed by various right-wing groups such as The Family Research Council,   Focus on the Family, Concerned Women For America, The Heritage Foundation, and   others. &nbsp;</p>
<p>The year&rsquo;s event, entitled &ldquo;<A title="http://www.worldcongress.org/WCF4/wcf4.prog.htm" href="http://www.worldcongress.org/WCF4/wcf4.prog.htm">The Natural Family &ndash;   Springtime For Europe and the World</a>&rdquo; is being held in Poland because   apparently it alone is <A title="http://www.worldcongress.org/WCF4/wcf4.ini.htm" href="http://www.worldcongress.org/WCF4/wcf4.ini.htm">last hope</a> for saving   Europe and the rest of the world from the &ldquo;demographic winter and &hellip; the   secularists&rdquo;:</p>
<blockquote><p>Europe is almost   lost; to a demographic winter and to the secularists.&nbsp; If Europe goes much of the world will go with it.&nbsp; Almost   alone, Poland has maintained   strong faith and strong families, though even Poland   comes under severe pressure to change.&nbsp; Poland has saved Europe before.&nbsp; It is likely she will save Europe again.&nbsp; On family and population questions, Europe   is the battleground in the early years of the 21st Century, and Poland   is the pivot point.&nbsp;&nbsp; It makes abundant sense that The World Congress of   Families IV meet among the brave people of Poland.</p></blockquote>
<p>Among those who have reportedly   agreed to attend is US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and   Migration <A title="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/62243.htm" href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/62243.htm">Ellen Sauerbrey</a> &ndash; and members of the   European Parliamentary Working Group on Separation of Religion and Politics are <A title="http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/news/pr/2007/EuropeanParliamentaryWorkingGroupLettertoSauerbrey.asp" href="http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/news/pr/2007/EuropeanParliamentaryWorkingGroupLettertoSauerbrey.asp">not   particularly understanding</a> about the Bush Administration&rsquo;s willingness to   lend the &ldquo;official U.S. government stamp of approval to [the] extremist and   intolerant views&rdquo; that will surely be espoused at this conference:&nbsp; </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We urge you   to withdraw from this conference because your participation provides an official   U.S. government stamp of approval to   extremist and intolerant views held by some participants and attendees. These   extremist and intolerant views include 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 the   European Union.</p>
<p>&hellip;</p>
<p>The   United   States rightly prides itself on supporting and   spreading religious tolerance, pluralism and inclusion. This conference, and   many who will be attending, reject that ethos outright. We have no problem with   people expressing beliefs and convictions that we do not share. In a free   society, that is right and just. However, we do object when foreign government   officials lend support to such views, especially when platforms are used to   denigrate and attack those with whom they disagree.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We&rsquo;re not   sure if any of those parliamentarians have been paying attention to American   politics for the past six years, but it doesn&rsquo;t seem very likely that concerns   over religious tolerance, gay rights, and xenophobia would cause Sauerbrey to   withdraw from a conference put together by a still-loyal group of the Bush   administration&rsquo;s ever-dwindling political   supporters.</p>
    ]]></summary>
    <content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>The &ldquo;world&rsquo;s largest conference of   pro-family leaders and grass-roots activists&rdquo; is slated to take place next month   in Warsaw Poland.   Known as the <A title="http://www.worldcongress.org/" href="http://www.worldcongress.org/">World Congress of Families</a>, the event   is backed by various right-wing groups such as The Family Research Council,   Focus on the Family, Concerned Women For America, The Heritage Foundation, and   others. &nbsp;</p>
<p>The year&rsquo;s event, entitled &ldquo;<A title="http://www.worldcongress.org/WCF4/wcf4.prog.htm" href="http://www.worldcongress.org/WCF4/wcf4.prog.htm">The Natural Family &ndash;   Springtime For Europe and the World</a>&rdquo; is being held in Poland because   apparently it alone is <A title="http://www.worldcongress.org/WCF4/wcf4.ini.htm" href="http://www.worldcongress.org/WCF4/wcf4.ini.htm">last hope</a> for saving   Europe and the rest of the world from the &ldquo;demographic winter and &hellip; the   secularists&rdquo;:</p>
<blockquote><p>Europe is almost   lost; to a demographic winter and to the secularists.&nbsp; If Europe goes much of the world will go with it.&nbsp; Almost   alone, Poland has maintained   strong faith and strong families, though even Poland   comes under severe pressure to change.&nbsp; Poland has saved Europe before.&nbsp; It is likely she will save Europe again.&nbsp; On family and population questions, Europe   is the battleground in the early years of the 21st Century, and Poland   is the pivot point.&nbsp;&nbsp; It makes abundant sense that The World Congress of   Families IV meet among the brave people of Poland.</p></blockquote>
<p>Among those who have reportedly   agreed to attend is US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and   Migration <A title="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/62243.htm" href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/62243.htm">Ellen Sauerbrey</a> &ndash; and members of the   European Parliamentary Working Group on Separation of Religion and Politics are <A title="http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/news/pr/2007/EuropeanParliamentaryWorkingGroupLettertoSauerbrey.asp" href="http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/news/pr/2007/EuropeanParliamentaryWorkingGroupLettertoSauerbrey.asp">not   particularly understanding</a> about the Bush Administration&rsquo;s willingness to   lend the &ldquo;official U.S. government stamp of approval to [the] extremist and   intolerant views&rdquo; that will surely be espoused at this conference:&nbsp; </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We urge you   to withdraw from this conference because your participation provides an official   U.S. government stamp of approval to   extremist and intolerant views held by some participants and attendees. These   extremist and intolerant views include 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 the   European Union.</p>
<p>&hellip;</p>
<p>The   United   States rightly prides itself on supporting and   spreading religious tolerance, pluralism and inclusion. This conference, and   many who will be attending, reject that ethos outright. We have no problem with   people expressing beliefs and convictions that we do not share. In a free   society, that is right and just. However, we do object when foreign government   officials lend support to such views, especially when platforms are used to   denigrate and attack those with whom they disagree.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We&rsquo;re not   sure if any of those parliamentarians have been paying attention to American   politics for the past six years, but it doesn&rsquo;t seem very likely that concerns   over religious tolerance, gay rights, and xenophobia would cause Sauerbrey to   withdraw from a conference put together by a still-loyal group of the Bush   administration&rsquo;s ever-dwindling political   supporters.</p>
    ]]></content>
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