Dutch minister in controversy over family congress

The fifth World Congress of Families, which is being held in Amsterdam this week, has caused controversy due to the participation of the Dutch minister for youth and family, André Rouvoet.

There was spontaneous applause when Allan Carlson announced the winner of the 'family cup': a man who put nine children on the world, all within the same marriage.

That makes one a successful man in the eyes of the fifth World Congress of Families, which is being held in Amsterdam's RAI congress centre this week. The floor was then given to the winner's wife, who spoke of her husband's love and dedication to their family and God - until he died of cancer last year.

The 'natural family'

Allan Carlson is the secretary of the World Congress of Families and the president of the US-based Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society. He is the author of The Natural Family: A Manifesto, in which he argues that "we welcome more babies and larger families while others wage war against human fertility".

In his opening statement in Amsterdam on Monday he said families that deviate from the 'natural family' (man, wife, children) are at considerable risk of developing 'problems'. "The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the state," Carlson said.

In the audience were hundreds of activists who wholeheartedly agreed with Carlson. They wore buttons with the words "I stand for the Family!" or "Derecho a vivir" (Right to life). They had come to Amsterdam from all over the world for three days of speeches and workshops about the importance of family in society.

Rouvoet

One of the speakers – albeit via video link – was the Dutch minister for youth and family André Rouvoet, a member of the orthodox Christian party ChristenUnie. Rouvoet wished the participants "every success".

Rouvoet's participation in the World Congress was controversial from the start. His critics said it legitimised what they said was a right-wing religious gathering. Intellectuals, members of parliament for the Green party and the liberal parties VVD and D66, as well as a handful of demonstrators demanded that Rouvoet either stay away from the gathering or come out in favour of gay marriage, abortion and divorce.

The minister didn't go quite that far, although he did call on the participants to "build bridges" and to "think about how we can live together in a multicultural society with differing attitudes to the family".

Some Dutch participants, such as researcher Peter Cuyvers and Christian Democrat member of parliament Mirjam Sterk, held the view that it's a good thing to address a group of people who think differently. Another Dutch speaker, Annemieke van Woudenberg, gave an address in English about the evolution of municipal centres for youth and family in the Netherlands.

Gay threat

Still the World Congress was clearly dominated by those opposed to abortion, homosexuality and divorce. Some of the groups had names like 'Focus on the family' or 'Priests for life'. There were crates full of buttons with the words 'I regret having an abortion', and miniature feet "of the exact shape and size of a 10-weeks-old embryo". American participants approached passers-by asking them to sign petitions 'for the family' and 'against all threats against the family'.

One such threat is gay marriage, according to a pamphlet distributed by United Families International. Gay marriage encourages paedophilia, polygamy, all kinds of diseases and deviations, it said.

Another threat is the legal status of abortion in the US, said a participant from Washington, DC. "Abortion in America is legal up to the fortieth week of pregnancy, in other words: until birth. Or in any case there are doctors performing such abortions. That's just horrible." The woman's organisation, Rachel's Vineyard, organises therapeutic weekends for women who have undergone an abortion.

The Dutch Eleos foundation also had a stand at the World Congress. Eleos offers psychiatric assistance based on the Bible and has branches across "the Dutch Bible Belt", said collaborator P. van Dijke. Of course Eleos' therapists respect the lifestyles of non-Christians who come to them for help. But no, she said, they would not advise a pregnant 15-year-old girl to have an abortion.