5^th World Congress of Families in Amsterdam

(Aug.11,2009): “Only the family can guarantee an authentic education in values,” said Bishop Carlos Simon Vasquez - the Under Secretary of Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Family. He made the statement in his inaugural address at the opening of the 5^th World Congress of Families that began on Monday in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. The theme of this Congress is “Modern Families: Traditional Values”.
Speaking on behalf of Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, the President of the Council, Bishop Vasquez said “ Family associations are an urgent need today, in order to promote the true identity of the family. “The Church,” he said, “cannot put families on the same plane as the individual or the State. The natural family, which is the source and treasure of society, must be sustained at every level”, he said and added, “Only the family can serve as a counterpoint to the current global economic crises, because it is a source of social solidarity and civil progress.”
The World Congress of Families is an international pro-family network of organisations, experts and people of goodwill from more than 60 countries. Its purpose is to defend the importance of the family as a social institution .