IOF News — The Winds of Change…
President’s Message
Dear Friends:
The theme of our incredibly successful World Congress of Families XIII gathering in Verona, Italy this past March was, “The wind of change: Europe and the Global Pro-family Movement.” Throughout the Congress we heard from pro-family champions across Europe who reported the incredible momentum they were experiencing. We saw some of that first hand when over 20,000 people from across Italy and Europe descended on Verona to participate in our “March for the Family” event commemorating the conclusion of the World Congress.
This momentum has continued across the world, with pro-family movements and political leaders achieving incredible victories, including in countries like Brazil and Guatemala which elected national leaders supportive of our issues. In Italy, pro-family supporters made huge gains in regional and European elections, with the Lega party led by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, a pro-family leader who gave a rousing keynote address at WCF XIII in Verona, playing a prominent role. The Lega party is now the most popular party in Italy.
Meanwhile, the incredible pro-life movie “Unplanned” — which celebrated its international premiere with a screening for WCF XIII attendees in Verona — has continued to defy critics on the left. Despite an extraordinary effort to suppress publicity for the movie and limit the number of theaters willing to show the film, “Unplanned” became the top selling DVD on Amazon, with nearly 250,000 copies sold.
There’s a lot going on out there that shows that people are getting off the sidelines and into the fight for the family. Still, momentum is rarely a straight line, and recent developments in Italy underscore that powerful foes of the family will resort to all kinds of maneuvers to oppose pro-family efforts. It is being reported that after having resigned under pressure by Lega Party leaders including Mr. Salvini who favored new elections, Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has reportedly reached an agreement with archrival political foes to form a new government rather than face voters. Many experts have commented that it’s extraordinary that two weak forces, political parties on the decline, would propose to govern a nation based on a vow to avoid facing the voters they propose to govern. How long such an unholy coalition of convenience can survive now becomes an overarching question.
This edition of our newsletter covers all these developments, and more.
The International Organization for the Family (IOF) is proud of our work around the world to promote and protect the family and to advocate for timeless family values. We depend on individual supporters for the resources needed to conduct our critical programs. We are currently in the midst of an important fundraising drive where a group of supporters has come together to match every donation to IOF up to a total of $200,000. I ask that you make a generous donation to support us.
We have a lot of momentum on our side – the winds of change are indeed blowing in our direction – but to capitalize on this momentum it is critically important that our financial footing be strengthened. Please give generously to support our work realizing that your gift will be matched, doubling its size and effectiveness.
Thank you for all you do to support IOF and the worldwide pro-family movement!
God bless,
Brian |
The Winds of Change… – IOF News — August 29, 2019
