Munich, Germany—The 2017 International Day of Families was celebrated by the Munich branch of UPF with a discussion promoting true family values.
“True Family Values as the Foundation for a Peaceful World” was the title of the program, which was held on May 20. It was the last of three events held in 2017 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation and was meant to stimulate discussion of the kind of reformation that humankind needs today.
Guest speaker Josef Gundacker from Vienna, Austria, spoke about the Family Forum, an organization that he founded in 2006.
"Family is the answer" is the motto of the Family Forum, he said. While this motto arouses the opposition of forces that are family-hostile, it also resonates with many responsible and future-oriented people. He reported about extensive connections with other family networks, including those in Germany, and about his efforts to promote family values in politics and society.
Mr. Gundacker condemned gender ideology, which he considers to be a deviation of the human spirit. The sexualization of children, starting even in nursery and primary school—which leads to children seeking their “social gender”—is almost an infringement of human rights, he said. The basically positive trend to equality of the sexes has become warped by gender mainstreaming, he said.
The speaker stated that the man-woman relationship must never become one of competition or result in war between the sexes. He stressed the principles of give and take, the complementarity of masculinity and femininity, and freedom through responsibility. Love in marriage and the family allows unity and freedom to develop, he said.
The family must be seen as the basic unit in which strong bonding relationships are formed, which lead to a dependable freedom, he said. The importance of parents must be re-established; children have the right to a good general framework for their lives.
There followed an animated discussion on how to find public acceptance for these ideals.
For further information, please visit www.familienforum.at or www.upf-deutschland.de