Center for Family and Human Rights

Last updated
Center for Family and Human Rights Institute
Founded1997
Type Non-governmental organization
Focus Social policy
Lobbying
Anti-abortion
Anti-LGBT
Location
Area served
Worldwide
United States
Key people
Austin Ruse, President
Lisa Correnti, Executive Vice President [1]
Website www.c-fam.org

The Center for Family and Human Rights (C-Fam) is a right-wing United States-based advocacy group, founded in 1997, in order to affect policy debate at the United Nations and other international institutions. It was formerly known as the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute. [2] The 501(c)(3) organization is anti-abortion and anti-LGBT. [3] [4]

Contents

History

The Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute was formally incorporated on 11 August 1997 in Suffolk County, NY with three directors - Seth Perlman, Clifford Perlman and Jane Burke-Robertson [5] Initially nicknamed CAFHRI, the group was founded as an independent non-profit corporation by Human Life International-Canada and then with ongoing support from the headquarters of Human Life International (HLI), based in Front Royal, Virginia. Later nicknamed C-Fam, which subsequently became the group's corporate name, part of the group's mission was to work closely with the Holy See delegation at the UN. Austin Ruse subsequently replaced Anne Noonan as Director and shortly thereafter became president. [6]

In July 2013, Ruse was identified as a key member of Groundswell, a coalition of conservative activists and journalists attempting to make political change within the United States from behind the scenes. [7] Ruse is also the author of two books; Fake Science: Exposing the Left's Skewed Statistics, Fuzzy Facts, and Dodgy Data, published by Regnery, and Littlest Suffering Souls: Children Whose Short Lives Point Us to Christ, published by TAN Books.

In 2015, Monsignor Anthony Frontiero resigned from the organization's board of directors in protest when Ruse commented "The hard-left human-hating people that run modern universities should be taken out and shot." [8] Ruse said this was a figure of speech and issued a formal apology. [9]

The Center for Family and Human Rights is a member of the advisory board of Project 2025, [10] a collection of conservative and right-wing policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation to reshape the United States federal government and consolidate executive power should the Republican nominee win the 2024 presidential election. [11]

NGO at the United Nations

In February, 2014, the 19-member NGO Committee of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) unanimously approved C-Fam for Special Consultative Status. On April 23, 2014, the ECOSOC granted this status without objection. [12] [13]

Jessica Stern of the LGBT rights advocacy group OutRight Action International, commenting on C-FAM's United Nations mission, said that the organization "regularly releases homophobic vitriol". The civil rights advocacy organization Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has listed C-Fam as an anti-LGBT hate group, [4] :1 [14] and pointed out that Ruse supports the criminalization of homosexuality. [15]

In 2015, Stefano Gennarini (Director of the Centre for Legal Studies at C-Fam) publicly criticised Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in the Vatican, by accusing him of opposing the negotiating position of the Holy See on the issue of sexual and reproductive health. He also went on to accuse economist Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and a senior UN advisor, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of actively promoting abortion. This received a strong rebuke from Professor Margaret Archer of the University of Warwick, president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, who referred to "distorted criticism" and raised concern at Gennarini's "understanding of Catholic Social Doctrine”. [16] This, in turn, drew a rebuke from influential Catholic journalist Phil Lawler who wrote, "Archer’s ad hominem approach, and her unwillingness to engage the real issues in the debate, were unworthy of a social scientist. Her uncharitable attitude is unworthy of someone representing the Holy See." [17]

The London-based Guardian newspaper reported in May 2019 that C-Fam has "emerged from the extreme right fringe on abortion, sexual orientation and gender identity to become a powerful player behind the scenes at the UN. With a modest budget and a six-strong staff led by the president Austin Ruse, it has leveraged connections inside the Trump administration to enforce a rigid orthodoxy on social issues, and helped build a new US coalition with mostly autocratic regimes that share a similar outlook." [3] Subsequently, Reuters wrote, "Emails and memos from U.S. officials at the U.N. obtained by Reuters show the influence of the Center for Family and Human Rights, or C-Fam, a private U.S. research institute formed to affect policy at the U.N. to align with conservative Catholic views." [18] The SPLC has characterized the institute as being "heavily focused on global anti-LGBT work", citing its opposition to United Nations efforts to protect LGBT rights and to study and prevent anti-LGBT violence, and praise of American anti-gay activist Scott Lively. [19]

Staff

Besides Ruse, who is the president of the organization, C-FAM lists four staff members:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Poverty Law Center</span> American civil rights NGO, founded 1971

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white supremacist groups, for its classification of hate groups and other extremist organizations, and for promoting tolerance education programs. The SPLC was founded by Morris Dees, Joseph J. Levin Jr., and Julian Bond in 1971 as a civil rights law firm in Montgomery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family Research Council</span> American evangelical activist group

The Family Research Council (FRC) is an American evangelical 501(c)(3) non-profit activist group and think-tank with an affiliated lobbying organization. FRC promotes what it considers to be family values. It opposes and lobbies against: access to pornography, embryonic stem-cell research, abortion, divorce, and LGBT rights—such as anti-discrimination laws, same-sex marriage, same-sex civil unions, and LGBT adoption. The FRC has been criticized by media sources and professional organizations such as the American Sociological Association for using "anti-gay pseudoscience" to falsely conflate homosexuality and pedophilia, and to falsely claim that the children of same-sex parents suffer from more mental health problems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Family Association</span> American nonprofit organization promoting fundamentalist Christian values

The American Family Association (AFA) is a conservative and Christian fundamentalist 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States. It opposes LGBT rights and expression, pornography, and abortion. It also takes a position on a variety of other public policy goals. It was founded in 1977 by Donald Wildmon as the National Federation for Decency and is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi.

The Family Research Institute (FRI), originally known as the Institute for the Scientific Investigation of Sexuality (ISIS), is an American socially conservative non-profit organization based in Colorado Springs, Colorado which states that it has "...one overriding mission: to generate empirical research on issues that threaten the traditional family, particularly homosexuality, AIDS, sexual social policy, and drug abuse". The FRI is part of a sociopolitical movement of socially conservative Christian organizations which seek to influence the political debate in the United States. They seek "...to restore a world where marriage is upheld and honored, where children are nurtured and protected, and where homosexuality is not taught and accepted, but instead is discouraged and rejected at every level." The Boston Globe reported that the FRI's 2005 budget was less than $200,000.

"Gay agenda" or "homosexual agenda" is a pejorative term used by sectors of the Christian religious right as a disparaging way to describe the advocacy of cultural acceptance and normalization of non-heterosexual sexual orientations and relationships. The term originated among social conservatives in the United States and has been adopted in nations with active anti-LGBT movements such as Hungary and Uganda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission: America</span>

Mission: America is an American Christian right organization based in Columbus, Ohio and founded in 1995 that seeks to "cover the latest cultural and social trends in our country and what they might mean for Christians." The organization publishes articles on its web site about its views on homosexuality and paganism. Mission: America's founder and president, Linda Harvey, is an outspoken critic of LGBT rights, including same-sex marriage.

Louis Philip Sheldon was an American Presbyterian pastor, and then Anglican priest, and chairman of the social conservative organization, the Traditional Values Coalition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courage International</span>

Courage International, also known as Courage Apostolate and Courage for short, is an approved apostolate of the Catholic Church that counsels "men and women with same-sex attractions in living chaste lives in fellowship, truth and love". Based on a treatment model for drug and alcohol addictions used in programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Courage runs a peer support program aimed at helping gay people remain abstinent from same-sex sexual activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OutRight Action International</span> LGBTIQ human rights organization

OutRight International (OutRight) is an LGBTIQ human rights non-governmental organization that addresses human rights violations and abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. OutRight International documents human rights discrimination and abuses based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics in partnership with activists, advocates, media, NGOs and allies on a local, regional, national and international level. OutRight International holds consultative status with ECOSOC.

The World Congress of Families (WCF) is a United States coalition that promotes Christian right values internationally. It opposes divorce, birth control, same-sex marriage, pornography, and abortion, while supporting a society built on "the voluntary union of a man and a woman in a lifelong covenant of marriage". WCF comprises organizations in several countries, and most of its member partners are strongly active campaigners against abortion rights and same-sex marriage. WCF was formed in 1997 and is active worldwide, regularly organizing conventions. Its opposition to gay marriage and abortion has attracted criticism.

The Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society is a socially conservative U.S. think-tank and advocacy group that opposes abortion, divorce, and homosexuality, promoting instead the "child-rich, married parent" family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter LaBarbera</span> American journalist

Peter LaBarbera is an American social conservative activist and the president of the anti-gay organization Americans for Truth about Homosexuality (AFTAH).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois Family Institute</span> American Christian organization

The Illinois Family Institute (IFI) is a Christian organization based in Tinley Park, Illinois. Founded in 1990, its stated mission is "upholding and re-affirming marriage, family, life and liberty in Illinois", and it is affiliated with the American Family Association. The organization's legislative arm is the 501(c)(4) lobbying group Illinois Family Action, founded in 2010. The organization's executive director is David E. Smith, who in 2006, succeeded Peter LaBarbera, founder of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality.

SaveCalifornia.com is an American conservative activist group founded in 1999 by Randy Thomasson as part of Campaign for Children and Families (CCF). The organization is active in influencing public policy on various social issues, and has opposed California's FAIR Education Act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austin Ruse</span> American political activist

Austin Ruse is an American conservative political activist, journalist and author. He is the president of a nonprofit NGO, Center for Family and Human Rights (C-FAM), which has been listed as an anti-LGBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Through C-FAM and his writings, Ruse advocates anti-LGBT and anti-abortion conservative positions and has advocated for the criminalization of homosexuality.

D. James Kennedy Ministries (DJKM), formerly “Coral Ridge Ministries,” is an evangelical Christian media outreach founded by minister and evangelist D. James Kennedy in 1974. The group is listed as an anti-LGBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) due to statements and positions which the SPLC describes as falsely demeaning gay and lesbian people.

Family Watch International (FWI) is a fundamentalist Christian lobbying organization. Founded in 1999, the organization opposes homosexuality, legal abortion, birth control, comprehensive sex education, and other things that it regards as threats to the divinely ordained "natural family." It has a strong presence in Africa, where it promotes conservative policy and attitudes about sexuality through its United Nations (UN) consultative status.

References

  1. "Staff". C-Fam. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  2. "Hate group Alliance Defending Freedom center of anti-LGBTQ industry - Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News Archive". Windy City Times. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  3. 1 2 "Revealed: the fringe rightwing group changing the UN agenda on abortion rights". 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  4. 1 2 Wulfhorst, Ellen (2017-03-15). "US sends pro-family group to UN fuelling fears over LGBT rights". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  5. CAFHRI New York state certificate of incorporation, on file with CFFC.
  6. "BAD FAITH AT THE UN" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-08-14. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  7. Vicens, AJ (July 25, 2013). "Meet Groundswell's Major Players". Mother Jones . Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  8. John Gehring, The Francis Effect: A Radical Pope's Challenge to the American Catholic Church, New York, 2015 (chapter 2, p. 26)
  9. "Statement by Austin Ruse". C-Fam. 14 March 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  10. "Advisory Board". The Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  11. Mascaro, Lisa (August 29, 2023). "Conservative Groups Draw Up Plan to Dismantle the US Government and Replace It with Trump's Vision". Associated Press News . Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  12. "United Nations Official Document". Un.org. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
  13. "Economic and Social Council, Opening Coordination, Management Meetings, Adopts Five Decisions, Holds Subsidiary Body Elections". Un.org. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
  14. "Hate Map: DC" splcenter.org
  15. "Could Austin Ruse's Violent Rhetoric Endanger C-FAM's Status with the UN?". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  16. "Vatican official hits back at pro-life critic over UN invitation". Catholic Herald. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  17. "A Vatican official's disgraceful diatribe". www.catholicculture.org. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  18. Tanfani, Yasmeen Abutaleb, Joseph (2019-05-30). "Special Report: As Trump rewrites health rules, Pence sees conservative agenda born again". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-01-18.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. Beirich, Heidi (Fall 2013). "Dangerous Liaisons". Intelligence Report (151). Southern Poverty Law Center.