Cardinal Dolan Honors Girl Scouts at Cathedral Mass

[Joe_5859]

I guess what bothers me about all the allegations is that the Girl Scouts keep denouncing Planned Parenthood and deny any partnership with the. Having seen many feminist organizations at work, I find this to be a singular response for anyone with ties to them. The usual response is to defend the tie, not deny it.

On thing the link above says, “Parents and volunteer troop leaders in Catholic churches HAVE TOTAL CONTROL of the Girl Scout programming their girls receive,” would lead me to believe there is some value in staying in and not allowing any unsuitable materials to be taught. Perhaps Cardinal Dolan is aware that the troops in his diocese are orthodox in their teaching.

Good point. Ordinarily, those with ties to Planned Parenthood are more than proud enough to defend them.

The quickest path towards the Girl Scouts becoming a radical feminist training ground would be for the Catholic Church to disavow. Then the only people left in the organization for them to cater to would be those who have no problem with all these issues. I see a great value in maintaining the connection.

 

[CatholicGeek1]

Perhaps it is just my perception, but it seems that there are people that are quick to try and find fault with anything Cardinal Dolan does, is there a group that just really do not like him? Would we be having this same discussion if this were done by someone else?

 

[Joe_5859]

Perhaps it is just my perception, but it seems that there are people that are quick to try and find fault with anything Cardinal Dolan does, is there a group that just really do not like him? Would we be having this same discussion if this were done by someone else?

I share your perception.

Every diocese has a point person for Girl Scout matters. You could swap out Cardinal Dolan’s name in the thread title for probably almost any other bishop. They all hand out these emblems.

 

[markomalley]

I share your perception.

Every diocese has a point person for Girl Scout matters. You could swap out Cardinal Dolan’s name in the thread title for probably almost any other bishop. They all hand out these emblems.

Do they all hand them out to Anna Maria Chavez?

 

[Joe_5859]

Do they all hand them out to Anna Maria Chavez?

Fair enough. No, they do not.

 

[markomalley]

Fair enough. No, they do not.

From my perspective, that’s the issue, not giving away merit badges to girls.

 

[Joe_5859]

From my perspective, that’s the issue, not giving away merit badges to girls.

I see. Well, I guess it would have been more scandalous had he given her the St. Anne medal.

 

[markomalley]

I see. Well, I guess it would have been more scandalous had he given her the St. Anne medal.

Giving a representative of GSUSA any recognition is the moral equivalent of honoring a pro about politician with an honorary degree. It is an endorsement of not only the achievements of that person, but is also an endorsement of that person’s policies and agenda.

It creates scandal.

 

[Brendan]

Do they all hand them out to Anna Maria Chavez?

That was my thoughts, the issue is offering an award to a public advocate of abortion rights

 

[_Abyssinia]

• As a law student, Chavez wrote that she “greatly admired” Geraldine Ferraro, a pro-abortion Catholic feminist, and had hoped that Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, another pro-abortion feminist, would usher in a new era of women’s rights.

• As a lawyer, Chavez rose in Democrat political circles, from policy advisor to Bill Clinton’s Transportation Secretary to the inner circle of her self-described mentor pro-abortion Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano. (Napolitano vetoed laws banning partial birth abortion and requiring parental consent for minors’ abortions. Chavez deems Napolitano a mentor on par with her parents.)

• In 2004, Chavez campaigned hard among Latinos for pro-abortion Catholic Presidential candidate, John Kerry. In 2006, reaching out to Latinos for Governor Napolitano, Chavez acted as a “catalyst” behind the creation of Raul H. Castro Institute (RCI) which aimed to identify solutions to social problems besetting Arizona’s Latino community. Chavez then served on the RCI Executive Committee, which oversaw the RCI Inaugural Symposium on health and wellness issues in the Latino Community. The sole expert they chose to address the problem of adolescent pregnancy? Yolanda Chavez, a veteran Planned Parenthood “Sexual Health Educator.” Her solution? Information, and more information about “sexual behavior and birth control.” Not surprisingly, the Planned Parenthood sex educator lamented the scarcity of school-based “sexual health” education and the money spent on abstinence-only programs. (How successful, in general, is the Planned Parenthood model? Very successful–at “hooking kids on sex.” See what Planned Parenthood does here.)

• Anna Maria Chavez left the Governor’s staff to become CEO of the Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas. As the new CEO of the Southwest Texas Girl Scouts, she delivered a keynote address at the 2009 NOW-inspired Women’s Equality Day celebration in San Antonio, sponsored by a coalition of 65 women’s groups that included her own organization–the Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas–and Planned Parenthood of San Antonio and South Central Texas (whose clinics that year, 2009, killed over 2130 unborn babies, many of them Latino: 68% of Planned Parenthood’s 2009 clients in that area were Latino).

• Other pro-abortion groups filled the coalition’s ranks, such as the Government Affairs Council of Planned Parenthood (the political arm of Planned Parenthood, tasked with raising campaign funds to elect pro-abortion candidates), Girls, Inc. of San Antonio, Annie’s List (another pro-abortion campaign group), the Center for Women in Church and Society, the YWCA, and the LGBT-promoting Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, among others. The Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas, under the leadership of Anna Maria Chavez, remained in that coalition through 2011. (Around the country, Women’s Equality Day continues to be a feminist celebration of liberal causes including reproductive health and same-sex marriage.)

catholicnewsagency.com/cw/post.php?id=635

 

[GRATEFULONEjim]

Perhaps it is just my perception, but it seems that there are people that are quick to try and find fault with anything Cardinal Dolan does, is there a group that just really do not like him? Would we be having this same discussion if this were done by someone else?

I have the utmost respect for Cardinal Dolan and have heard him speak on more than one occasion. I admire his openness and find his personality and media presence refreshing. I just have first hand experience with GSA and find any tribute to that group questionable from a Catholic point of view.

 

[CatholicGeek1]

I have the utmost respect for Cardinal Dolan and have heard him speak on more than one occasion. I admire his openness and find his personality and media presence refreshing. I just have first hand experience with GSA and find any tribute to that group questionable from a Catholic point of view.

I want to be clear, I was not saying that I thought everyone on this thread was against the Cardinal, it just seems like on this and other threads there are any number of people that feel the need to judge the Cardinal for anything that he does.

 

[Lucky7]

Would we be having this same discussion if this were done by someone else?

Absolutely.

 

[Lucky7]

That was my thoughts, the issue is offering an award to a public advocate of abortion rights

To be fair, it’s minor compared to offering communion to a public advocate of abortion rights.

ETA: By the way, I’ve been meaning to write Cardinal Dolan an email. I have been scouring the Archdiocese’s website and I can’t find how to contact him. Anyone know?

 

[Lucky7]

Done…cuz I’m truly interested.

Two days later and still no response. How long should I give it before I call?

 

[pnewton]

catholicnewsagency.com/cw/post.php?id=635

I just read all that stuff myself to see who this woman is. It sure seems like she has not defended that Catholic teaching on abortion in her associations. Perhaps she could be said to have guilt by association. But I also note that the award had to do with her last job, not her associations, with the Girl Scouts. In such a case, while we may be prone to seeing scandal, I do not think there is such a thing as guilt by association by association, twice-removed, as it were.

When I was reading some of the current GS stuff, I noted that GSA has said they have removed objectionable material that the Christian community has complained about. Perhaps this is why she received the award. As much as I do not like our political climate and our society in general, it is probably no better or worse than the moral climate when Jesus was here. If a Catholic can stay within the battle and effect changes, it is arguably as pragmatic as other means of change, such as protest and withdrawal.

I know one thing. I trust Cardinal Dolan’s judgment and orthodoxy a great deal. Even if I have question, or some uneasiness over an action, I do not think I would put my remote opinions and reaction over the judgment of this man. Even if he does something even he thinks was unwise, I would rather be in agreement with him than not.

 

[Stylteralmaldo]

Two days later and still no response. How long should I give it before I call?

Give it a week from the date you sent the e-mail.

 

[larsont7]

Perhaps it is just my perception, but it seems that there are people that are quick to try and find fault with anything Cardinal Dolan does, is there a group that just really do not like him? Would we be having this same discussion if this were done by someone else?

Well, since Cardinal Dolan is the head of the USCCB, in a way he is the highest ranking prelate in the USA. Every action he does impacts the view of the Catholic Church in America, so when he does things that are potentially scandalous (whether they be intentional or not), they are magnified all the more.

Cardinal Dolan has done many great things for the Church, but there have been a few decisions that were questionable, and it’s important people realize that his actions do not necessarily represent the Catholic Church as a whole.

 

[Mark121359]

My daughter’s not quite old enough for scouts yet. I just have an interest in fairness and accuracy in the reporting of facts.

Regarding that EWTN series, here is a GSUSA press release in response:

EWTN Series Misses the Mark

The fact that the program at no time attempted to contact GSUSA for their response does not sit well with me at all. That’s just Journalism 101. You cannot run a story without hearing their side of the story (even if you think they are just giving you a line, you ought to give them the opportunity to give you that line and then prove why it’s just a line).

As pnewton said, a lot of it just seems like an enclosed circle of reporting. It’s the same half dozen sources all citing each other.

A lot is at stake here. I heard a story from someone whose daughter at a Catholic school was told by some of her classmates that she was going to hell because she was a Girl Scout. The “us vs. them” mentaility of the whole thing is not something we want to perpetuate unnecessarily.

And I’m supposed to trust GSA Spokesperson Michelle Tompkins over EWTN? Here she is attempting to explain the relationship between Girl Scouts and Planned Parenthood;
youtube.com/watch?v=ayttoQDD4SI&feature=related

I don’t no, something just doesn’t seem right with this organization. I usually believe where there’s smoke there’s fire. And maybe it’s me, but I see a huge plume of smoke here. I mean, why would EWTN go after them? What motive? And why sites like these with former Girl Scouts speaking out against them? speaknowgirlscouts.com/
honestgirlscouts.com/
girlscoutswhynot.com/index.html
facebook.com/HonestGirlScout?sk=wall&filter=2

Again, I’m not beating up on GSA…just concerned is all…very concerned! If it were my daughter, I would be extremely hesitant!

Peace, Mark

 

[Elizium23]

Well, since Cardinal Dolan is the head of the USCCB, in a way he is the highest ranking prelate in the USA.

In a way, but not in the way that the Catholic Church is actually organized. The USCCB, like all episcopal conferences, actually has comparatively little power for legislation or governance. It only has specific powers delegated to it by law.

In reality, the highest ranking prelate of the USA would be +William Wakefield Baum, an 86-year-old Cardinal-Priest. There are no American Cardinal-Bishops; +Dolan himself is a Cardinal-Priest, but at 63, he is relatively young, and ranks low on the list of CPs, but above all the Cardinal-Deacons.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cardinals

But your point is taken. +Dolan is highly visible, active and vigorous. I can really see the politician character in him. I still greatly admire him for his doctrinal stances. I don’t know what to say about some of his actions, except to say that there is more than meets the eye.