Concerns Over Girl Scouts Persist Following USCCB Investigation

[pianistclare]

Too bad there isn’t an alternative organization run by or with the Church. Something similar to, say, the Church Lad’s Brigade in the CofE. Organizations that teach good citizenship, stewardship of nature, life skills, community service (especially thru the Corporal Works of Mercy, like visiting the sick and infirm, candy-striping at hospitals, volunteering at soup kitchens or food banks, etc), involvement in the parish community and work in the church (altar servers, distributing hymnals – and who says only little old ladies of the CWL are allowed to clean up the church? )

Back between the Wars, I believe, here in Newfoundland the CofE had the CLB, the Kirk had the Newfoundland Highlanders and the RCs had the Catholic Cadet Corps.

And if that’s too martial for you, you can model the organization on “Cadets, hold the ordnance.”

Just don’t use the term “guides” or “scouts” as I think the world Scouting org has a monopoly on the term.

There is.!The Knights of Columbus has a group for boys…**Columbian Squires. **Very good group. There is a very successful Squires group at 2 nearby parishes. They do all kinds of outdoor things, as well as retreats, promote serving, and community service as well.
Have not really heard of one for girls though.

 

[Mark121359]

Too bad there isn’t an alternative organization run by or with the Church. Something similar to, say, the Church Lad’s Brigade in the CofE. Organizations that teach good citizenship, stewardship of nature, life skills, community service (especially thru the Corporal Works of Mercy, like visiting the sick and infirm, candy-striping at hospitals, volunteering at soup kitchens or food banks, etc), involvement in the parish community and work in the church (altar servers, distributing hymnals – and who says only little old ladies of the CWL are allowed to clean up the church? )

EWTN Radio’s The Good Fight with Barbara McGuigan did a program a little while back on the Girl Scouts controversy and mentioned these two alternatives;
American Heritage Girls ahgonline.org/
Little Flowers Girls’ Club beholdpublications.com/LFGC_home.htm

Peace, Mark

 

[Atisor207]

Agreed. And to anyone who doesn’t believe it…here is the CEO admitting it: youtube.com/watch?v=ppX6oXCmHF4

Wow

“We partner with Planned Parenthood…”

From the mouth of the CEO

And still there are some people who doubt this?

The organization may have been a great innocent organization but it has obviously been infiltrated by the culture of death.

You want your daughter to grow up with that kind of influence… do it at your own peril.

 

[commenter]

I sometimes have heard that maybe the Girl Scouts nationally have taken some controversial positions, but “here in our parish, the women running it are solid Catholics”. The problem is that even if your parish group is harmless, it is forming in the girls an allegiance, sometimes life long, to the Girl Scout movement as a whole. Your parish is making them more receptive to messages from your regional Girl Scouts, or nationally, that are from people who are definitely not solid Catholics. Girls read magazines or other media messages from or about Girl Scouting, that don’t pass through what seems like your reliable parish troop.

Furthermore, the Girl Scout movement is changing. It takes positions now that would have been unthinkable when today’s adults were children in Scouts. Children in Scouts today will continue to be influenced by the Girl Scout movement when they are adults, even if your parish no longer has a troop. What positions will Girl Scouts be taking in 20 years? The Girl Scout “connection” will still have an influence of loyalty, long after the “solid Catholics” are gone from the Scout’s life.

The K of C does have a movement for girls, the Squirettes. Former Girl Scout leaders who are Evangelical Christians have developed a new scouting movement, which seems far more compatible for Catholic parishes than Girl Scouts.

 

[pianistclare]

I sometimes have heard that maybe the Girl Scouts nationally have taken some controversial positions, but “here in our parish, the women running it are solid Catholics”. The problem is that even if your parish group is harmless, it is forming in the girls an allegiance, sometimes life long, to the Girl Scout movement as a whole. Your parish is making them more receptive to messages from your regional Girl Scouts, or nationally, that are from people who are definitely not solid Catholics. Girls read magazines or other media messages from or about Girl Scouting, that don’t pass through what seems like your reliable parish troop.

Furthermore, the Girl Scout movement is changing. It takes positions now that would have been unthinkable when today’s adults were children in Scouts. Children in Scouts today will continue to be influenced by the Girl Scout movement when they are adults, even if your parish no longer has a troop. What positions will Girl Scouts be taking in 20 years? The Girl Scout “connection” will still have an influence of loyalty, long after the “solid Catholics” are gone from the Scout’s life.

The K of C does have a movement for girls, the Squirettes. Former Girl Scout leaders who are Evangelical Christians have developed a new scouting movement, which seems far more compatible for Catholic parishes than Girl Scouts.

Squirettes? I heard of the Squires…I wish that the K of C did more to publicize these 2 groups. I’m sure our pastor has never heard of the girls’ group at least.
If parishioners knew of these, maybe the question of GS would be a moot point.
Or maybe…we couldn’t get enough students or volunteers…sort of like Religious Ed.
But worth a shot. Thanks for the info!
And the point about “lifelong associations” is well taken. We fail to think about this.
Peace.

 

[Dawnia]

But the money raised by selling the cookies helps to fund Girl Scouts USA.

According to Girls Scouts, all proceeds from selling cookies stays within the local councils. Only about 10% go to the local troop. If you want to support the local troop, make a cash donation instead of buying the cookies.

girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/faq.asp

All of the revenue earned from cookie activities—every penny after paying the baker—stays with the local Girl Scout council. Each council determines its own revenue structure depending on its cookie cost, local retail price, and the amount that is shared with participating troops and groups. On average, Girl Scout council net revenue is approximately 65–75 percent of the local retail price, and the amount that is shared with participating Girl Scout troops and groups, referred to as troop proceeds, is approximately 10–20 percent of the local retail price.

 

[commenter]

“American Heritage Girls” is an organization founded by former Girl Scouts who are Christians, primarily evangelicals. It seeks to retain the good aspects of Girl Scout experience, but without the secularism. It is strongly prolife, proChristian both Catholic and Protestant, and has been endorsed by a number of Catholic Dioceses in the U. S. as the preferred program for Catholic girls.

Instead of trying to constantly monitor and re-evaluate whether the Girls Scouts USA is or isn’t so bad as to be banned from Catholic churches, why not just choose the far better alternative? Even Catholics who support continuing membership in the GS USA at the best, claim it is harmless, they certainly don’t consider it anywhere near as religious or pro Catholic as American Heritage Girls.

The Church’s problem with the Girl Scouts goes back DECADES. At some point someone should say no more joint USCCB/Girl Scout committees, no more work groups, no more monitoring, no more false reassurances, no more compromises, no more promises that they won’t push contraception (anymore). If the national Catholic committees haven’t made any progress since the 1970s in persuading the GS USA to be more Christian-friendly, they aren’t going to succeed, ever. Support something else instead.

 

[mikekle]

The chain convenience store/ gas station chain I work for, they have the girl scout cookies made by Nestle in stores every year at this time, but this year, they arent selling much at all, the sales are ridiculous! Usually we cant keep them on the shelves, but something different this year!!! Many store managers have pulled them off completely are returning them to the manufacturer.

I always thought the girl scouts sold the cookies, but I guess they somehow worked out a deal with Nestle, and they put them in stores nationwide, they have all the varieties as well, kind of weird seeing girl scout cookies being sold in stores like this too.

 

[Stylteralmaldo]

Wow

“We partner with Planned Parenthood…”

From the mouth of the CEO

And still there are some people who doubt this?

The organization may have been a great innocent organization but it has obviously been infiltrated by the culture of death.

You want your daughter to grow up with that kind of influence… do it at your own peril.

Waiting for my local sheppard (bishop) to give our diocese some guidance in this regard. I’ve been waiting for the USCCB recommendation for a few years now.

 

[Brendan]

“American Heritage Girls” is an organization founded by former Girl Scouts who are Christians, primarily evangelicals. It seeks to retain the good aspects of Girl Scout experience, but without the secularism. It is strongly prolife, proChristian both Catholic and Protestant, and has been endorsed by a number of Catholic Dioceses in the U. S. as the preferred program for Catholic girls.
.

That is what my girls are in.

Our issue with the GSUSA is that it IS a secular organization. While there is nothing wrong, per se, with secular organizations. But Christian is preferred to secular, by the very definition of Christ being the Summa Bonum.

I LOVE the fact that my girl’s Troop can attend, as a unit, pro-life activities, such as Life Chain.

My girls Troop pioneered a new patch “AHG Prays for Life” that the girls can earn by participating in a number of such activities. AHG National liked it so much, they picked up at offer it nationwide.

ahgonline.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=296027

 

[lutheran_farmer]

The local AHG troop is at our parish and they seem to be doing a very nice job. Nice group of girls. I think that’s a great alternative.

 

[Tigg]

For all the red flags that have been going on for several years now, we are still only at a stage where “concerns persist?”

Newsflash to Christian parents: With great alternatives there is now no reason for your girls to stay in the Scouts. We have enough problems teaching the faith to our kids without the sabotage of an organization that touts their well being while laughing at our morality.

 

[styrgwillidar]

I looked into this a bit last time there was a thread on it. I found the whole thing ridiculous. Profits from the cookie sales go directly to the troop selling them with the exception of a royalty fee that goes to the national organization. Basically the boycott hurts the girls themselves, not the national organization or any alleged radical feminist cause. Luckily that day there were some girls selling cookies in the train station. I made sure to buy a couple boxes.

My girls were in the GS, and the local council and the troop did some great things. I support the local troops by donating directly to their troop fund vice buying cookes.

As someone else said, the local troop gets a pitiful amount from the sale of each box. I’d rather throw 5 or 10 dollars directly into their troop fund than buy cookies I really don’t need.

 

[commenter]

The first time I read about a conflict between the Girl Scouts and the Catholic Church was in 1974. The issue has been undergoing study for 40 years! The recommendation now seems to be that more study is needed, along with better communication, more understanding, more sensitivity, etc, etc, and even more etc.

Why the procrastination? Here are some reasons:

1. Some people in the USCCB are buddies with people in the national GS.
2. At a time when the Catholic Church in the USA has to stand almost alone on many things, next year would be better than this year to take a stand on this. (Of course they were saying this in 1974).
3. The GS leaders at my parish are nice people.
4. Some girls earn Religious Emblems. (This is the only valid reason. But Religious Emblems are extracurricular to GS; they are part of the basic program with the Christian scouting movements).
5. It’s nice to see kids coming into the parish building, even though the parish and the Catholic Church have no influence over GS. It makes us look good.
6. The Media and the Girl Scouts will trash the Catholic Church if we exclude the GS.

If anyone who wants to do a study on how much damage can happen from procrastination, here’s a good place to start. There are far better alternatives already in existence. The only thing keeping the Christian scouting movements out of your parish and diocese is the fact that the GS are entrenched, and Catholics tend to procrastinate. Maybe next year, after more study, more dialogue, etc.

 

[Mark121359]

For all the red flags that have been going on for several years now, we are still only at a stage where “concerns persist?”

Newsflash to Christian parents: With great alternatives there is now no reason for your girls to stay in the Scouts. We have enough problems teaching the faith to our kids without the sabotage of an organization that touts their well being while laughing at our morality.

Amen to this post right here! It’s all there is that needs to be said.

Peace, Mark

 

[crosslover]

I looked into this a bit last time there was a thread on it. I found the whole thing ridiculous. Profits from the cookie sales go directly to the troop selling them with the exception of a royalty fee that goes to the national organization.

Yes, Girl Scouts USA (national) receives millions of dollars each year from the royalties.
However your statement about the cookie profits going exclusively to the girls’ troop is false. The majority of the profits (on average 70%) go to the local Girl Scout organization, called councils. There are 110 local Girl Scout councils throughout the USA. The girls’ troops who actually do all the work to sell the cookies make between .60-.90 cents per box. The local Girl Scout councils would not survive financially without cookie sales.

Check it out on the official GSUSA website: On average, Girl Scout council net revenue is approximately 65–75 percent of the local retail price, and the amount that is shared with participating Girl Scout troops and groups, referred to as troop proceeds, is approximately 10–20 percent of the local retail price. Cookie program revenue is a critical source of funding for local Girl Scout councils, and it is often what makes it possible to serve girls in hard-to-serve areas, and maintain camps and properties.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/faq.asp

 

[crosslover]

I don’t see the big deal. Girl Scouts USA does not support abortion. Unless you feel they are lying and that they are secretly creating little pro-abortion activists. I’ve looked at the anti-Girl Scout sites and they didn’t seem very credible and the connections they did make were far to remote to be concerned about (unless it’s your troop that did the questionable stuff).

girlscouts.org/program/basics/faith/faqs.asp#a1

The official Girl Scout curriculum that is sold by every local council contains many recommendations for girls to work with and/or research pro-abortion organizations - but no pro-life ones. I have the books in front of me. Indoctrination. We get that in public schools - we don’t need it from the Girl Scouts.

 

[commenter]

In many ways, this topic (whether the Church should continue to sponsor, or host, or officially participate directly with the Girl Scouts) reminds me of the annual “concerns” over the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

1. Both the GS and the CCHD have a mixture of some things that are good, and other things that are objectionable to Catholics.
2. Both GS and CCHD have built up a strong grass roots and national lobby, ready to fight any attempt to withdraw funding and/or Catholic church hosting for either GS or CCHD. Both can generate huge postal and email crusades against any bishop who opposes them. Both will go directly to the Media also, to trash the Catholic Faith.
3. CCHD supporters emphasize that “the poor” have been marginalized by the Church. GS supporters say females have been marginalized. Both lobbies say many poor, and many females, will see rejection of CCHD or GS as One More Rejection.
4. CCHD and GS will both admit there were a few misunderstandings in the past with the Catholic Church, but what really needs to happen now is better communication, dialogue, more study of the issues, building a common ground. Keep the GS in the parish, and keep funding CCHD, but keep the conversation going.
5. In both GS and CCHD, the problems have gone on for 40 years, with constant broken promises for improvement. They are ready to keep up for another 40 years of study, conversation, etc.
6. It would have been better if we had taken the proper action, say 30 years ago. But even so, it would be better to take the proper action NOW rather than procrastinating more.