Girl Scouts under scrutiny from Catholic bishops

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I added something to my post after you quoted it (just wanted to clarify that).

“If a troop here and there halfway across the country did something anti-Catholic, that won’t make me write off the whole organization anymore than I would write off an entire political party because one of their candidates in another state does something I find offensive.”
And I don’t write off the dioceses that had paederast problems just because of a few bad eggs among their priests.
 
Several years ago, I moved my girls into an American Heritiage Girls Troop.

They are modeled on, and affiliated with the BSA.

I just got fed up with all the pro-abort speakers being asked to speak at the National Convention, and the new Journey books, with their positive portrayals of pro-abort women, a positive review of the anti-Catholic play “Simply Maria” etc… pretty much confirmed my decision.

I guess what is driving this current issue is that NFCYM and Girl Scouts reached an agreement to get the books reprinted, remove the referencs to the anti-Catholic play and the links to Planned Parenthood sponsored websites out of the Journey books. Problem solved, right?

And then the GSUSA went an puttled that stunt with the Marie Clare. So the GSUSA saw no problem in posting on their CEO’s blog site that went straight to the Marie Clare homepage (effectively Cosmo for teens). Girls got treated to articles on such topics as how to arrange a Menage a Trois, and how " anal is the new oral." :eek:

I would much rather have my girls is a fully Christian, fully pro-life organization. GSUSA is not it.
👍
 
The interesting thing about the Internet is that nothing really ever goes away.

As I mentioned, the GSUSA specifically linked to a PP\NOW website in MEdia book.

The website Women’s Media Center has since removed it’s partner\sponsor link page, but here it is anyway

web.archive.org/web/20110522041105/http://www.womensmediacenter.com/index.php/about-wmc/partners.html

The graphics are gone, but you can see the type of organization that the GSUSA not only feels there is no problem with, but publishes it in the workbooks for all the girls with a recommendation that they go to the website.

If you hover over a graphic, it will show where the graphic will link to.

PP, NOW, Abortion Access Org, etc…

Nice stuff for Catholic Girls…NOT
 
As I said above; conducting an inquiry into whether or not a non-Catholic organization is Catholic enough seems to be a farcical endeavor.
So then they are left simply remove funding and support without giving the group a fair inquiry. Is that more to your liking?
 
First the Freemasons, then the Boy Scouts, now its the Girl Scouts:

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sent an “official inquiry” to the Girl Scouts of the USA. NPR’s Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports the bishops will investigate whether the iconic group has ties or views that conflict with Catholic teaching.

Barbara filed this report for our Newscast unit:

"The new inquiry will be conducted by the Bishop’s committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth. It will look into whether the Girl Scouts have “possible problematic relationships with other organizations” and problematic program materials. Conservative groups accused the Girl Scouts of associating with Planned Parenthood, which they deny, and giving girls access to information about sex and sexuality. The group says it takes no position on sexuality, birth control and abortion.

“The Girl Scouts have been dogged by complaints — the Scouts call them distortions — for decades. This challenge from the Catholic Bishops is significant, because many of the troops are sponsored by Catholic parishes and about a quarter of all scouts are Catholic.”

The Associated Press, which first reported on the letter, spoke to Michelle Tompkins, the Girl Scouts’ spokeswoman.

“I know we’re a big part of the culture wars,” Tompkins said. “People use our good name to advance their own agenda. For us, there’s an overarching sadness to it We’re just trying to further girls’ leadership.”

The Washington Post reports this might be the first step toward a resolution. After the questions are answered, the paper reports, the Bishops are likely to issue a final recommendation.
 
When the CEO of GSUSA goes on national television and openly admits to God and the whole world that they have partnered with PP to bring sex education to young girls, I don’t know what further proof you would want. Would you like me to post the link…again?
I am well aware of the evidence on bothe sides. You simply must accept that you can not always convince people of what you believe in such matters, but by all means post all the links you want. FYI - What you describe is evidence, not proof.

“Partner” is a vague word. It does not mean that GSA is funding PP or that any national money goes to support PP. It may be nothing more than a partnership of bringing PP materials into the the national conventions, which is claimed to have happened and this may be an individual act. I have learned not to believe everything I read on the internet or in the news. We all should exercise a certain degree of scepticism when dealing with the internet, news, feminists, etc. This is why I look forward to this investigation.
 
Except they are sponsored by 100s of Parishes. The question is should the Church have any affiliation with this organization-- a valid concern for the magestrium
That is an interesting question. Let me start by asking if a Parish should sponsor a softball team. Maybe they should, or maybe the should not. If you think this would be acceptable, then we have to see if GSA has actually done anything immoral with funds that come their way. Obviously if there are actually found to be funds used to support PP, then at that point Catholic Churches need to discontinue involvement in that organizations.

On the other hand, we are supposed to be the light of the world. I would see no problem if in light of this moral conflict that GSA reverses any funds that are found to go that way. As of now, I can not say they need to reverse their policy, which is that they have no involvement with PP, just that they need to enforce it.
 
In my opinion this investigation is a huge strategic mistake on the part of the bishops. Especially after the HHS ordeal and the news on the Leadership conference of Women religious. It gives the impression to those who do not understand church teaching, that the church is anti-women and anti-girl. this claim of course, is not true but, there are so many out there who honestly believe it and are ignorant of the truth of church teaching. the bishops should have waited on this one!
 
In my opinion this investigation is a huge strategic mistake on the part of the bishops. Especially after the HHS ordeal and the news on the Leadership conference of Women religious. It gives the impression to those who do not understand church teaching, that the church is anti-women and anti-girl. this claim of course, is not true but, there are so many out there who honestly believe it and are ignorant of the truth of church teaching. the bishops should have waited on this one!
The Church isn’t a PR firm trying to market its product.
 
On the other hand, we are supposed to be the light of the world. I would see no problem if in light of this moral conflict that GSA reverses any funds that are found to go that way. As of now, I can not say they need to reverse their policy, which is that they have no involvement with PP, just that they need to enforce it.
I would say it would have to involve more than a look at any PP involvement or PP funding

It should look at the materials being offered for GS advancement, the Journey books, the link on the GSUSA blog to soft porn

Materials that might involve content that the Church would find objectionable. And that come from GSA itself (not a partnership)
 
I would say it would have to involve more than a look at any PP involvement or PP funding

It should look at the materials being offered for GS advancement,
That would be a problem if it was being done in the parish. The Boy Scouts have religious badges for Islam and Unitarianism, but that doesn’t mean that Catholics can not be involved in them just because someone some where pursues these other badges.
…the Journey books, the link on the GSUSA blog to soft porn
If you are referring to “Simply Maria” I do not think it would qualify under almost any definition as porn, not that it is appropriate or Catholic, but rather that the Girl Scouts dropping references to such material would be something that would speak well of them, not evil. I try not to judge based on blogs. This might not even be remote cooperation with evil, much less formal cooperation.

I hope you too will be patient with the fact that I will not swallow all the negative rhetoric hook, line and sinker, especially that based on blogs and opinions. You are right that there is more that could make the Girl Scouts something to avoid other than just giving to Planned Parenthood. I only mention that because it would be a true “smoking gun” if funds given to the local Girl Scouts were directed there.
 
In my opinion this investigation is a huge strategic mistake on the part of the bishops… the bishops should have waited on this one!
Planned Parenthood doesn’t wait. They are relentless in their war on the unborn. If some pro-abortion contingent manages to infiltrate and promote abortion or pre-marital sex, then the battle is already engaged.
 
If you are referring to “Simply Maria” I do not think it would qualify under almost any definition as porn, .
I was referring to the GSUSA blog that linked to the Marie Clare website. That magazine is Cosmopolitan for teens. There was an article in the May issue about the GSUSA ( or specifically the contents of their CEO’ purse)

But also on the website for the May issue was links to how “Anal is the new Oral” - namely how oral sex is so commonplace that the really kinky stuff is now anal sex, an article on 10 new sex positions, and an article on how to accomplish a threesome

Why GSUSA thought it was a great idea to have an interview with their CEO about the contents of her purse in that magazine, let alone to post links to it is really beyond me.

Or if the presence of that interview encouraged a young girl to buy a copy of that magazine.

Either way, it does not show the respect for the feminine genus that an organization like that should have.

And that outlook on what it means to be female is todays world is something the bishops should look at.
That would be a problem if it was being done in the parish.
The books in question are the ‘Journey’ books, effectively the new Girl Scout handbooks. They are not the religious awards, but the means by which the girls do their rank advancement to Gold.

Here is the program

girlscouts.org/program/journeys/

The ‘aMuze’ book is the one with the “Simply Maria” play (which, I agree is not porn, but rather anti-Catholic)

The 'MEdia" book is the one with the link to Women’s Media Center.

I posted the actual page numbers in previous posts.
 
I was referring to the GSUSA blog that linked to the Marie Clare website. That magazine is Cosmopolitan for teens. There was an article in the May issue about the GSUSA ( or specifically the contents of their CEO’ purse)

But also on the website for the May issue was links to how “Anal is the new Oral” - namely how oral sex is so commonplace that the really kinky stuff is now anal sex, an article on 10 new sex positions, and an article on how to accomplish a threesome
.
Here is the GSUSA blog link if any one else wants to try and confirm this. I couldn’t find this article anywhere.
blog.girlscouts.org/

I think it important to remember that cooperation with evil gets stretched thinner with each click.
 
Here is the GSUSA blog link if any one else wants to try and confirm this. I couldn’t find this article anywhere.
blog.girlscouts.org/

I think it important to remember that cooperation with evil gets stretched thinner with each click.
They removed the blog entry after the issue became widely know. My wife took screenshots before they pulled it down.

My wife also went out an purchased a copy of the March issue that had all their stuff

I suppose you can pick up a current copy of the mag and see for yourself what it’s portray of women is like.

I’ll post a copy of my wife’s screen shots tomorrow.
 
This is a really good site just about that. It will give you the history of the ties between the two. ( GS and PP ).

honestgirlscouts.com/discover_pp_history.html#list1994
I don’t get why these programs take the money they were given and then redistribute it to Planned Parenthood?
  • When I give money to the GS, then I expect it to be used by the Girl Scouts
  • Same goes for Susan G. Komen, I expect my donations to be for curing cancer
 
This is exactly why I don’t buy gs cookies. If I can help it… I do not want any of my money going to PP and thier ilk.
When the CEO of GSUSA goes on national television and openly admits to God and the whole world that they have partnered with PP to bring sex education to young girls, I don’t know what further proof you would want. Would you like me to post the link…again?
 
Are you going to post it this thread or a new one ?
They removed the blog entry after the issue became widely know. My wife took screenshots before they pulled it down.

My wife also went out an purchased a copy of the March issue that had all their stuff

I suppose you can pick up a current copy of the mag and see for yourself what it’s portray of women is like.

I’ll post a copy of my wife’s screen shots tomorrow.
 
In my opinion this investigation is a huge strategic mistake on the part of the bishops. Especially after the HHS ordeal and the news on the Leadership conference of Women religious. It gives the impression to those who do not understand church teaching, that the church is anti-women and anti-girl. this claim of course, is not true but, there are so many out there who honestly believe it and are ignorant of the truth of church teaching. the bishops should have waited on this one!
Bishop Rhoades is a very fair man and has a solid background in canon law. While the church seems no match for the other side in public relations, we do have truth on our side. We are not anti-woman, we are pro-family. A lot of people today don’t care about that.

The Girl Scouts should make their case right away. Bishop Rhoades was in a good mood this morning at the ordination of a transitional deacon, and will be ordaining two more men to the priesthood this month.
 
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