Girl Scouts

[pnewton]

Hi Diane-
Have you seen what was recently released by the Archdiocese of Kansas City and Archbishop Naumann?

You bring up a good point. It would always be a wise idea to check out the local situation, in the diocese or parish, to see if there are any moral barriers locally that would prohibit one from joining.

 

[Vico]

I was a Girl Scout when I was young & my daughter was a Girl Scout. I have heard a lot of talk lately about Girl Scouts supporting a gay agenda, contraception & abortion. People boycotting cookie sales, etc. My granddaughter recently joined Daisy Girl Scouts. I went to both the National & local Girl Scout websites & found nothing objectionable. I also checked the USCCB faq about Girl Scouting. Basically, the National organization says they have no opinion on these issues, but local councils might have some affiliation with local Planned Parenthood, etc. The World Association (WAGGGS) has several documents which support “reproductive rights” which is a known euphemism for contraception & abortion. A portion of the membership fee does go to WAGGGS, with no restrictions.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis Encourages Parish Support for American Heritage Girls.

 

[Brendan]

Thank you. I was not aware of any problematic content in the Journeys curriculum. I have contacted AHG & they are sending me a packet. AHG is expensive to start up. I was not aware of the Little Flowers - will check it out.

On the expense of starting up an AHG Troop, my wife is in the process of starting up an AHG Troop at our parish ( our girls are part of one at a neighboring parish, but our pastor asked my wife to start off the process at our parish)

Our parish’s Rosary Society is funding the startup, in much the same way as our Men’s Club financed the Boy Scout Troop when it first started.

Check into that and see if you can get sponsorship from the parish, or a women’s club in the parish.

One aspect of AHG is it is very service orientated, so the sponsoring organization can get ‘payback’ in the form of assistance with their own various events.

 

[mikekle]

Well, once I learned on here about the Girl Scout org supporting gay rights, I did not buy any cookies, and once I told my family, they said they were not going to buy them anymore, so I hope they have told their friends and more people learn about this.

 

[Cojuanco]

Really! The relationship of Girl Scouts to Planned Parenthood is SO distant, so remote. Here in Waco, the GS affiliate sponsored the Planned Parenthood summer sex ex program for 6 years running. This involved placing the Girl Scout name and logo on the promotional flyer. Then in 2003, this “oh-so-acceptable” GS council named Pam Smallwood as one of their 6 Women of Distinction to serve as a role model for Girl Scouts. Ms. Smallwood managed an abortion clinic that committed around 1000 abortions ever year. This is not an unsubstantiated internet rumor. See all the evidence at www.prolifewaco.com This council eventual cut ties with PP–only because of the huge controversy that erupted. Realistically, these Planned Parenthood entanglements represent the true “heart” of the GS leadership in the Waco area. Wake up Catholics and others!!! The truth about GS is not to be found on the GS website and in the GS public relations statements (damage control). For those who are willing to look at GS, read the heartfelt positions of good Catholic moms, see
www.mygirlscoutcouncil.com
www.100questionsforthegirlscouts.com
I doubt that any of the words written on these sites are statements of deception that should be acknowledged in the confessional.

The Waco chapter is an example of an outlier. And as you yourself note, Waco cut its ties with Planned Parenthood. Again, it is highly chapter dependent.

 

[SMGS127]

The Waco chapter is an example of an outlier. And as you yourself note, Waco cut its ties with Planned Parenthood. Again, it is highly chapter dependent.

It’s very local. Some local chapters are very involved with PP and should be avoided at all costs. However, this is not very common.

Most of the rest of the correlation seems to be that GSA promotes women as role models who, on the side, support SS’M’ or are pro-abortion. These positions are not listed on the GSA website or in GSA materials. Yet people object to, say, famous tennis players being listed as role models, because they hold immoral beliefs. I respect people taking offense to that, but I’d still love my future daughter to see a female professional athlete or female doctor or what have you. All that she’s going to see is “hey I can be in this profession!” An 8 year old isn’t going to go look up how that tennis star feels about abortion or gay “marriage.”

On the whole, GSA as an organization is not related to pro-abortion beliefs in any way, and individual troops are free to associate with a religion (or not) and its associated beliefs. I would love my future daughters to go through GSA, though I would of course do research into the local chapters.

 

[DiZent]

There are several moms from my parish’s Boy Scout troop that are also involved in Girl Scouting. I don’t know the age/level their girls are in. I can talk to them about the local council and the program materials. For my 7 year old granddaughter, Her parents looked for but could not find an AHG troop without traveling over 30 miles, so they found a Daisy GS troop & said she can join a BSA Venture Crew when she is older. My youngest granddaughter is 4 - she will be in Pre-K this fall, so I have a year to get an AHG troop started. Girls Scouts are strong in this area. Its hard to say whether AHG would be welcomed or if the GS parents would be offended and work against it. I would need to find a chartering partner that does not already support a GS troop.

 

[on_the_hill]

I am shocked at this. Are you saying a girl cannot choose to join a specific group directly, like one within her Church without GSA approval?

That, I do not know. I was referring to the more general situation where a girl doesn’t sign up with a particular troop, but through the web, for example. She’ll sign up, pay her dues, then the GSA will try to locate a troop for her. If there’s no troop for her to join, the GSA keeps the money anyway.

 

[Luvz2travel]

I did not see evidence of this on the National or local site. Girl Scouting is strong in this area, and it is still about girls & camping & leadership, skills, environment & service. I will be looking for a Catholic sponsored troop for youngest granddaughter (she is 4 - we have a couple of years). We need one that meets in the evenings. I might just have to volunteer - LOL. Or start an AHG Troop.

They shut down 2 camps in my area saying no money then gave a huge donation to a liberal femist group. I’ve seen a trend toward this for years.

 

[Cojuanco]

They shut down 2 camps in my area saying no money then gave a huge donation to a liberal femist group. I’ve seen a trend toward this for years.

Like I said, rather locality dependent. The one at the parish I attended had as one of the parents a member of the Respect Life Ministry and one of the coordinators for the Yes on 8 phonebank some years ago. I *really *doubt she would be the kind to donate to Planned Parenthood.

 

[crosslover]

Like I said, rather locality dependent. The one at the parish I attended had as one of the parents a member of the Respect Life Ministry and one of the coordinators for the Yes on 8 phonebank some years ago. I *really *doubt she would be the kind to donate to Planned Parenthood.

The concerns go way beyond Planned Parenthood. I don’t want my girls being members of the international GS organization, WAGGGS, which is actively advocating for abortion on demand and exposing girls to very erroneous agendas - working in direction opposition to the Holy See at the United Nations. WAGGGS claims every American Girl Scout as its member (according to WAGGGS.org). Meanwhile, EVERY local council and GSUSA ardently promote WAGGGS. Not to mention the role models GSUSA is promoting through social media, curriculum and official events: like Beyonce, Kathleen Sebelius, Wendy Davis, Betty Freidan (National Abortion Right Action League/NARAL founder). Not my idea of a wholesome Catholic choice when other excellent options are available, like Fidelis and Little Flowers (both authentically Catholic) and American Heritage Girls, which is Christ-centered and has received support from many Bishops.