Youth Ministries - Catholic Scouting

[Califman831]

I was going over various youth ministries and came upon this one from the Boy Scouts. Does anyone here have any experience with this organization as far as this subgroup The national catholic committee on scouting? The city I live in is small with a population of 10,000 to 15,000. There really is not much in the way of activities for the youth except for the usual sports, which have little to do with Catholicism. If you are in a similar boat your ideas would be appreciated.

National Catholic Committee on Scouting®
nccs-bsa.org/index.php

 

[rotlex]

Subscribing here to see if any further info comes about. I’m currently in my diocese lay ministry program, working on becoming a pastoral minister. My pastor and I have been discussing different options, and where I can be used in the future. Youth ministry is big on his list, and mine, and it’s funny I came across this thread, as I’m highly interested in scouting, from a long time ago, and tying it in with my faith.

Oh, and thanks for that link.

 

[athanasiusrc]

The Catholic committee has created special awards for Scouting families that can be earned by all family members about the Rosary and saints.

I think it is a great way to get kids to learn more about the Faith.

 

[ThyKingdomCome]

My understanding is very limited, as we just got involved with cub scouting this year. But my impression is that Catholic scouting is not a group of its own, but an additional thing you can do in your boy scout troop. For example, my ds just became a Bear Scout. He got the bear scout manual, and with his den (?), he is going to be completing the projects/activities in the manual. As a catholic, he can also complete the Catholic Scouting activities and earn badges or emblems or something. Since our group is secular, ds wouldn’t do it with his den, but I’m thinking that it might be different if the group was a Catholic one. I’m still just figuring it out. Hopefully someone with experience will speak up.

 

[Godfollower]

What you’ve found isn’t a separate activity. The National Catholic Committee on Scouting is an advisory committee to the Boy Scouts of America at the national level. Among other things, they have created several awards that Scouts can earn; the Boy Scouts uniform heraldry actually includes religious awards (determined by the relevant religion’s scouting committee) that can be worn on formal occasions (a cloth patch denoting “religious award” goes on the uniform for everyday wear).

Basically, your sons get involved in Scouting, just like any other boys. “A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.” Just as Boy Scout summer camps make provisions for worship services, and Scouting in general expects grace at meals, etc., Scouting encourages its members to practice their religions. The boys may choose to earn awards for learning about their religion, and the award will be something they can wear to courts of honor, scouting dinners, etc.

A Cub Scout can earn the Light of Christ award (and soon the Parvuli Dei award) but really shouldn’t work on the Ad Altare Dei award or the Pope Pius XII award, because those were designed for the older scouts. In either event, he’ll have a medal for his uniform for formal occasions and a “square knot” emblem (silver square knot on a purple rectangle) to be sewn on his uniform (over the left shirt pocket) for everyday wear.

Generally, if your troop or pack isn’t sponsored by a church – or if it is, but not by your church – you simply work on the award yourself (your local council should have contact information; if not, try here). The key thing is that, even if the troop is sponsored by a church, this is not taught by the troop or pack leaders; it’s taught by the religious institution (usually not clergy; in fact, it’s often someone who has volunteered both in the church and in Scouting). There’s probably some Catholic liaison to your local council who can arrange for the boys to work on the awards if they like.