Kansas City, Kansas May Be First Catholic Diocese to Sever Relationship with Girl Scouts

Kansas City, Kansas May Be First Catholic Diocese to Sever Relationship with Girl Scouts

The Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas may become the first Catholic diocese to sever its relationship with the Girl Scouts USA (GSUSA).

An article from the Catholic Committee on Scouting, posted on March 17 on the website of the archdiocese’s Office of Evangelization and Catholic Formation for Youth, states that while GSUSA has had an important role in forming girls in the archdiocese for many decades, over the past several years, many parents and pro-life advocates have expressed significant concern that the Girl Scouts do not share Catholic pro-life and traditional family values.

The article explains that the archdiocese has concerns about both GSUSA and its international umbrella organization, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).

According to the article:

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann and the Office of Evangelization and Catholic Formation for Youth have received numerous impassioned letters asking the Church to look into these areas of concern. We have diligently researched he concerns (see timeline below) and worked with priests, parish Girl Scout leaders, Mid-Continent Council of Girl Scout leaders, and top representatives from the national office of GSUSA. We continue this dialogue today, but find many troublesome areas of disagreement.

The article continues that Archbishop Naumann, through his priest advisory council and the Youth Office, is asking priests, Girl Scout leaders, and parents, to meet and discuss these areas of deep concern about WAGGGS, “the role models that are held up in the Girl Scout materials, website, and blogs, and the prudence of supporting and funneling our children into a world view that is often in opposition to fundamental Catholic beliefs.”

In addition, the archdiocese hopes these groups of priests, concerned parents, and leaders will consider “whether other organizations might better fit the Catholic mission for forming our youth and providing the same social experiences provided in Girl Scouting, i.e. field trips, socials, over-night events, camping and other experiences for leadership development.”

“The Archdiocese appreciates and values Catholic Girl Scout leaders and members,” states the article, “but we must review these troublesome realities and make informed and prayerful decisions about future formation offerings in our Catholic parishes.”

Breitbart News’ Austin Ruse has exposed the most recent events that have been causes for concern about the Girl Scouts organization, including the revelation that its spokesman, Josh Ackley, was a member of a “homopunk” band that made videos depicting a woman being strangled, while Ackley sneered, and another featuring a young man, possibly Ackley himself, feigning masturbation.

Ruse reported that, when confronted with Ackley’s activities, the Girl Scouts kept him employed while the organization simply scrubbed his name from their media. GSUSA then replaced Ackley with abortion advocate Kelly Parisi, former Vice President of Marketing and Communications of the Ms. Foundation, founded in 1973 by Gloria Steinem.

Similarly, as Breitbart News’ Tony Lee reported, the Girl Scouts organization also promoted Texas gubernatorial candidate and abortion advocate Wendy Davis (D) as an “incredible” woman who deserved to be on the “women of the year” list. This event triggered a national boycott of Girl Scout cookies this year.

Then, in February, Ruse exposed the fact that the Girl Scouts organization had hired Krista Kokjohn-Poehler, a lesbian married to Ashley Kokjohn, for a job titled “Girl Experience Officer.”

Though the Girl Scouts organization was founded along conservative religious principles, it began to drift leftward in the early ’90s when God was made optional in the Girl Scout promise.

In addition, WAGGGS and the Girl Scouts have developed strong ties with abortion industry giant Planned Parenthood over the last two decades.

“WAGGGS is part of an influential lobby group,” the archdiocese’s article states. “It is closely tied to and celebrated by International Planned Parenthood. WAGGGS advocates for women’s health legislation that specifically includes artificial contraception and abortion as a right of all women.”

The archdiocese continues:

GSUSA contributes more than a million dollars a year to WAGGGS and offers numerous international experiences for older scouts. Catholic girls, parents, priests and the bishops of these international countries objected to United States Catholics supporting these so-called advocacy efforts.

Margaret Sanger, Betsy Friedan and Gloria Steinem are frequently presented as role models in Girl Scout materials. They do not support a Catholic worldview. Many other role models in the Journeys series (GSUSA’s new manuals) and web content are troublesome…

To assist those who will be considering these weighty issues, the archdiocese has supplied a “Timeline of Activity on the Concerns Surrounding Girl Scouts of the USA.” The timeline describes the extensive research that began in 2008 into the numerous concerns raised about WAGGGS and GSUSA, through the early part of this year, when the archbishop’s advisory council of priests asked pastors to “present to both leaders and parents possible affiliation with organizations that are more consistent with traditional Catholic mission and values, such as American Heritage Girls, the Little Flowers, and Challenge.”

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.