Pope praises women in front of international body of Girl Scouts

Pope: Women Must Be Adequately Appreciated

Receives International Group for Catholic Girl Guides and Girl Scouts at the Vatican

    

Vatican City State, June 26, 2015 (ZENIT.org) Deborah Castellano Lubov              

 

'It is very important today that a woman be adequately appreciated, and that she be able to take up fully the place that corresponds to her, be it in the Church, be it in society." Pope Francis made this statement in the Vatican this morning when addressing more than 200 participants for the World Meeting of International Catholic Conference of Guiding.
The International Catholic Conference of Guiding (ICCG) is an international group for Catholic Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. On the feast of the Epiphany in 1965 in Rome, the ICCG officially came into existence when twenty-one Girl Guide associations established the unifying group.
The guides are in Rome, June 25-30, to explore the theme of "Living the joy of the Gospel as a guide."
In his remarks, Francis noted how the role of educational associations such as theirs--which are addressed to girls--is "absolutely determinant for the future." He stressed how their pedagogy must be clear on such questions.
"We are in a world in which the most contrary ideologies are spreading to the nature and design of God on the family and on marriage," Francis said. "Therefore, it is a question of educating girls not only to the beauty and grandeur of their vocation of women, in a just and differentiated relation between man and woman, but also to assume important responsibilities in the Church and in society."
"In some countries, where woman is still in a position of inferiority, and even exploited and mistreated," the Pope lamented, "you are certainly called to carry out a notable role of promotion and education." The Pontiff also urged them not to forget the necessary and explicit openness of your pedagogy to the possibility of a life consecrated to the Lord.
The Pope also thanked them for all the good "that the Lord has enabled you to do in hearts. At the same time, I hope that the Holy Spirit will lead the different Associations that you group together on the path to follow to be able to meet the future challenges."
"Education is, in fact, the indispensable means to enable girls to become active and responsible women, proud and happy of their faith in Christ lived in every day life. Thus they will participate in the building of a world permeated by the Gospel," he said.
He also said he appreciated the topic they chose for their meeting: “To Live the Joy of the Gospel as a Guide:”  "It is a magnificent plan: to proclaim to others, with the witness of our life, that to encounter Jesus makes us happy; that to encounter Jesus frees and heals us; that to encounter Jesus opens us to others and drives us to proclaim him, in particular to the poorest, to those who are far away, alone and abandoned."
Before entrusting the guides to Mary's care and imparting his Apostolic Blessing, Pope Francis reminded the guides: "The Virgin Mary is the model of woman according to the Gospel and according to the heart of God, of which the Church and our societies are in need. May she be for you source of encouragement and inspiration."

USCCB releases guide on Girl Scouts in Catholic parishes

USCCB releases resource guide on Girl Scouts for Catholic parishes
By Carol ZimmermannCatholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Responding to concerns about Catholic involvement with Girl Scouts, a U.S. bishops' committee released key points from its dialogue with Girl Scout leaders outlining major concerns of church leaders and the national organization's responses.

The aim of the resource, issued April 2 by the bishops' Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, was not to support or oppose Catholic involvement with Girl Scouts of the USA, known as GSUSA, but to provide local bishops, pastors, youth leaders and parents with necessary information to determine their level of involvement.

Catholics have been affiliated with Girl Scouts for 100 years and there are an estimated 400,000 Catholic girls among the nation's 3 million Girl Scouts. In the past few years, questions about the organization have sparked online discussions, boycotts of Girl Scout cookies and the ousting of troops from Catholic parishes.

Concerns have been raised about the Girl Scouts' relationship with Planned Parenthood and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, known as WAGGGS. There also have been questions about the organization's policy on human sexuality and contraception and its program materials and resources.

The bishops' committee spent one year gathering information about concerns and another year in dialogue with Girl Scout leaders in an effort to clarify the issues.

"The exchanges between USCCB staff and GSUSA staff were pleasant, informative and respectful. GSUSA staff was generous with their time, indicated a strong desire and willingness to work more closely with the Catholic Church in the United States," said the committee, noting that the resource materials are not only posted on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops website, www.usccb.org, but also the Girl Scouts site, www.girlscouts.org.

In providing the information it obtained, the committee said the decision for Catholics to participate or not in Girl Scouts is a local one and that "diocesan bishops have the final authority over what is appropriate for Catholic Scouting in their dioceses."

This material "does not intend to be exhaustive," the committee noted, nor was it an attempt to "make decisions or set out national norms."

It also recognized "the history of significant work and relationships between Girl Scouts and the church and the service Girl Scout councils and troops have provided dioceses, parishes and local communities."

In a question-and-answer section, the Girl Scouts said they have "no official relationship" with Planned Parenthood. They also said the way GSUSA is structured does not allow the national office "to prohibit local councils or troops from collaborating with or forming their own local relationships with Planned Parenthood" or other organizations.

Regarding WAGGGS -- an international group based in London that describes itself as advocating for the education of girls and young women and promoting "sexual and reproductive health/rights" -- GSUSA said it "only participates in select WAGGGS programming" and does not have "the ability or purview to criticize, explicitly distance itself from, or change particular advocacy positions within WAGGGS." Its contributions to the organization are only from investment income and not from cookie sales, dues or registration fees.

The Girl Scouts said their national office has a neutral policy on sexuality and contraception but that it doesn't "prohibit individual councils or troops from taking a position or sponsoring programming on human sexuality or other topics" if the troop has parental consent and other approvals.

In a question about Scout membership by youths who identify themselves as transgender, the Girl Scouts said: "Placement of transgender youth is handled on a case-by-case basis, with the welfare and best interests of the child and the members of the troop/group in question a top priority."

Within this resource, the bishops' committee stressed the need for communication between diocesan leaders and local Girl Scout councils as well as using a "memorandum of understanding" which is a form establishing mutual understanding between Girl Scouts and dioceses and parishes stressing that parish troops are "free from any programming or activities contrary to the church's teaching."

Robert McCarty, executive director of the Washington-based National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry in Washington, and an adviser in the dialogue sessions with GSUSA and the bishops' committee, said there has been a long history of secular organizations partnering with the church and the cooperation needs "regular communication and a sense of accountability."

McCarty told Catholic News Service April 8 that Catholics working with secular organizations does not mean "blanket endorsement" of them. He also stressed that the dialogue between the bishops' committee and the Girl Scouts provides "a starting point" to "find common ground and move forward."

He said the Girl Scout leaders had "every right to feel criticized but they did not." Instead, he said they met with Catholic leaders and were willing to change things and even re-do materials.

McCarty recognized that the USCCB resource will not satisfy everyone and said that just that day he received letter from a Catholic who said people in her parish want her to stop leading the parish Girl Scout troop because of claims they had heard of its association with Planned Parenthood.

Gladys Padro-Soler, GSUSA's faith and social issues adviser, told CNS in an April 9 email that Girl Scout leaders "are confident that the USCCB's new Web resource will encourage Girl Scout councils and local dioceses that have experienced trying times during this period to reclaim the collaboration and communication they have always shared."

She noted that GSUSA "believes local issues are best solved with local solutions" and hopes that diocesan offices and Girl Scout councils use "memorandums of understanding" to clearly identify their partnership terms and to also alleviate "concerns a diocese may have about Girl Scouts' service to girls."

"Ultimately," she said, "it is the church's own parishioners that deliver the Girl Scout program and they are empowered both by GSUSA and the church to ensure the program meets their faith's tenets."

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Editors: The USCCB's question and answer guide can be found here: www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/who-we-teach/youth/catholic-scouting-questions.cfm, and also on the Girl Scouts site: www.girlscouts.org/program/basics/faith/catholic_church_relationship.asp.

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Great article about state of relationship between Girl Scouts and Catholic Church

Dialogue between Catholic leaders, Girl Scouts addresses criticisms

A Girl Scout cadet adjusts her sash during an awards ceremony at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis this year. (CNS/Lisa Johnston, St. Louis Review)

By Christie L. Chicoine
Catholic News Service

PHILADELPHIA (CNS) -- Tina Kent credits the Girl Scouts for teaching her skills in leadership, conflict resolution and critical thinking and for giving her an appreciation for the outdoors and opportunities to travel.

Kent became a Brownie at age 8 in her native Vermillion, S.D., and remained a Scout until she was a teenager in Waco, Texas.

Now a wife and mother of five, Kent lives in the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pa., and is a Girl Scout troop leader in York, Pa., where her troop meets at St. Joseph Catholic School.

Her daughter Maggie, 7, a first-grader at the school, is a Girl Scout Daisy. Kent hopes daughter Ruth, 3, will one day join her sister in the Scouts.

Among other projects, her troop makes Christmas and Valentine's Day cards for the elderly and this year donated 46 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to the local Catholic food pantry and sent 85 boxes to a girls' school in Afghanistan.

"As Catholics, we are called to be serving other people, to be reaching out, to be trying to do good in this world," said Kent, 44, who became a Catholic at Easter 2003 when she was 35.

Kent is well aware of claims by some that the Girl Scouts of the USA promotes Planned Parenthood and its advocacy of birth control and abortion. Others have complained that some printed material distributed to Scouts contained references that countered the Catholic Church's teachings.

After looking into the criticism herself, she told Catholic News Service, "I just don't buy that it's happening."

Kent acknowledged, however, the organization on occasion may end up "associating with people who are associating with people who are not who the Catholic Church would choose to be associating with."

The Girl Scouts of the USA, known as GSUSA, is marking its 100th anniversary this year. It has 3.2 million girl and adult members. An estimated 500,000 Catholic girls and adults in the U.S. are involved in Girl Scouts.

Criticism of the Girl Scouts as an organization has surfaced off and on over the last several years and earlier this year made the rounds again on the Internet.

In response GSUSA has strongly stated it "does not have a relationship or partnership with Planned Parenthood and does not plan to create one" and takes no position on abortion or birth control. "Parents and volunteer troop leaders in Catholic churches," it said, "have total control of the Girl Scout programming their girls receive."

Given the large number of Catholics involved in Girl Scouts, such concerns prompted the bishops' Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth at its mid-March meeting to discuss GSUSA's "possible problematic relationships with other organizations" and questions about some of its materials and resources.

In a March 28 letter to his fellow bishops, committee chairman Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of South Bend-Fort Wayne, Ind., said some questions may need to be answered at the national level and others at the local level.

Among other actions, he said the committee wants to develop a resource bishops can share with priests, youth ministers, pro-life directors, educators and others in their diocese on Catholic identity for troops and guidance for parents.

Bishop Rhoades said the committee "affirmed the good service" Catholic Girl Scouts have provided and continue to provide to their communities and to the church. "Catholic Girl Scout troops have served girls and young women for many years, and the committee is grateful for this service," he said.

The bishop invited Robert McCarty, executive director of the Washington-based National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry in Washington, and Kathleen Carver, the federation's associate director and communications director, to the meeting to give committee members their perspective on the claims made about the Girl Scouts.

The federation's website, www.nfcym.org, has a question-and-answer section on the issue, and according to McCarty, dialogue between the national Girl Scouts office in New York and the federation has been ongoing.

McCarty told CNS April 9 that the bishops' Secretariat for Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth would convene a group soon to discuss what resources and tools would help create dialogue among church and Girl Scout leaders "more intentionally" and provide clear guidelines for predominantly Catholic troops where "Catholic teaching is honored and at the forefront."

Beyond the church's relationship with Girl Scouts is the bigger issue of "how does the church engage secular organizations?" McCarty stated. "We advocate for church teaching through direct engagement and honest respectful dialogue."

In an earlier interview with CNS, McCarty said he has met with Girl Scout leaders in New York to convey concerns the federation has heard from the field, though he rejected the claim that Girl Scouts promotes Planned Parenthood.

In January, Anna Maria Chavez, a Catholic who has been the Girl Scouts CEO since last November, came to Washington from New York, along with the chair of GSUSA's board of directors, to meet with McCarty.

"For nearly 100 years, we have partnered with the Catholic Church to support the growth and development of millions of girls," Chavez told CNS April 19. "It is a wonderful legacy and we're grateful for the opportunity to participate in the process that will only enhance our partnership."

She said her organization has had meetings with Catholic dioceses around the country and said "those conversations have been very valuable in strengthening that relationship."

"Working closely together, we will continue to provide girls with the courage, confidence and character they will need to make our world a better place."

McCarty said the assertion Girls Scouts has a relationship with Planned Parenthood arose from a statement the previous CEO made in 2004 on broadcast television in which she listed the organization as one group among many with whom the Scouts maintained a relationship.

"That," he stressed, "was eight years ago, and, that has changed."

Other criticism has been directed at the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, known as WAGGGS, which, for example, has advocated for emergency contraception for women in Third World countries, McCarty said. GSUSA is one of WAGGS' 145 member organizations.

In the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, Deacon Dana Allen Nearmyer, a consultant for evangelization and Catholic formation in the archdiocese, said Catholic leaders are concerned by the fact the GSUSA sends money to WAGGGS.

"We've said that's not acceptable," Deacon Nearmyer told CNS in a recent interview. "Our recommendation would be that they would stop funding the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts."

No Scouts' dues or registration fees go to WAGGGS, but GSUSA sends investment earnings to the international group.

McCarty likened the relationship between the Girl Scouts and WAGGS to that between the United States and the United Nations. That association, he said, does not imply that the U.S. is aligned with everything the U.N. advocates.

"The Vatican has a role at the U.N. I don't see the Vatican walking away from the U.N.," he added. "The Vatican is there to engage the U.N. through the lens of Catholic social teaching and church teaching."

Another criticism arose over Girl Scout material that included a link to a play written by a girl who questioned her parents and the Catholic Church, McCarty said. "When we raised that issue with the Girl Scouts, they took it out. They reprinted their books."

"We're certainly not looking at banning Girl Scouts, unless that's a directive," Deacon Nearmyer told CNS.

"We appreciate being part of the conversation and moving the curriculum of Girl Scouting to its more traditional, original roots -- protecting families. We also value their national connection and notoriety," he said.

"But ... at some point, if parishes are looking for something that's a more substantial faith organization, Girl Scouts is only going to be able to carry them so far because they're a secular organization."

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