Just say NO...to Girl Scouts? Archbishop calls for the Church to cut ties

'To follow Jesus and his Gospel will often require us to be counter-cultural.'

Girl Scouts is known for its encouragement for young girls to learn and grow to be responsible adults with values and leadership skills.

Until recently, the Girls Scouts have been symbols of courage, confidence and character, but for one Archbishop, the Girls Scouts no longer stand for moral values.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to The Kansas City Star, Archbishop Joseph Naumann released a statement claiming the Girl Scouts are "no longer a compatible partner in helping us form young women with the virtues and values of the Gospel."

He continued, explaining the Archdiocese of Kansas would be severing ties with Girl Scouts in favor of a Christian-based scouting program called American Heritage Girls.

The American Heritage Girls' mission is to help with "Building women of integrity through service to God, family, community and country."

Their vision is simple: "American Heritage Girls is the premier national character development organization for young women that embraces Christian values and encourages family involvement."

Their inclusion policy states: "All biological girls of any color, creed, race, national origin and socioeconomic status who agree to live according to the standards of the AHG Oath and the AHG Creed are invited to be members of American Heritage Girls."

The Girl Scout's FAQ explains: "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."

They specify a child recognized by their community as a girl is also recognized at a girl for their program.

Archbishop Naumann explained: "The decision to end our relationship with Girl Scouting was not an easy one...Eventually it came down to this. Our greatest responsibility as a church is to the children and young people in our care. We have a limited time and number of opportunities to impact the formation of our young people.

"It is essential that all youth programs at our parishes affirm virtues and values consistent with our Catholic faith. To follow Jesus and his Gospel will often require us to be counter-cultural. With the promotion by Girl Scouts USA (GSUSA) of programs and materials reflective of many of the troubling trends in our secular culture, they are no longer a compatible partner in helping us form young women with the virtues and values of the Gospel."

The acceptance of transgendered children was only one of many morally wrong decisions the Girl Scouts have accepted over the years.

In February, Planned Parenthood's founder, Margaret  Sanger, was promoted among Girl Scouts councils as a role model for "Working for Human Rights."

The Archbishop also cited Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, American feminists who supported an end to gender roles and promoted "rights" such as abortion.

Archbishop Naumann noted the several times the Girl Scouts promoted these women as role models in manuals and web content, which has since been removed - but it wasn't enough.

"While I am grateful that offensive and completely age-inappropriate material was recently removed by GSUSA from portions of their Journey series of manuals in response to concerns raised by the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and others, it is disturbing such an intervention on our part was necessary.

"We prefer to partner with youth organizations that share our values and vision for youth ministry, not ones that we have to  monitor constantly to protect our children from being misled and misinformed."

The Archbishop then suggested parents send their children to American Heritage Girls and invited Girl Scout leaders to leave their roles in the immoral organization to join American Heritage Girls.

Unsurprisingly, some Girl Scouts' mothers were angry at the decision, but it was not made lightly.

Deacon Dana Nearmyer explained how a few years ago, several Catholic school mothers asked the church for an after school Christian program for girls.

"So we did a bunch of research and tried to find the best mission fit for us, and American Heritage Girls seemed like that was going to be the best fit," he explained.

To phase out the Girl Scouts entirely from the church, Archbishop Nearmyer offered priests in the archdiocese two options.

"One is that they can do an immediate shift to American Heritage Girls, and some of the leadership did that.

"The other is that next year's kindergartners that sign up for after-school girls programs through their schools will join American Heritage Girls."

Using these methods, the Girl Scouts will be phased out over a few years.

"We're trying to make it as pastoral and gradual as we can," the Archbishop explained. "There's no malice at all."

It is simply a means of ensuring today's girls are not learning what secular society is encouraging. Teaching today's youth about God's values are more important.

Thankfully, American Heritage Girls encourages morality and Gospel-based teachings for young women across the nation.

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