| Bolding - my emphasis |
| Friday, 03 June 2011 | |
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A
Catholic bishop just released a warning to Catholic parents about – of
all things – the Girl Scouts. Auxiliary Bishop James Conley of Denver
praises the Girl Scouts for forming “the young person in a spirit of
service” and a “sense of duty to the wider community.” The group also
“builds character and cultivates civic pride.”
But,
says Conley, “over the past year, a growing number of Catholic parents
and youth ministers have shared concern with me. Their unease involves
the Girl Scouts and especially the World Association of Girl Guides and
Girl Scouts (WAGGS).”
Conley
says parents should explore the Girl Scouts and WAGGS websites and pay
attention to all the links, which will be a “sobering experience.”
He
quotes one youth minister:
This
is strong language from a respected Catholic bishop, but he likely will
not be the only one stepping up to warn Catholic parents about what has
happened to the Girl Scouts. Many other bishops are now reviewing their
diocese’s connection with this once esteemed institution.
Scrutiny
of the Girl Scouts increased exponentially over the past year and a
half since the group I lead, C-FAM (Catholic Family and Human Rights
Institute) reported on a Girl Scout panel held at – where else? – the
United Nations. We have watched the Girl Scouts for years as they have
participated in the annual U. N. Commission on the Status of Women, what
can only be described as a pro-abortion jamboree.
Two
years ago we sent some high school students into the Girl Scout panel, a
panel where parents are not allowed. These wholesome young girls from a
Catholic high school in Rhode Island said the panel was “creepy,”
including odd role-playing about their bodies.
A
year ago, one of our colleagues was sufficiently concerned that she
went to the U. N. Girl Scout panel. She sat down, but was immediately
asked to leave by the Girl Scout handlers. No parents allowed. So she
hung around outside the locked door and when the meeting broke up she
immediately went inside. What she found shocked her, a stack of
brochures called “Healthy, Hot, and Happy,” which, among other things
extols the virtues of anal sex. The brochure, produced by Planned
Parenthood, is intended for adolescents with HIV/AIDS.
 The offending brochure
What
was this material doing at a closed-door Girl Scout panel? For that,
one has to look at what has been a long time relationship between the
Girl Scouts and Planned Parenthood.
In
2004 a Girl Scout troop in Texas held a conference at which they
distributed sexually graphic brochures, not unlike the one at the U. N.
Girl Scout panel. This caused a nationwide stink including a boycott of
Girl Scout cookies. Girl Scouts USA President Kathy Cloninger appeared
on the Today Show to try and calm everybody down.
Cloninger
actually admitted, however, that the Girl Scouts work with Planned
Parenthood:
Even
during the present crisis, the Girl Scouts have not denied or clarified
this statement. They do say the Girl Scouts does not have a formal relationship with Planned Parenthood. Lots of wiggle room in that word “formal.”
After
the report about their panel at the United Nations and the vulgar
brochures, Girl Scout flacks in New York swung into action and offered
various justifications. They have claimed that the brochures weren’t in
the room, that someone else must have left them there, that if they were
in the room the Girl Scouts did not distribute them – and so on.
A
group called the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministries has
given cover to the Girl Scouts. This group supports and promotes
scouting among Catholic schoolgirls. But they are folks who are supposed
to be watching out for our girls. Its Executive Director, Robert
McCarty, did his own “investigation” and, no surprise, gave the Girl
Scouts a clean bill of health. What’s more, the report attacked C-FAM
for making the initial report. Did his report address the comment by
Kathy Cloninger that the Girl Scouts have a relationship with Planned
Parenthood? Or any of the evidence that Girl Scout troops actually run
programs with Planned Parenthood? Not a peep.
I
suspect that at the U. N. Planned Parenthood, being quite cozy with the
Girl Scouts, said something like, “can we put these brochures in the
room for your conference” and the Girl Scout leaders told their Planned
Parenthood friends, “sure no problem,” all the while thinking that no
one was watching.
But
this is only the tip of the iceberg. Many Catholic parents – and now
bishops – are waking up the fact that the Girl Scouts at the national
and international level have been taken over by the pelvic left, who are
busy trying to indoctrinate our girls with their agenda.
Parents
should know that there are alternatives to the Girl Scouts. American
Heritage Girls, for instance, is quite wholesome and free of the
questionable ideology that has infiltrated Girl Scouts USA. American
Heritage Girls even signed a letter of cooperation with the Boy Scouts,
who have remained so true to their mission they are regularly attacked
by the usual crew.
It
is not too late to save the Girl Scouts, but only if people inside and
outside the organization take action to stop the corruption of yet
another American institution.
By Austin Ruse
Austin Ruse is the President of the New York and Washinton,
D.C.-based Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute (C-FAM), a
research institute that focuses exclusively on international social
policy. The opinions expressed here are Mr. Ruse’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of C-FAM.
©2011 The Catholic Thing. All rights reserved. For reprint rights, write to: info@frinstitute.org
The Catholic Thing is a forum for intelligent Catholic commentary. Opinions expressed by writers are solely their own.
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