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Email a FriendI very much enjoyed my involvement in Girl Scouts from 1st to 5th grade, many years ago! It is a shame to see how the “feminist” (not in the true sense of the word feminism) influence has infiltrated this organization. As an alternative, our Catholic homeschool group used the Little Flowers Program for several years. We have recently moved into the Little Women Hospitality Program. Our older girls (teens) call themselves The Goretti Girls (after the model of purity, St. Maria Goretti) & use some ideas from the Pilgrims of the Holy Family Program (which can be used for both boys & girls).
I have heard of the formation of Catholic Girl Scout troops. Is it possible for a particular troop to be somewhat autonomous from the national GSA organization & to pick & choose what elements of the Girl Scout program they find positive & edifying?
Scouting Questions
Posted by Lisa Hendey in News on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 8:54 AM
Following the publication of the news this week about Planned Parenthood distributing explicit materials at a recent Girl Scout gathering, my inbox has been filled with emails from concerned Catholic moms.
For those unfamiliar with the story, you can read the details here. There appears to be some question about the accuracy of news reports, but the original story inferred that extremely graphic materials had been distributed to scouts ages ten through fourteen in the name of improving reproductive health.
I don’t know the true story here. I only know that the Scouts in my life are precious girls from wonderful families engaged in positive activities in our parish, school and community. I’d like to hear today from moms of girls engaged in Girl Scouting - what are your experiences with your daughters’ troops and your local scouting organizations? Does this news story and others like it make your family less likely to get involved in organized Girl Scouting? Has your local chapter responded to this story? Has anyone here investigated or participated in Little Flowers or other scouting alternatives?
Comments
My daughter is in American Heritage Girls. It is like GS with badge earning but is much more Judeo-Christian and has no cookie selling. Our Catholic Homeschooling group starts and ends each meeting with prayers in a chapel. I think it is a wonderful alternative. They are spread throughout much of the US and have been growing since 1993 I think. This is our first year and we are loving it.
I am so glad you posted about this, it has really been on my mind. I have fond memories of my years as a Girl Scout (1st through 12th grade!), and have had a great experience with my duaghter (currently in 4th grade). She has been in troops led by Godly women, engaged in great activities in the comunity and parish and met girls from families I admire. I can’t imagine the type of material depicted in the news stories as having a place in what our girl scouting experience has been.
That said, I know that a very small portion of the money we give to scouting goes to support the national organization, so I am torn. I really have no answer right now. I would hate to deprive my daughter of the great experience she is having, but I also don’t want to support things of the Planned Parenthood nature. If we could just jump over to one of the alternative organizations, we probably would, but they are not as well established here and would lack a lot of the structure already in place. For instance, we just had Girl Scout Sunday at Church, where the girls participated in and were recognized at Mass - we don’t have a Little Flowers Sunday.
I will read the comments with great interest as I really don’t know what the right answer is for my family.
My daughter was involved in scouts until 6th grade. At that point, I was upset with what I had learned at that time (6 years ago) about Planned Parenthood’s involvement with Girl Scouts. I had NO complaint with our leaders or troop. In fact, I have great respect for the women who lead in our parish and know they are faith-filled and loyal to the magesterium. However I did not want to be associated even remotely with a group that allows Planned Parenthood any involvement with the girls at all. I think that yes, individual troops can work with the girls on whatever badges/activities they prefer, and I do not believe there is any requirement to ‘force’ any girl or troop to participate in any activity they do not want to. However: girls are required to pay dues. Troops are required to fund-raise. Some portion of both dues and funds raised do funnel up to the national organization. It may be small, but it is there. I personally have a very hard time showing any support to an organization that allows Planned Parenthood access to the girls—no matter what state/city/location it occurs, even if not in my town. I try not to judge how others respond to this situation, and I don’t fault those who continue to participate/sponsor girls in scouting…I just can’t live with it myself.
I posted a comment about this earlier today in the Coffee Talk comments. See http://www.lightoftruth.info for additional information. I feel that as Catholics we can no longer support Girl Scouts due to their partnership w/ Planned Parenthood.
Danielle M. - I would encourage you to start a Little Flowers Girls Club or an American Heritage Girls Club in your area. Talk to your diocese about it. Maybe they would no longer sponsor Girl Scout Sunday, and would instead embrace Little Flowers or American Heritage Girls Sunday once they find out the truth about Girl Scouts.
No. Girl Scouts was heading in a direction that made me uncomfortable when *I* left scouting (as a middle schooler) in the mid 80’s. Sadly, GSA is not the organization it was when my mom was a scout until she graduated high school or even what it was when I was a little Brownie. I believe there are good troops out there but the defiencies of the nat’l org and the involvment I believe would be necessary in a local troop/council to make sure it wasn’t ‘infected’ is more than I am able to give. So we don’t do scouts. The only American Heritage Girls in my area at evangelical protestant churches which aren’t welcoming to Catholics and my parish is teeny tiny with people traveling from all over so starting a troop there is impractical. It’s OK. I’ve managed to raise one daughter to graduation who is a great kid, good Catholic and happy and involved in the community without GSA and I figure the next three girls will manage too.
At one time, we considered looking into a local American Heritage Girls club, too—made up largely of Christian homeschoolers. Unfortunately, there is the element of “those poor unsaved Catholics” prevalent among some of the parents. Some even doubt that Catholics are Christians. We are very blessed to have a group of Catholic homeschoolers (14 families) who gather regularly on First Fridays, to celebrate the Feasts of the liturgical year, take filed trips, do service projects, etc.
Our eldest son has been involved in Boy Scouts for several years. Thus far, the BSA seems to have remained intact, although we can see that a few politically correct elements have made their way in. Basically, we just have to remain vigilant as parents.
With our two older girls (10,7) we have done a variety of groups in our military travels. The oldest has participated in Girl Scouts, Little Flowers, and is now in American Heritage Girls. Little Flowers is the most Catholic and easiest for a very small group to start, our tiny TLM parish began with 3 moms. American Heritage Girls is very good, but requires a lot more volunteers, but then there are 40+ girls in the troop. I like both these groups much, much more than Girl Scouts.
Both of my daughters are in Girl Scouts (Daisy and Junior) at their Catholic school. They both enjoy it, and I was a scout myself, but the Planned Parenthood connection makes me very uneasy. How do I find out if there are Little Flowers or American Heritage groups in my area?
For more info on American Heritage Girls go to: http://www.ahgonline.org
For more info on Little Flowers Girls Club go to: http://www.eccehomopress.com/Little-Flowers-Home.html
They also have a blog at http://littleflowersgirlsclub.blogspot.com/
This blog entry talks about “Looking for A Little Flowers Group”:
http://littleflowersgirlsclub.blogspot.com/2008/09/looking-for-little-flower-group.html
My daughter was in Girl Scouts as a Daisy and a Brownie. At the end of the Brownie year, the leader got divorced and moved to a different school. She took some of the girls with her to the new troop, along with the money from the troop. A friend and I tried to start a new troop at the school, but got absolutely no assistance from the local Girl Scout office.
We gave up.
Knowing of the involvment of the other levels of scouting such as planned parenthood has kept us from participating. I have young daughters that I know would benefit from some sort of scouting organization, but I am torn. On the flip side, I know many people locally who do participate in Girl Scouts and love it. I have heard wonderful things about American Heritage Girls. I am really considering that particular group for my girls next fall.
I recieved this follow-up to the previous reports and “quesions” from Catholic Family & HUman Rights Institute.
EVIDENCE MOUNTS THAT GIRL SCOUTS DISTRIBUTED DANGEROUS
PLANNED PARENTHOOD SEX GUIDE AT UN PANEL FOR GIRLS
STATEMENT BY AUSTIN RUSE
PRESIDENT, CATHOLIC FAMILY AND HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTE
(For an interview with Austin Ruse call (202) 393-7002)
(NEW YORK – C-FAM) Late last week we reported in our weekly Friday Fax that the Girl Scouts allowed the distribution of an explicit and dangerous sex guide – produced by the International Planned Parenthood Federation – in a Girl Scout panel for adolescent girls at the UN.
We have been inundated with responses from Girl Scout moms, Girl Scout leaders and others angered and confused that such a thing could happen.
Recall the sex guide tells teenage girls, “Many people think sex is just about vaginal or anal intercourse… But, there are lots of different ways to have sex and lots of different types of sex. There is no right or wrong way to have sex. Just have fun, explore and be yourself!”
The sex guide goes on to tell girls, “Some people have sex when they have been drinking alcohol or using drugs. This is your choice.”
The Girl Scouts have flatly denied that the sex guide was available at their UN conference. We stand by our story and based on new evidence we go further. The sex guide was distributed with the full knowledge and consent of the Girl Scouts-USA.
SPECIFIC RESPONSES TO GIRL SCOUT’S DENIAL
The Girl Scouts imply another group left the literature prior to their panel. Understand that the Girl Scout meeting was on opening day of the conference (March 1), which means the room was clean of all literature that morning.
There were four other meetings in that room that day prior to the Girl Scouts meeting. At 10 am the NAACP had a meeting about climate change. At noon the UN had an orientation meeting for NGOs attending the conference. At 2 pm CORAID had a meeting about counterterrorism and women.
Very clearly, none of these meetings were on adolescent topics, which was the target audience of the sex guide.
The Girl Scouts say we were not in the room. That is true. All non-Scout adults were thrown out prior the meeting; and no wonder given what was distributed there. However, even though our source was thrown out of the room, she stayed around and as the doors closed she went right in to see what was being distributed. It was there and then that she found the stack of dangerous sex brochures.
The source for our story and the woman who went into the room to monitor what the Girl Scouts were doing is mother of seven Sharon Slater who is also president of longtime UN pro-family group Family Watch International.
That the Girl Scouts would allow such a guide makes sense. The meeting was for adolescent girls. The brochure was made for adolescent girls and boys. In an awful way, the brochure was in context for the Girl Scout meeting.
More importantly, the Girl Scouts have a long time relationship with Planned Parenthood.
Here is Girl Scout CEO Kathy Cloninger from a 2004 interview on The Today Show:
…we partner with many organizations. We have relationships with our church communities, with YWCAs, and with Planned Parenthood organizations across the country, to bring information-based sex education programs to girls.”
If the Girl Scouts do not approve of the sex guide that they made available at their conference, they should say so.
If they do not approve of the brochure and its message, they should say so.
The Girl Scouts have an obligation to their members, to the girls and their parents to disassociate themselves from this dangerous Planned Parenthood sex guide for teenagers.
My girls have participated in Girl Scouts since the Daisy (kindergarten) level, both at our Catholic school and then at the public school. My oldest is a Jr. Girl Scout now, so we have been personally involved with scouting for 6 years now, in three different troops.
I know all three of my daughters girl scout leaders. I have been present at many meetings. All three of my daughters have attended Girl Scout summer camps. My oldest has gone to one of their sleepaway camps.
We have had nothing but positive experiences in our troops. I will refrain from commenting on any of the above because I have never seen, heard or experienced anything from our troop leaders with respect to sex, reproduction or birth control. I am dealing with REAL leaders here, have known some of them for years and can personally vouche for their commitment and dedication to Girl Scouts. This is not heresay for me.
My only issue with the Girl Scout organization is with all the beaurocratic mumbo jumbo that we as parents have to do in order to get anything done. There are numerous “meetings” , permission slips, papers to sign, etc. that can be very cumbersome. Other than that, the girls really enjoy it. They have made some wonderful friends and have participated in many local civic activities in our town, such as raking senior citizen’s lawns, singing Christmas carols at the senior citizen home, planting tulip bulbs in the down town business districts and holding food & clothing drives.
I am a Scout leader, precious six year old Daisies and Seven/eight year old Brownies. I have 23 girls in my troop and we meet in their school, a Catholic school. At this point with my little girls so young I am able to control every piece of information from GSUSA that is distributed. We open and close our meetings with the normal pledge, etc but we also open and close our meetings with a prayer.
It’s been my experience with this organization that you get out what you put in and so far I’ve been so pleased with the results. I myself wasn’t crazy about cookie selling but my goodness the girls were and it was empowering for them so I’m glad we did.
I can’t speak for the whole organization or the chapter involved in this but I can say, shame on them. I am sorry this happened but as a whole I don’t think this is the norm. That said, as we all know the entire world isn’t Catholic though and Girl Scouting is an excellent way for my girls to learn to navigate with girls of all faiths in a nurturing environment that is grooming future leaders. This can be an excellent teaching moment, “as Catholics we do not condone this girls and you should know that at every turn people are undermining us and don’t always see things our way.” it makes me sad to see this happened but I think rather than retreating and isolating all Catholic girls from this, we need to teach our own daughters how to live in the world we live in while still being Catholic.
For my part if my daughter remains a scout as she gets older, I will continue to lead these girls and get both messages across, how to lead using our Church’s lessons and how to lead using many of the tools that they are using while being scouts.
Tricia,
Thank you for your post and for your service to those lucky girls. Your description of scouting is one of the reasons stories like this bother me so much. My daughter has had the benefit of wonderful leaders and fellowship with like-minded girls, as it sounds the girls in your troops have, so it is hard for me to throw away the whole experience based on reports like this, when they depict events that I could NEVER see happening in our local troops. Maybe I’m just naive, but then again, I recently made the decision to send my kids to public school after many years in Catholic school, b/c it was the right thing to do in our current circumstance, and clearly there will be things there that I don’t agree with. I am going to continue to monitor what my children encounter and make the best day to day decisions I can. Still enjoying the coinversation.
Think of the unique opportunity / position you’ve been blessed with…
You are in a position to lead not only your girls / your family to a better organization and away from one that supports Planned Parenthood, but a whole flock of girls and their families! As a leader, I can only imagine that if you presented the opportunity to switch to Little Flowers Girls Club or American Heritage Girls, that many would jump at this.
This was the report we received from GS offices regarding this matter.
An update from GSUSA regarding the UN, Girl Scouts and Planned Parenthood—Earlier this month, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) was honored to attend and participate in the 54th Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations, where girls were encouraged to take action on global issues concerning women and girls. Our participation in that conference was recently the subject of numerous internet stories and blogs that are factually inaccurate and troubling. Here are the facts of that meeting:
The Girls Only Workshop was jointly hosted by Girl Scouts of the USA, UNICEF’s Working Group on Girls, Girls Learn International and The Grail. The meeting was only open to the girls and participating sponsors.
Only seven adults were in the room at the time of the meeting, each representing one of the sponsors of the event. No one from Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute was in the room to report on the event.
30 - 35 girls from across the world participated in this event. All teenagers.
The girls received a copy of the only document they were working on titled (“The Girls’ Statement”). No other documents were given to the girls as part of this event.
The room in question was also used to host other events over the course of the multi-day conference. Prior to our girls entering the room, we did not “sanitize’ the room to ensure that no trash or other items were left behind. We did request that those not associated with the sponsors to leave the room prior to our session.
The Girl Scouts of the USA was not contacted by Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) regarding its initial story to discuss the facts of this event. Had they applied these basic journalistic standards, perhaps the true details of this event would have been reported.
Our Mission in Girl Scouting is to build girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. We continue to be proud of our girls and look forward to showing the world what our girls can do. We thank everyone for their support of Girl Scouting.
Please note that Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri does NOT partner with Planned Parenthood.
The fact that parents of the girls involved were not allowed to stay in the room is a HUGE reg flag to me. My daughter was involved in a troop that was affiliated with the “Catholic” school she attended. I say “Catholic” in parentheses because all the curriculum was secular except foe the extremely fluffly religious ed materialsand they attended Mass only once a month if at all. I found that the attitude of the girl scouts was very much a “parents get out” attitude. Parents were only invited to attend investiture type meetings and were otherwise asked to leave. This speaks to me of indoctrination. I like to choose whether or not to leave my children with other people. I say shame on GSUSA for the attitude, and shame on them for the literature which I beleive was handed out no matter what the organization may claim.
I agree with Christine. Why should a meeting be so closed??? Also, Jennifer, CFAM is a very reputable organization, with their only goal being to keep Catholics abrest of what goes on behind closed door at the UN, and to make sure there is a voice in the darkness. You should really check them out. As their Friday Fax says, they weren’t present in the room, but the reporter entered very shortly afterwards, with no one else having been in there and found the literature. I am not suprised about this news. Although I was a GS up through 6th grade, I will not have my 6 year old involved in GS. Even if the troup leaders are wonderful women, I will not give any money to an organization that is involved with PP. If GS makes any kind of contribution to PP, then you’re indirectly supporting abortion. I’m really going to miss my Thin Mints, but it’s a small scarifice in light of everything.
I saw the IPPF brochure (through the c-fam site), and, yes, it is disgusting, but it also seems clearly directed toward hiv-positive “young people” (not specific to girls), which does make me think they were left behind by another group (the c-fam article even states: “However, even though our source was thrown out of the room, she stayed around and as the doors opened she went right in to see what was being distributed. It was there and then that she found the stack of dangerous sex brochures.”).
I do not have daughters yet, but with this new info I don’t think I can comfortably have them be part of the organization. Teresa Tomeo featured this story on her show this morning. You can listen to the podcast by going to her website: teresatomeo.com
I had a friend of mine send me the C-Fam article on Tuesday and it left a very DEEP whole in my heart all day. She sent it to me because we/I am a Catholic with two daughters, and I am Brownie Girl Scout Leader in our area, and LOVE all my girls in my troop, as they too love me. We are extremely active, and do many things together as a troop, a Service Unit and for the local community. With this said when I first read the article, I wanted to step out immediatly, however, I also know enough to take a day to pray about it, before just jumping off on a tangent. My family and I are strong pro-lifers and want nothing to do with any support to Planned Parenthood. All day Tuesday I talked and share the article with many friends, plus to do more reasearch and as one person who has posted here already stated, we as leaders are able to direct the girls in everything moral and just. My one friend wrote to me, and she made me feel at peace by the end of the day. Here are her STRONG words to me:
“Girl Scouts is an organization made of humans and humans are flawed - just like the Catholic Church is made of humans and humans are flawed - we’ve withstood a few scandals to prove this.
Bottom line - are your girls better off for being girl scouts? I bet they are. are you a better person for being a leader and spending time with your daughters - ditto on that one too. Bottom line - you are the leader of your troop and you will decide what your daughters will and will not be exposed to.
I’m not saying ignore this - express your dissatisfaction - raise heck with the council - and pitch a hissy fit. But don’t segregate yourself from a whole organization that generally supports the well being of young women because of a couple of yahoos.
Don’t be sick - use that energy and do something good with it.
Girl scouts are good. And I need to maintain my cookie connection 
”
With all due respect to your friend the bottom line for me is why insist on affiliating yourself with a group that not just doesn’t share your values but is downright disrespectful (to the point of disdainful) of them when just as good alternatives exist?
As the mother of 4 girls, I must say that I am saddened by GSA’s support of Planned Parenthood. Whether this story is entirely accurate or not, there is no question that GSA supports the most vicious distributor of legalized murder in our country. I had a great experience as a Girl Scout as a child, I grew a lot from it, I’m a better woman because of it. However, I will not bend and say that the good outweighs the bad when it comes to this issue and sign my girls up, pay dues, fund raise, and therefore, fund the genocide of another generation. Good intentions don’t equal goodness.
I can’t even buy the cookies with a clear conscience, which is horrible because I have a soft spot in my heart for those little girls (having only girls myself) and boy are they delicious!
Abortion is a grave sin. Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of abortions in this country. If we knowingly contribute (through dues or by other means) to a group that in turn contributes to Planned Parenthood, aren’t we complicit in the sin of abortion? Or at the very least, aren’t we in some way giving our assent? I understand everyone’s comments about how wonderful the local girl scouts groups can be for girls, but we’re not talking about a minor teaching of our Church. It’s ABORTION.
I have two daughters (ages 4 and 2). I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d be willing to let them participate in a group that supports Planned Parenthood. On a side topic, my family will no longer puchase products that have a pink ribbon. Such corporations support the Komen foundation, which also contributes to Planned Parenthood. And yes, I did write to the toilet paper company telling them why we won’t buy their product any more…
I was a 25 year Girl Scout, Brownies through Seniors, then on to leadership & council level poitions of training & training the trainers. When our oldest daughter was a Brownie in 94-95, we saw enough to make our hair curl, so we took our daughter out & I relingquished the troop to another mom.
We took our girls to a Schoenstatt youth group for girls, run by the Schoenstatt Sisters. If you have a nearby Schoenstatt shrine, ask the sisters about forming a youth group. It is wonderfully catholic & our girls get to be with sisters who wear habits!
My five daughters have been involved with Girl Scouts, Little Flowers, and American Heritage Girls over the years. Right now we are just involved with American Heritage Girls. It is so much better than Girl Scouts in every way. AHG scouts can earn a Catholic religious emblem just the same as Girl Scouts. My two sons have been involved in Boy Scouts with no problems.
We pulled our daughters out of girl scouting years ago because Planned Parenthood has been associated with them for quite some time. I also found girl scouting to not be family friendly. Girl scouts these days is as full of the “feminism” rhetoric as an agency can be. When my daughter was involved all I could think was “I am woman hear me roar.” While I believe that young women should be encouraged to grow and learn to be independent, I also beleive that home making skills are important, and that family comes before “career.” As if mother hood isn’t a career….sheesh.
There are Catholic girls clubs that are available. My daughter was involved with Challenge for several years and is now involved in a youth group through a local parish. There is also a club that can be run as single gender or co-ed called Pilgrims of the Holy Family. It is available through Catholic Heritage Curriculum. In my experieince, these are healthier activities which edify and instruct in the faith without the secular feminism messages.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse… check out this link
http://www.jillstanek.com/archives/blogs/proliferations-3-16-10.html
mid page-
I Was a girl scout also, I while I don’t understand that there are probably
GREAT girl scout troops out there doing AMAZING things the truth of the matter
is they are an ORGANIZATION… and being affiliated with them means that SOME of YOUR money and your work goes into SUPPORTING what THEY choose to believe and support… so the second they start using some of the money towards PP or any other organization that doesn’t follow suit with your beliefs… is the second your obligation to them ceases.
Makes you think twice before you buy those girl scout cookies…
I am a Brownie and Daisy Troop leader at our school. Before I stepped up to the plate, I spoke with our council regarding the affiliation with Planned Parenthood. Our council does not have any affiliation with Planned Parenthood. In addition, as Tricia pointed out, I am the person these girls look up to. I am their leader. The scouts have a medal/badge for all religions. For Catholics it is the Family of God—for our age group, where we will be discussing our faith and how we can fit it in the Girl Scout Promise.
I plan to do some more research regarding this issue, discuss it with the parents, our principal, and our pastor and we take it from there.
Think of the unique opportunity / position you’ve been blessed with…
You are in a position to lead not only your girls / your family to a better organization and away from one that supports Planned Parenthood, but a whole flock of girls and their families! As a leader, I can only imagine that if you presented the opportunity to switch to Little Flowers Girls Club or American Heritage Girls, that many would jump at this.
Even if your council is not “affilitated,” Girl Scouts is. A portion of your dues goes to the national organization and, thus, Planned Parenthood. http://www.lightoftruth.info has some additional information. Please consider the other great alternatives.
God Bless
I am perplexed as to why the Catholic Committee on Scouting (and thus the USCCB) is still involved with Girl Scouts. I understand that this is a secular organization and thus can not be held to the same standards as, say, Junior Catholic Daughters- however, we need to hold these Catholic organizations accountable for what they support. I do not support Girl Scouts.
Once you have Planned Parenthood on your team, the only direction is down. Ladies, you WILL have to take your daughters out eventually.
To the best of my knowledge, the Catholic Committee on Scouting is NOT affiliated with the Girl Scouts. It is only made up of Boy Scouts on the National Level (NFCYM). The NCCGSCF is the Girl Scout/Campfire entity that is responsible for the religious medals at the NFCYM. This is the liaison that is questionable. On their website (http://www.nfcym.org) you will see Kathy Cloninger’s disclaimer from the last go round when the GSUSA’s partnership with Planned Parenthood was exposed (2004). We need to wake up as Catholics and smell the coffee. GSUSA is not good for our girls, the mentioned alternatives are far better and traditions can be built from AHG and Little Flowers (such as AHG/LF Sunday) just as they were built for GSUSA. Just because something is old or a tradition does not always mean it remains good. One other note: Kathy Cloninger (CEO of GSUSA) promised us on the Today Show in 2004, Girl Scouts would continue partnering with groups like Planned Parenthood to bring information based sexuality programs to their members. Now why are we surprised? Or were we just not listening? Or were we stunned then as we are now that the Girl Scouts could be about this awful business? Let’s get real friends!
I have three daughters, two of whom used to be in a local troop. The leaders and girls were wonderful, but once I learned of the facts supporting PP, I just couldn’t allow them to continue. It was heartbreaking and a HUGE lesson for us all. The good thing is that there are so many alternatives that are authentically catholic and follow along with our morals and beliefs. I now love that my children are learning all the things they did in scouts, plus more and none of it contradicts what they know to be true in their hearts.
With our homeschool group we are involved with Little Flowers and another wonderful group started by a mom who also wanted these girls to grow, learn and understand who they were created to be.
However, all this being said, I never thought about buying cookies now and how that money goes to GS and PP. This will be our last year to buy them.
If you feel, like I, that our girls need all these wonderful skills, then start a chapter of LF or AHG and then take this wonderful opportunity to teach the girls how to make a change and live in this world without being okay with what is going on in this world. That will be more empowering to them than anything GS can teach them.
THE DIO OF SAVANNAH IS WHERE THE GIRL SCOUTS STARTED. THIS IS A LIE AND IS TRASH. I AM SO SICK AND TIRED OF FUNDAMENTALIST TRASHY WHITE TRASH RUMORS. They do not hand out birth control at meetings. TRUST ME . iF YOU GET OUT YOU WILL SEE MORE OF IT. LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE AND NOT LET YOUR LIGHT RUN.
What you are doing is an ego trip. Why not get involved and stop this sort of thing. Maybe because the way literalists move is ineffective. Keep isolating yourselves and you are going to see more of this crap. Call your local bishop’s office. If you overrule him, you are not loyal.
Let me state upfront, I am a Girl Scout, I am a Lifetime member, and I started as a Brownie back in 1967, same year as my First Communion. I earned the Marian Medal, and has worked on the Catholic Religious Education Awards with the Girl Scout, in addition to being a Catechist, A Girl Scout Leader and Trainer, a mother and a practicing Catholic married woman.
I CAN see giving it out in a college setting, and from a couple more sites, the GSUSA girls were Girl Scout Ambassadors, I think mostly HS seniors, so while I might be concerned as a parent, I realize that young women this age are going to need information, and if they attend college, there are publications like this and more that they will receive without my consent or blessing.
IT was NOT given out to 11 or 12 year olds, (or younger), unlike some sites imply.
BUT… did anyone on the organizing of this event know about it? I feel yes, they did and went ahead anyways. Were they surprised by the blow-back? Oh heck yes, and can’t back peddle fast enough. The person that first “noticed” was a participant in the Conferences through her association with another NGO, has daughters and was interested in what was being said.
I don’t think she had as much of an agenda as other people she talked to did. Yet the “small” singular situation has made worse by the evasion of the truth. Isn’t a Girl Scout supposed to be “Honorable,” and her word trusted?
“I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do,…”
Seems some employees of the Movement at the corporate levels have not fully embraced our Promise and Law completely, and that is what is fueling everything. It’s not the original action that burns “bridges” it’s the lying (by commission or omission) and the “cover-up” or blame shifting that does it.
I am torn, really torn and upset. I’ve been going up and down about all this business. I see that it gets worse because once again, our hired PR people at National have not got a fricking clue! They should have been OUT on major media early on with ONE story and that being the absolute truth, no spinning.
Like every other scandal and downfall story in the last millennia, it’s not the original “sin” that gets you in trouble, it’s the story you make-up to CYA. Look at what happens when you eat “forbidden fruit.” Just ‘fess up, “yea Lord, we ate it, we had a choice but chose NOT to follow your instructions, we beg forgiveness.” But that’s not what happened.
It was never about the {insert incident} it was about the lying about it.
I hope, please God, that you did not READ THE PAMPLET, Sandra.
Why else could you see this distributed to our college women? The perversities mentioned in the pamphlet, and encouragement of them and masturbation are Mortal Sins. Our Church teaches purity and abstinence. We should want better for our young women.
For those who will not find the time to see the scandalous pamphlet, it reads - “Many people think sex is just about vaginal or anal intercourse… But, there are lots of different ways to have sex and lots of different types of sex. There is no right or wrong way to have sex. Just have fun, explore and be yourself!”
The sex guide goes on to tell girls, “Some people have sex when they have been drinking alcohol or using drugs. This is your choice.”
http://www.c-fam.org/publications/id.1592/pub_detail.asp
Actually I did, I am also a Graduate Student and there are a lot worse things to be read around any college campuses, even “Catholic” ones.
As to the MOST offensive thing out of the publication is that you don’t have to tell your partner(s) you are HIV positive. What?
It is bad enough to have an endorsement of promiscuous behavior by those without the maturity or the commitment to engage in such behavior, it is amoral to endorse endangering others, and using other people as “objects” without concern for THEIR HEALTH and WELFARE.
Besides the fact that such behavior goes against almost ALL religious teachings and beliefs, not just Catholic ones.
If this was happening and you were SOOOO involved, then my Ny fla sensibilty says: where were you when this was happening??? I think the church has gotten soooooo self absorbed that we don’t see what is going on. We don’t want to see. It isn’t nice or polite to looki or speak up. We are so so prideful and we do not listen to God. If we did, this would not be happening. This is mamby pamby crap. We need to get involved. We are now the dirge people that Jesus talked about.
Some of my best years 1972 to 1975 were in the GS. I was there until my dad got sick with cancer. I learned how to camp, cook, fix things, car repairs at age 10, AND MAKE FRIENDS OF THOSE WHO WEREN’T CATHOLIC. We got along. Our spiritual life with God influenced others and it wasn’t because we were sitting home looking at ourselves in the mirror admiring our own spiritual life and how blessed or not how blessed it was or wasn’t.
Sunshiney, you surely aren’t being true to your name! You are making a complete straw man. Just to clear the air: I don’t just look in the mirror admiring my spiritual life, I have friends who AREN’T CATHOLIC, and I even know how to camp and cook things! The question here is why we would want our girls to be involved with an organization that has an open partnership with Planned Parenthood. Sunshiney, do you have a problem with Planned Parenthood? Or do you think we are sheltering our children- who we have every obligation to protect to swallow PP’s agenda? Maybe I am misunderstanding you- your first paragraph seems to hold a righteous anger towards those who would allow PP to infiltrate the Girl Scouts- your second seems to vilify those of us who prefer to be involved with truly Catholic organizations. Any Catholic organization that is involved with promoting the Girl Scouts needs to be seriously questioned.
Unfortunately, you can read for yourselves what the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), of which GSUSA is a big member, currently openly advocates for at the UN on their very own website. The WAGGGS delegates to the recent Commission on the Status of Women and their position on demanding safe, accessible abortion for young people, is prominently displayed on the website.
http://www.wagggsworld.org/en/CSW54/Day6
As long as GSUSA is a member of WAGGGS, as a catholic, I cannot support or be involved in GS.
I think we should all give alot of thought to the groups/program we participate in and where there roots are.
Recently I realized that my health insurance pays for abortion with a $20 co-pay which essentially means that come of my money go towards this. Should I get new health insurance? I have an illness that is difficult to treat and there is a one doc under this current plan that treats it.
Should anyone belong to a group whose founder is a lying, adulterous, embezzling pedophile? I know that is very painful for the members of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi and I pray that they may be guided by the Holy Spirit. It certainly is a question they must be asking themselves and searching their conscience for an answer.
It seems as if we are questioning involvement in the brownies then we should question our financially supporting the group who is at the foundation of this website.
If you all be patient with me today you can see from my comments that I have a great deal of struggle with issues within the Catholic Church that need reconiling as well as ones in my own life.
My daughter has had limited participation in brownies. I boycotted cookie sales. It is the same problem I have with paying my insurance premiums. Still searching and praying for answers.
My daughters have been involved in Girl Scouts for 3 years now. Their troops all meet at the Catholic school they attend and the troop leaders are moms who belong to our parish. I cannot even imagine any of these moms consenting to bring this kind of material to a meeting. I just wouldn’t happen. So, as long as things stay that way I do like my girls belonging. It is a positive, wholesome activity for them. If the problematic stuff does not trickle down to their troops I don’t feel like I need to pull them out. But I can also see someone leaving on principle if they choose.
Kristy, GSUSA and WAGGGS have a long standing relationship with PP and IPPF. Those organizations promote abortion, artificial methods of birth control and other philosophies that are contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church. In other words, GS support Planned Parenthood, by being in GS you and your family are supporting PP and therefore supporting abortion among other things. I think Catholics need to give this serious thought. It is not a matter of just keeping certain materials out of your troop.
Following up on the comment by the woman who has concerns about her medical insurance, I’m wondering if those who don’t permit their daughters to participate in GS, or who don’t buy the cookies for fear of supporting Planned Parenthood, also boycott every company/organization who donates money to PP (or who offer matching contributions for their employees who do)? A sample: Disney, Coca-Cola, Chase, Time Warner, Wells Fargo, Johnson & Johnson, Nike, KMart, Unilever, Whole Foods, etc. etc. Do you also boycott products made in China because of the country’s population-control policies? Or do you just single out the Girl Scouts? At what point do we just need to live entirely off the grid?
Yes, if it is brought to my attention. I don’t actively seek out what groups corporations donate to, but for example, if a pink ribbon is on the packaging of a product, and it states that the company donates to the Susan Komen Foundation (which contributes to Planned Parenthood), then I don’t buy it. And I send a respectful e-mail to the company telling them why my family will no longer buy their product. If we KNOW that our money supports Planned Parenthood, how can we in good conscience continue? And if more people did the same, maybe these companies would think twice before donating to PP.
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