"The leadership of the Girl Scouts is reflexively liberal. Their board is dominated by people whose views are antithetical to the teachings of the Catholic Church."For background, read Girl Scouts Advocate Guide Teaching Sex Acts? and also read Pro-abortion, Girl Scouts' Appeal Diminishes as well as Indiana Lawmaker: Girl Scouts Pro-gay & Abortion
-- Mary Rice Hasson, Ethics and Public Policy Center
-- From "Catholic bishops continue to delve into concerns about Girl Scouts" by Carol Morello, Washington Post 5/10/12
In a letter dated March 28, the head of the bishops committee that has been looking into concerns about the Girl Scouts said . . . that “important questions still remain and need to be examined.”
Critics of the Girl Scouts contend their materials shouldn’t have any links to groups like the Sierra Club, Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam, or other groups that support family planning and contraception. Other critics are unhappy that the American Girl Scouting organization is a member of an international scouting association that supports contraception access.
For the past two years, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has had its Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth ask the Girl Scouts to explain their stances and materials.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Girl Scouts under scrutiny from Catholic bishops" by David Crary, Associated Press 5/10/12
The new inquiry will be conducted by the bishops' Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth. It will look into the Scouts' "possible problematic relationships with other organizations" and various "problematic" program materials, according to a letter sent by the committee chairman, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne, Ind., to his fellow bishops.
One of the long-running concerns is the Girl Scouts' membership in the 145-nation World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
The association, known as WAGGGS, is on record as saying girls and young women "need an environment where they can freely and openly discuss issues of sex and sexuality." It also has called for increased access to condoms to protect against sexually transmitted diseases.
In 1993, Christian conservatives were outraged when the Girl Scouts formalized a policy allowing girls to substitute another word for "God" — such as Allah or Buddha — in the Girl Scout promise that reads: "On my honor, I will try to serve God and my country."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Controversy continues as Girl Scouts celebrate 100 years" by Michelle Bauman, Catholic News Agency 5/11/12
In 2010, two teenage girls who had spent eight years in Girl Scouts left the organization and created Speak Now: Girl Scouts, a website dedicated to raising awareness about the problems they discovered within the organization.
The two young teens – Tess and Sydney – said that it had become “increasingly apparent” that the Girl Scouts organization had values that were incompatible with their own.
Recent years have also brought significant growth for the Little Flowers Girls' Club, a Catholic program for girls aimed at promoting virtue by exploring saints, Scripture and the Catechism.
Started in 1993 by a Catholic mom of 11, Little Flowers now has some 50 registered groups throughout the U.S. and Canada, although registration is optional, as the groups are run at the local level.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Bishops to Investigate Girl Scouts’ Planned Parenthood Ties" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 5/10/12
. . . in a national survey, seventeen Girl Scouts councils admit to partnering with Planned Parenthood; many other councils refuse to answer the survey question. Of the 315 Girl Scout councils in the U.S., 17 councils reported having a relationship with Planned Parenthood and its affiliates, and 49 reported they do not. The other 249 refused to disclose any relationship.
For fourteen years, the Girls Scouts in Waco, TX co-sponsored a sex ed conference with Planned Parenthood. “It’s Perfectly Normal” a book written by a Planned Parenthood executive was given to all children in attendance says abortion can be “a positive experience.” And in January 2012, Girl Scouts employee Renise Rodriguez wore a “Pray to End Abortion” t-shirt during off-duty visit to her Tucson Girl Scout office and was ordered . . . to turn the shirt inside out or leave.
With a sizable number of pro-life advocates distrusting the Girl Scouts because of the various links to Planned Parenthood over the years, any investigation that turns up more damning evidence could make it even more difficult for the Girl Scouts to become a trusted commodity in the minds of many Americans
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 7/7/12 - Former Girl Scouts members document organization ties to abortion and sexualization radicals (video):
