Catholic Scouts
Details about The Boy Scouts of America Catholic Committee
Statement from:
The Archdiocese of St. Louis
About
GSUSA
(Posted Feb. 24, 2016) Just recently the Archbishop of St. Louis issued a statement
about the Girl Scouts of the United States of America which warrants your
consideration:
http://archstl.org/files/field-file/Scout%20Letter%202%2018%2016.pdf
This is what the Youth Ministry page of the Archdiocese of St. Louis has to say:
As of right now, Bishop Jenky has not made any statement about this topic. However, I have forwarded this information to his office and await his instructions. Concerning Archbishop Carlson's statement, I think it is a thoughtful and balance response being sensitive to the faithful who serve as leaders while at the same time acknowledging the issues that we have as a Church with these organizations.
As I was mentioning to someone on a whole different topic, the tentacles of Planned Parenthood reach practically everywhere, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to partner with anyone without the Culture of Death casting it's shadow in one way or another. I'm not one to propose that we cut all our ties with the outside world, and only work within the bastions of Mother Church, but at the same time it is becoming increasingly difficult to remain faithful to your Catholic faith and be in partnership with unbelievers even those of good will.
The Lord never said it was going to be easy. One thing is for sure: we can't just passively be involved in anything anymore. We need to be constantly looking at the things to which we affiliate ourselves: accepting the elements of those movements that we can; rejecting the things which are obviously against the gospel.
This is a photo from the 2016 Scout Mass:
This is a photo of me leaving the National Jamboree:
Change in Relationship Between
Knight of Columbus
And
Boy Scouts of America
[I posted this on Dec. 11, 2015]
The Knights of Columbus organization has long been a supporter of Catholic Scouting, recently holding charters for over 1100 units serving nearly 34,000 youth across the country. in addition, it has its own youth program called Columbia Squires which involves young men in programs to benefit the Church, the community, as well as in recreational and social activities.
In response to a message of Pope Francis during the World Meeting of Families in which he called for a new alliance between the Church and the family, the organization has decided to phase out these programs while re-focusing its efforts on providing financial and volunteer support to Scout units and other youth activities that are sponsored by parishes.
Here is the letter that I got from the National Catholic Committee on Scouting on the topic:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6DYt4loKMLxQXloMngzNTJZNlk/view
Here is the letter that the Knights of Columbus sent to the National Catholic Committee on Scouting:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6DYt4loKMLxTjV4OVlnbmJnaVE/view
Here is a news release that was sent out:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6DYt4loKMLxVDY1WEw0eTFlV0E/view
This is a photo of the 2016 Diocese of Peoria Catholic Committee on Scouting:
Controversies over Leadership Policies
There have been recent developments (I'm posting this July 31, 2015) concerning the Leadership policies of the Boy Scouts of America.
This article was recently posted on the Facebook page of the National Catholic Committee on Scouting:
Here is the most recent statement from the National Catholic Committee on Scouting concerning the Boy Scouts and their latest policy change:
http://www.nccs-bsa.org/pdf/letters/NCCS%20Statement-150727.pdf
Here are some links that I got from the National Catholic Committee on Scouting (I posted this July 17, 2015):
http://scoutingnewsroom.org/blog/update-on-adult-leadership-standards/
http://www.nccs-bsa.org/pdf/Response-150521.pdf
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cvp-G5YiWYpftK9ae7pIG1lTIR-LdoDusXHUMf96PKw/edit
As of Aug. 11, 2015, as much as I have been informed, there has been only one bishop in the United States who has withdrawn his support of the Boy Scouts. If you look at his statement, while he does break off official ties between the Diocese and the Boy Scouts of America, while promoting other organizations that supports that Catholic Church's vision on marriage and family life over the Boy Scouts, he does not forbid individual Catholics from being involved in the Boy Scouts of America. Here is his official statement:
http://www.bismarckdiocese.com/news/letter-from-bishop-decision-on-boy-scouts-of-america
The Archdiocese of Louisville stands by their leadership standards for Catholic chartered units:
http://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/gay-man-denied-admission-to-ky-scout-troop
Some Catholic in this area are going to this program for their boys:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6DYt4loKMLxZkFwOW96cHNCSDg/view
I attended the Diocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting on August 22, 2015. I was informed that the National Council will be issue some new guidelines to chartering organizations concerning the changes in membership policy, and how we are supposed to handle it. When I get that information, I will post it.
Concerning our area, I have not received any new instructions from the diocese on how to proceed. However, I have been in communication with diocesan officials informing them of the situation. I have been in communication with Linda Atherton who is the chair of the Diocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting. Linda and I are of the opinion that we need to wait until the dust settles before making any drastic changes in our policies. Right now there is a flurry of email and comments on Facebook, and I am not sure how helpful any of that anger and bluster is to navigating through our current situation.
In the meantime, I can give you my opinion. In my opinion, pastors and heads of Catholic Institutions will have show greater vigilance in who they allow as leaders of their Scout Units, and to make sure that those leaders are living lifestyles in accordance to our beliefs as it pertains to the dignity of the human person.
Parents will have to become more vigilant in perusing the materials that come from the Boy Scouts as it pertains to family life. As the LGBT community has more sway on the National Organization it wouldn't surprise me if that influence trickles down to the various programs that the Boy Scouts offer including the requirement of merit badges. We have seen with the Girl Scouts that some of the older girl materials as it presents sexuality and family life is more in line with the ways of our modern culture and not in line with what we Catholics believe.
Because of the current controversy, I suppose it is easy to single out the Boy Scouts, but if you really thought about it, parents should already have the same sort of vigilance concerning similar programs that are offered in public schools, and if I dare say so, they should be vigilant about the programs that are offered in Catholic Schools. Because Catholic Schools often use the same sources as public schools when it comes to science and history (social studies), the spirit of the world creeps into our Catholic Schools as well.
So, there is a constant need for parents to know their own faith well, and be vigilant about the materials that are being used to educate their children. This would be true for parents who home school as well. While it is true that home schooling parents have more direct control over the content of their children's education, in my experience the materials that home school parents might use might not be approved by the Catholic Church. It might be materials that have a fundamentalist and/or divisive bent. There are several home school programs out there that are approved by the Catholic Church, and home school parents have the added burden of making sure these programs are systematically followed.
At the present moment, the Boy Scouts of America still respects our right to choose leaders who conform to our moral standards. Whether that stays that way is another issue. In the meantime, the Diocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting is going to function as usual.
