KANSAS CITY, Kansas, May 2, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — A Catholic archbishop and his archdiocese are cutting all ties with the Girl Scouts because of their promotion of abortion and its flagship enterprise Planned Parenthood.
Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, issued a pastoral encyclical directing his flock to “begin the process of transitioning away from the hosting of parish Girl Scouts troops and toward the chartering of American Heritage Girls troops.”
American Heritage Girls is an alternative to the Girl Scouts USA that does not have any ties with morally questionable organizations such as Planned Parenthood.
Archbishop Naumann recommends that all parishes stop hosting Girl Scouts immediately, but he allows the latitude for pastors to continue Girl Scouts until the current scouts graduate. Nevertheless, he writes, all “parishes should be in the process of forming American Heritage Girl troops, at least for their kindergarteners, this fall.”
Naumann cites an ongoing conflict between Christian values and the direction the Girl Scouts are headed. It has been noted:
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Former Girl Scouts CEO Kathy Cloninger admitted that Girl Scouts partners with Planned Parenthood to bring sexual information to its young scouts girls.
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The Girls Scouts’ official logo, legally protected by copyright, was allowed to be printed on the Planned Parenthood brochure “Dating, Love, Sex, and HIV”
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The Girl Scouts’ website directs girls to www.stayteen.org, which refers pregnant girls to Planned Parenthood
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As part of a badge requirement, Girl Scouts sends girls to kidshealth.org, a website that refers girls to Planned Parenthood
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Various state, local, and the national Girl Scouts organizations have honored as role models pro-abortion leaders such as Gloria Steinem, Ann Richards, Wendy Davis, Hillary Clinton, Melinda Gates, Sister Theresa Kane, Sarah Weddington, Dr. Ruth, Kathleen Sebelius, Betty Friedan, Geraldine Ferraro, Amnesty International, Population Council, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Organization for Women and more. No pro-life leader has been so honored.
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The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, which receives more than $1.5 million from the Girl Scouts USA, was instrumental in Planned Parenthood's international success in indoctrinating youth in abortion rights
“Archbishop Naumann is responding to concerns Catholic families have been begging to have addressed for years as the Girl Scout organization's ideology has been drifting ever further and further from the Church's pro-life, pro-family teachings,” MyGirlScoutCouncil.com creator Ann Saladin told LifeSiteNews. “All activities and organizations offered on Church property, especially aimed at our still forming youth, should complement, not conflict with, Church teachings in all aspects.”
Citing “hundreds of hours researching concerns” and dialoguing with Girl Scouts leaders about “the new direction of national Girl Scouting reflected in the content of their program materials,” Naumann says it was a difficult decision.
“Eventually it came down to this: Our greatest responsibility as a Church is to the children and young people in our care,” he explained. “It is essential that all youth programs at our parishes affirm virtues and values consistent with our Catholic faith.”
“Girl Scouts USA … are no longer a compatible partner in helping us form young women with the virtues and values of the Gospel.”
The archbishop writes that the day has come when Christians in the world must no longer be “of” the world. “To follow Jesus and his Gospel will often require us to be counter-cultural.”
“I applaud the commonsense decision of Archbishop Naumann,” Pro-Life Waco Director John Pisciotta told LifeSiteNews. “Girl Scouts clearly tilt toward secular progressivism.”
“This can be seen in its leadership, its association with groups having a cross-purpose with Catholicism, and elements of its curriculum,” Pisciotta continued. “The Bluebonnett Council placed the Girl Scout logo on a yearly Planned Parenthood sex education conference for a decade and then, in 2003, named the CEO of local Planned Parenthood as a Woman of Distinction to serve as a role model of young girls.”
“Any of the good things done within Catholic Girl Scout troops can be done within American Heritage Girls,” Pisciotta concluded. “And with AHA there is no moral conflict of supporting an organization which often opposed the Catholic Church.”
Naumann listed several concerns, including the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts’ promotion of abortion worldwide “as preventative healthcare for women.” Additionally, many “'role models' in the Girl Scouts USA's new manuals and web content not only do not reflect our Catholic worldview but stand in stark opposition to what we believe.”
He also referred to “offensive and completely age-inappropriate material” recently removed from the Girl Scouts’ “Journey” series, in response to protests from his archdiocese and other Christians. “It is disturbing such an intervention on our part was necessary,” he noted.
“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.”
“American Heritage Girls, a program based on Christian values, we believe is a much better fit for our parishes,” Naumann concluded.
He also thanked “the many extraordinary Girl Scout leaders of the archdiocese who have served so many so well,” and invited them to transition into leading the new troops of American Heritage Girls.