Only two years after Archbishop Robert Finn was forced to resign as the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri because he protected a pedophile priest, his successor, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, has announced Kansas City Catholic churches will no longer host Girl Scout meetings. Why? They are ‘no longer compatible partners’ in shaping the lives of young women:
Saying that Girl Scouts is “no longer a compatible partner in helping us form young women with the virtues and values of the Gospel,” the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas is severing ties with the organization and switching its support to a Christian-based scouting program.
“I have asked the pastors of the Archdiocese to begin the process of transitioning away from the hosting of parish Girl Scout troops and toward the chartering of American Heritage Girls troops,” Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann said in a statement released Monday.
At the heart of the issue is, of course, reproductive rights:
Naumann said Girl Scouts contributes more than a million dollars each year to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), which he called “an organization tied to International Planned Parenthood and its advocacy for legislation that includes both contraception and abortion as preventive health care for women.”
For the record, Planned Parenthood and the Girl Scouts have no association. Needless to say, some parishioners are frustrated:
“This is frustrating; parents are very irritated,” said Maria Walters, a former Girl Scout leader in the archdiocese and mother of two Girl Scouts. “I feel we should all be together as one in the community. This does nothing but divide us.
“I don’t know why you would take an organization out of a school when it provides an option for girls to feel like they’re part of a group.”
The Girl Scouts say they’ve been inclusive from the start:
Girl Scouts has been an inclusive organization from its inception and, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, the organization was recognized for its contribution to social good. In 1952, Ebony magazine acknowledged that even in the South, "… [Girl] Scouts were making slow and steady progress toward surmounting the racial barriers of the region.” Every girl, regardless of race, color, or creed, was given the opportunity to sell cookies. Cookie selling enabled teamwork, collaboration, and integration among girls and troops of diverse backgrounds as they worked together toward common goals. As conceived by Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low, Girl Scouts has always been about inclusion, always making sure that every girl, regardless of racial, social, economic, or other barriers, can find a safe, welcoming, fun space within Girl Scouts.