This is ridiculous, but it's real and could end up harming many girls and women.
Long a lightning rod for conservative criticism, the Girl Scouts of the USA are now facing their highest-level challenge yet: An official inquiry by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
At issue are concerns about program materials that some Catholics find offensive, as well as assertions that the Scouts associate with other groups espousing stances that conflict with church teaching. The Scouts, who have numerous parish-sponsored troops, deny many of the claims and defend their alliances.
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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.
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Girl Scout leaders hope the bishops' apprehensions will be eased once they gather information. But there's frustration within the iconic youth organization - known for its inclusiveness and cookie sales - that it has become such an ideological target, with the girls sometimes caught in the political crossfire.
"I know we're a big part of the culture wars," said the Girl Scouts' spokeswoman, Michelle Tompkins. "People use our good name to advance their own agenda."
"For us, there's an overarching sadness to it," Tompkins added. "We're just trying to further girls' leadership."
Girl Scouts under scrutiny from Catholic bishops
Almost 500 years after Martin Luther married a former nun and ended celibacy in the newly reformed Christianity, the Catholic Church retains an all male priesthhood that requires celibacy.
Of course, the end game here is to prohibit Catholics from being girl scouts.
The war on women directed by these men continues.
It's sad, for there are many good people who are Catholic, who are not sexist, and who try to remain Catholic in spite of everything the Bishops do.
Update I: From Sea Turtle, a couple interesting links on related isuses. First an interview with Hans Kung, a Catholic theologan who the current Pope spent a lifetime seeking to censor and combat:
Q: What gives you hope as you stay committed to reform in the Catholic Church?
A: Well, it's sometimes a little difficult to keep hope in this present traumatic situation of the Catholic Church. But I have, especially, two reasons. The first is, the world is moving on, going ahead--with or without the Church. That's already visible now. (I speak now specifically about the Roman Catholic Church.) And I think if we will not be left behind completely and become more a big sect, then we have [to] move forward.
The second reason, I believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is stronger than the hierarchy. The present hierarchy, I think, is in a stage, in a phase of restoration, but if Jesus would come back, I think he would decide many, many things in a different way.
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If we do not learn now, we shall have to suffer more. More people will leave, more parishes will be without pastors; more churches will be empty; more youth will trust no more. Consider the Church: more women will be in complete frustration and leave the Church or be disassociated internally from the Church, I think. And also in the ecumenical camp, the ecumenical sphere of the Church, they think we cannot go on with the Catholic Church, etc., etc. All this, I think, are indications that we have to change now.
Interview with Hans Kung
And here is a diary by Sea Turtle on the American Catholic Council, a group seeking reform within the Catholic Church.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
I wish the reformers well. For many like me, we left long ago.