Posted on 05/11/2012 1:28:27 AM PDT by markomalley
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.
The inquiry coincides with the Scouts' 100th anniversary celebrations and follows a chain of other controversies.
Earlier this year, legislators in Indiana and Alaska publicly called the Scouts into question, and the organization was berated in a series aired by a Catholic broadcast network. Last year, the Scouts angered some conservatives by accepting into a Colorado troop a 7-year-old transgender child who was born a boy but was being raised as a girl.
Some of the concerns raised by Catholic critics are recycled complaints that have been denied by the Girl Scouts' head office repeatedly and categorically. It says it has no partnership with Planned Parenthood, and does not take positions on sexuality, birth control and abortion.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted2.ap.org ...
Well, our parish has quite a large boy scout group, and no girl scout group. By design.
As a former troop leader.. yes you are correct. It falls in line with the other money pits you run into as a parent... dance studios, sports teams... they all suck you dry, expend your energy, while giving very little back to your child’s cause.. which is the team or troop. The positive side is the personal level interaction you have with your child and those who join your troop or team... believe it or not... your influence trumps theirs. So keep it up and do it on their dime... if only partially. It makes a difference in these youngster’s lives. I don’t have enough money or influence to start an alternative to the Girl Scouts. I think it would be better to overtake the crazy people in the organization and bring it back to where it should be... girl by girl.. one by one.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.