The institutional Catholic church has provided yet another demonstration of its active contempt for women or, in this case, girls.
The Washington Post reports this morning that the Kansas City Archdiocese has summarily terminated its relationship with the Girl Scouts of America because the GSA has the temerity to cite Margaret Sanger, Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem as role models (emphasis mine):
In the latest instance, the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas is ending its relationship with the Girl Scouts and transitioning its support to a Christian-based scouting group, saying the Girl Scouts’ programs and materials are “reflective of many of the troubling trends in our secular culture,” and that the organization is “no longer a compatible partner in helping us form young women with the virtues and values of the Gospel.”
Kansas City Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann said in a statement Monday the archdiocese’s pastors have been asked to begin phasing out Girl Scouts troops, either quickly or over the next several years. As an alternative, the statement said, they should begin forming troops through American Heritage Girls, which describes itself as a “Christ-centered leadership and character development ministry” and promotes itself as a faith-based alternative to the secular Girl Scouts.
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“I just wish we could have coexisted,” said Maria Walters, a former Girl Scout leader in the archdiocese and mother of two Girl Scouts, said in an interview with The Washington Post. “To take down a little girls organization when kids need to feel connected, need to feel important, is really sad to me.”
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“Many leaders were very concerned and quite frankly angry about it,” Walters said. She is particularly unsettled by the fact that the archdiocese has so far not taken such actions against the Boy Scouts of America.
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[American Heritage Girls] was attractive to the archdiocese because of its Christian values and in part because of its opposition to abortion. Some of the troops have participated in protests and prayer vigils outside clinics that perform abortions, the Kansas City Star reported.
The institutional Catholic church continues its war on women. Its institutional misogyny continues.
jconway says
More Hypocrisy As Well
Naumann was appointed by Pope Francis to replace the former Archbishop Flynn who had been caught lying to investigators about child abuse. In particular covering up several priests in his diocese implicated in a child pornography ring. This diocese is the last organization that could credibly give voice to protecting children or forming young lives.
And I appreciate your caveat of the institutional church-I’d imagine the parish priests and laity of the diocese find this rather silly.
It’s also rather shameful since scouting is a great way to build leadership and friendship across the divides in our society. It truly equated patriotism with serving others-and now it’s become another football in the tiresome culture wars.
Christopher says
Misogyny or just right wing? I see nothing to indicate that they wouldn’t start acting against the BSA if they took similar positions.
jconway says
I think that’s the point-the BSA are still upholding an antiquated notion of ‘traditional values’ that is more directly rooted in a Judeo Christian religious understanding. I am a Christian, I was a Boy Scout, but I see no reason why the organization continues to discriminate against the LGBT community. It has largely dropped the ban on gay scouts and troop leader-but it still discriminates against transgender or genderqueer scouts and that is wrong. And if it embraced a modern understanding of gender and sexuality it would likely be kicked out of Catholic spaces as well. Highly unlikely at St Peters in Cambridge-but probably in many midwestern and southern dioceses.
Christopher says
Actually, some Catholic churches did cut ties when the BSA started admitting gay youth officially, while some UCC congregations were reluctant to maintain ties beforehand. The two groups are governed differently too. BSA units technically belong to the chartered organization so that organization has some say as to its membership and leadership. When the BSA recently opened up to gay youth but not adults they managed to upset both sides of the debate. The only traditional values they openly uphold is patriotism and reverence of some kind. Honestly, I wasn’t aware of their discriminatory policies until I was an adult since in reality it’s more DADT.
SomervilleTom says
The opposition of the institutional Catholic church to the admission of gay boys to the BSA is just another example of the same sexist and misogynist value system. Here is the construct, in a nutshell:
1. The primary purpose of women is motherhood
2. The only moral purpose for sex is procreation
Therefore:
a. Any sex that is not procreative is immoral (sex with artificial contraception, gay sex, masturbation, etc)
b. Artificial contraception is immoral
c. Abortion is immoral
I agree that there is overlap between the policy of the institutional Catholic church and the right wing. The institutional Catholic church does not embrace the entire right-wing agenda. It instead embraces and enforces those elements of the right-wing agenda that line up with its misogynist values and priorities.