The Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Missouri is severing ties with the Girl Scouts of America and banning the sale of its world-famous cookies on church property.
The reason? Archbishop Joseph Naumann says the character-building youth organization funds a group with ties to Planned Parenthood.
"With the promotion by Girl Scouts USA of programs and materials reflective of many of the troubling trends in our secular culture, they are no longer a compatible partner in helping us form young women with the virtues and values of the Gospel," Naumann said in a statement.
"The national organization, for example, contributes more than a million dollars each year to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, an organization tied to International Planned Parenthood and its advocacy for legislation that includes both contraception and abortion as preventive health care for women."
Naumann also said birth-control activist Margaret Sanger and feminists Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem "are frequently held up in materials as role models for young Scouts."
"These as well as many other 'role models' in the [Girl Scouts'] new manuals and web content not only do not reflect our Catholic worldview but stand in stark opposition to what we believe," he said.
"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."
As well, the sale of Girl Scout cookies, a big source of revenue for the group, faces the ax at Catholic schools in the Kansas City area.
In a letter to priests obtained by the Kansas City Star, Naumann said: "No Girl Scout cookie sales should occur in Catholic Schools or on parish property after the 2016-2017 school year."
On its official website, the Girl Scouts denied any partnership with Planned Parenthood and added its relationship with World Association "is akin" to the U.S. relationship with the United Nations.
"The United States may not agree with every position the UN takes, but values having a seat at the table," the Girl Scouts said, adding the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is made up of 145 member organizations that promote "mutual understanding and cross-cultural opportunities for girls around the world."
Maria Walters, a former Girl Scout leader in the archdiocese and mother of two Girl Scouts, told The Star:
"This is frustrating; parents are very irritated. 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."
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