Boy Scouts Inclusivity Could Signal End of Catholic Scouting

Recent speculation over a Boy Scouts of America (BSA) proposal to end the blanket ban on gay scouts and leaders have led some observers to wonder about the future of Catholic scouting programs.

The Washington Blade reported on a statement released by the Boy Scouts of America about their consideration of ending a policy excluding gay individuals from joining the organization. There is currently a period of public comment so nothing has been approved yet, but the statement speaks to likely changes:

“Possibly in anticipation of strong opposition by conservative and religious groups, the BSA emphasized in its own statement that the change would allow local units to decide whether or not to admit gays.

“‘The Boy Scouts would not, under any circumstances, dictate a policy to units, members, or parents…Under this proposed policy, the BSA would not require any chartered organization to act in ways inconsistent with that organization’s mission, principles or religious beliefs.’

“The BSA website says more than 100,000 scouting units are owned and operated by independent chartered organizations.”

Among these 100,000 units, nearly seventy percent are sponsored by faith-based organizations, including ten percent by the Catholic Church.

The American bishops supported the BSA’s decision to affirm the anti-gay policy last year, but no statement has been released by them  in this recent controversy. The Huffington Post covered comments by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ spokesperson, Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, who said:

“The bishops hope the Boy Scouts will continue to work under the Judeo-Christian principles upon which they were founded and under which they have served youth well.”

David Gibson of Religion News Service questions the viability of Catholic involvement in the BSA if gay scouts and adult leaders gain broad acceptance. While no official statement by Catholic leaders lays out their position, past actions in scouting controversies do not inspire hope. Gibson is not positive in his assessment when coupled with recent actions of the bishops against the Girl Scouts as well:

“[Ending the ban on gay scouts] would effectively put an end to Catholic-sponsored scout troops…

“The Girl Scouts are already in the Catholic dock over charges (or an “urban legend,” some say) that their cookies support contraception and abortion programs. (Catholics make up a quarter of the nation’s 3 million Girl Scouts.)

“Is this the end of Catholic scouting? Or are there alternatives?”

Not all view a pro-LGBT decision by the BSA as the end to church-based scouting, with  blogger Tim MacGeorge questioning “Which Catholic parish will be first to welcome Gay Scouts?” on his site, Image and Likeness. where he ponders what parishes will do if the Scouts lift their ban:

“. . . I pray that there will be one Catholic parish somewhere in these United States that will have the faith, the courage, and the decency to do the right thing.  I pray that there will be one courageous pastor who will lead his parish in making a decision that puts them ‘on the right side of history,’ and allows the scout troop under their auspices to accept openly gay scouts and leaders.

“Hopefully Sister Mary Ann and the bishops for whom she works will one day learn that exclusion of people because of who they are as God made them to be is not really a ‘Judeo-Christian principle.’”

With this issue so unknown, we want to know what Bondings 2.0 readers think. Will the Boy Scouts allow openly gay scouts and leaders? If they do, will this signal an end to Catholic scouting or open a new chapter of inclusiveness? Leave a comment below.

-Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry

Catholics Respond to USCCB’s Plan to Continue Opposing Marriage Equality

We’ve heard from the individual bishops involved in last week’s U.S. marriage equality ballot initiatives, and we’ve heard from the Vatican, too, on these matters.  Today the news is of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) response to the four marriage equality electoral victories which they worked so strongly to oppose.  It looks like the bishops are planning more of the same.

An Associated Press story opens with the paragraph:

“A subdued U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops acknowledged Monday that voters rejected the stands they took against gay marriage and birth control, but church leaders gave no sign they would change their strategy ahead.”

At a press conference at the annual USCCB’s fall meeting in Baltimore, one spokesperson offered his view as to why the bishops lost these ballot contests:

“Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, the newly installed leader of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, said gay marriage opponents were outspent by gay rights groups, and bishops are grappling with how they can be more persuasive. Surveys by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life have found that the number of Americans who say they have no religion is at a high of 20 percent, while the number of former Catholics is so large that ex-Catholics collectively include more people than many denominations.

” ‘The election is a symptom of a much larger problem,’ Cordileone said. ‘Most people don’t understand what marriage is.’ “

Equally Blessed–the Catholic coalition of Call To Action, DignityUSA, Fortunate Families, New Ways Ministry–responded to the bishops’ statements:

“We regret the decision of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to continue the costly and futile campaign against marriage equality that has alienated so many faithful Catholics.

“Less that a week ago, Catholics in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington ignored the high-pressure tactics of these same bishops, voted their consciences and moved our country one step down the path toward justice. We had hoped that lay Catholics’ ringing endorsement of marriage equality might drive home the need for the bishops to take seriously the concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Catholics and their families, and are profoundly disappointed that it has not.

“The bishops continue to look without for faults that are within. Their penchant for threatening Catholics who follow their own consciences in the voting booth is both theologically suspect and obviously ineffective. The millions of dollars that the USCCB and the Knights of Columbus spent attempting to crush the hopes of LGBT Catholics and their families could have been better spent to achieve more Christian ends. Additionally, the bishops’ ongoing relationship with the National Organization for Marriage, even after its deliberate attempts to divide the electorate on racial grounds, is a scandal for which they have yet to answer.

“We pray for the day when the USCCB understands the damage its intransigence is doing to LGBT Catholics and to the credibility of the church.”

In a post on America magazine’s “In All Things” blog, Michael O’Loughlin quotes further from Archbishop Cordileone’s press conference statements:

“When asked if the church would change its tactics given its apparent defeat, Cordileone balked, saying that the ‘good of society depends on [marriage].’ He said, ‘bishops are open dialogue partners with those who disagree with us on a whole range of issues’ and that opponents of same-sex marriage ‘try to be sensitive’ to marriage equality proponents, though claimed ‘many people have suffered a lot of violence from those who disagree’ with the church on marriage.”

Were I at the press conference I would have liked to press Archbishop Cordileone to cite specific instances of “violence” that marriage equality opponents have experienced.  None have been reported in the news.  I would have also liked to ask him why the bishops have yet to issue any kind of statement about the real violence that LGBT youth face daily in the form of bullying.

I hope and pray that Archbishop Cordileone lives up to his promises of dialogue and sensitivity on the marriage equality issue.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Midwest Bishops’ Political Letters Cite Marriage Equality as a Litmus Test Issue

Bishop David Ricken

Catholic parishioners in the Diocese of Green Bay received a letter last week from their bishop, David Ricken, warning them against voting for positions he claims are “intrinsically evil.” The letter included five non-negotiable issues, including what Ricken referred to as “homosexual ‘marriage,’” that made candidates ineligible for Catholics voters. TheNorthwestern.com reports Ricken also told those in his diocese voting for candidates who support those five issues would make them complicit and jeopardize their souls.

Bishop David Kagan

After a similar letter was released by Bishop David Kagan of the Diocese of Bismarck claiming Catholics could not vote for anyone supportive of marriage equality, North Dakotan Catholics reacted against what they saw as electioneering. National Catholic Reporter reports that Tim Mathern, a state senator from Fargo, replied to the bishop’s letter by emphasizing the primacy of conscience in Catholic morality and the by questioning the Church’s tax-exempt status if bishops engage in explicit partisanship. Mathern writes:

“To direct parishioners toward or away from one particular political party is a misuse of faith and trust. Sitting in the pews, parishioners have every reason to expect that the message will be relevant to current events and issues of conscience. However, endorsement of a political candidate, either by inference or direct statement, serves to disenfranchise, discourage, and even,to some, harm. Such an act bends religious faith toward service of a political party.”

With Catholics playing central roles in political races from presidential down to ballot questions, the bishops continued partisanship, including against marriage equality, will continue to divide Catholics nationwide.

–Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry