Pardon me, sir, but are you lost?
The girls’ scouting organization American Heritage Girls wasted no time breaking ties (.pdf) with the Boy Scouts of America today after the Boy Scouts’ National Council voted to allow “openly gay youths” as members. Believe it or not, I’m getting the term “openly gay youths” from CatholicPhilly.com, the online newspaper of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Remember, using “gay” and “lesbian” as identities is not in keeping with the Catholic Faith for very good reason. I’ve covered that topic ad nauseum, causing particular nausea to some, I must say. (They should be nauseated by people identifying as “gay.”) What is just as disturbing to me, if not more so, is something else from Catholic Philly’s report. That is that the National Catholic Committee on Scouting is doing nothing in response.
The National Catholic Committee on Scouting said that since the policy change does not take effect until next January, it will have “adequate time to study its effects.”
“The NCCS will determine how it may impact Catholic chartered Scout units and activities. In doing so, we will work within the teachings of our Catholic faith and with the various local bishops and their diocesan Scouting committees,” the Catholic organization said in a statement.
Study its effects? You have to “study the effects” of promoting homosexuality among children before you determine if you’re going to continue ties with the Boy Scouts? What?
We have two millennia of Church teaching that homosexual acts are grave sin. We know also that same-sex attraction is objectively disordered. How can you “study the effects” on souls? Has someone invented a heart judge-o-matic? I think not. We can’t judge hearts. We can judge dangers, and the Boy Scouts have become a serious danger to children with their vote.
Consider this from Courage:
There are people within the Catholic Church who might argue that those who label themselves “gay” or “lesbian” aren’t necessarily living unchastely. That’s true, but the implications of the terms in today’s society don’t commonly connote chaste living. Furthermore, they are limiting their own possibilities of growth by such self-labeling, and reducing their whole identity by defining themselves according to their sexual attractions. At Courage, we choose not to label people according to an inclination which, although psychologically understandable, is still objectively disordered.
Face it. We have a responsibility to bring children up in a responsible manner. If a child is thinking about sex at all, but especially with someone of the same sex, there is a serious problem. The Boy Scouts will not allow anyone in their organization to say that, anymore. Hence, danger.
I remember when we used to speak about “allowing children to keep their innocence.” Come to think of it, Jesus gave us a very serious command about that.
It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble.
When a child is thinking about sex, he has “lost his innocence” in some way. This is particularly true if the child is thinking about sex with someone of the same sex. American Heritage Girls was right to act immediately by breaking off all ties with the Boy Scouts of America. I would think that the National Catholic Committee on Scouting should have beaten them to it. Shame on them for being unable to see what should be the most obvious thing of all to any Catholic – that children should not be sexualized.
