It is with a heavy and incredulous heart that I post the news that our beloved Father, Fr. Santan Pinto, died suddenly in a car accident after just arriving for a home visit in India. Apparently, Fr. Pinto was the passenger in a car that was struck and he died instantly. A Bishop in India, the Bishop of Belgaum, has contacted our community and confirmed this sorrowful news. Fr. Pinto's funeral will be tomorrow in India. It's interesting, you know, after just posting Father's Christmas message yesterday and then posting the clip by Fr. Barron about the true nature of Advent, we never know when God will take us home. The media and secular society loves to mock celibacy and the priesthood but it's easy to see that Fr. Pinto has more spiritual children than those people ever will. God will not be mocked. Father was a priest who was faithful to the end, who loved God more than anything and made countless sacrifices for his many spiritual children. To say that he will b...
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Girl Scout is a secular organization and one that has adult members who are as vehemently pro-choice as you and I are pro-life. However, topics dealing with sexuality are to be dealt with in a GS setting only with specific permission of the parents.
So, what is the true relationship of Girl Scouts with Planned Parenthood? First of all, the term "Girl Scouts" encompasses many levels. Girl Scouts USA (GSUSA) is the parent organization that sets overall policy and develops program materials. GSUSA partners with many companies and organizations, meaning it takes money from them and uses their expertise to develop program materials. Planned Parenthood is not one of those organizations.
GS in local communities is under the auspices of a Girl Scout Council These are independent non-profit organizations which, while they have to follow policies set by GSUSA, are free to develop partnerships in their communities. Some councils do partner with Planned Parenthood. The money flow is that PP money goes to GS; GS money does not go to PP. Any programs dealing with sexuality require that girls receive specific permission from parents to attend.
For the most part, the GS program is delivered to girls in a troop setting--a group of girls led by two adults. There are GS leaders at all points on the religious and political spectrum. There are Girl Scouts at all points on those spectra. Again, any troop meetings dealing with sexual issues require specific parental permission and that parent needs to determine whether s/he trusts the leader to properly handle the topic.
GS is a leadership development organization. In connection with earning the higher awards, girls are asked to "discover, connect and take action" with respect to some topic that is important to them. There is nothing that would prevent a girl from taking action to promote the pro-choice agenda, or the pro-life agenda.