Kansas archdiocese ending relationship with Girl Scouts over 'troubling trends'

Girl Scout cookies.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, is cutting ties with the Girl Scouts, because 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 made the announcement on Monday. Naumann said the Girl Scouts promote "programs and material reflective of many of the troubling trends in our secular culture," like contraception, and gave Catholic parishes that host troops two options: They can either "quickly" phase out meetings, or let Scout members "graduate" over time and not replace them. This isn't the first time the archdiocese has targeted the group; in January, it said that at the end of the school year, Girl Scout cookie sales would be banned on Catholic school and parish properties.

Naumann suggested that instead of Girl Scouts, Catholic parents could send their children to meetings of American Heritage Girls, which bills itself as the "premier national character development organization for girls ages 5 to 18 that embraces Christian values and encourages family involvement." They do not sell Thin Mints.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Catherine Garcia

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.