CNA Staff, August 29, 2024 / 06:00

Amid the culture wars, a Girl Scout group that received an archbishop’s endorsement this month is “staying true to its founding Christian principles” while creating a space to help Catholic girls grow in the faith.

Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati “fully supported” the American Heritage Girls (AHG) religious scouting group in an Aug. 8 letter to local priests and encouraged congregations to consider joining the group.

“AHG is openly Christocentric and dedicated to helping girls follow God’s call to grow in purity, service, responsibility and integrity,” Schnurr noted. “In addition, AHG explicitly believes that every person is created in the image of God.”

AHG is non-denominational, but specifically supports Catholic girls in their faith. A quarter of AHG troops are active in Catholic parishes or schools and offer activities ranging from troop-led Stations of the Cross to Eucharistic revival patches.

“The AHG pastoral care program is designed to create a nurturing environment where girls can grow in their identity with Christ,” explains Julie Goodwin, AHG’s national Catholic relations specialist.

“Just as youth groups in the parish enrich the faith life of all participants, AHG is dedicated to educating a generation of girls who aspire to holiness,” she said.

AHG was founded in the 1990s by a group of parents who wanted a Christ-centered Boy Scout troop. Today, the troop has over 50,000 members in every state and 15 countries. The troop is dedicated to serving God, family, and community. Members and leaders commit to a creed that emphasizes integrity, purity, service, and responsibility.

“It is an honor and a privilege to serve the families of the parishes of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati,” Patti Garibay, founder and executive director of AHG, told CNA.

Garibay has led the organization from its humble beginnings to its major expansion, met with former Vice President Mike Pence in 2017, and describes the Boy Scout group’s history in detail in her 2020 book, “Why Curse the Darkness When You Can Light a Candle?”

Garibay expressed her “gratitude” to the Archbishop of Cincinnati “for his courage and judgment” in standing up for the girls of the American tradition.

In his recommendation, Schnurr emphasized that the AHG had “remained true to its Christian founding principles.”

“Scouting is fundamentally good – it promotes virtue, discipline and community. It helps to form responsible, well-rounded citizens,” Schnurr said in his letter. “Scouting has a strong, intergenerational tradition in our country that is associated with positive values ​​and memories.”

AHG offers programs for girls ages 5 to 18 that emphasize faith, leadership, nature, citizenship and other life skills. Program levels include Pathfinder, Tenderheart, Explorer, Pioneer and Patriot.

The Scout program also includes a badge program with six “frontiers”: heritage, personal well-being, family life, arts, science and technology, and outdoor skills.

(The story continues below)

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

“If done right, Scouting can be an effective part of Catholic youth ministry and represent a lifestyle that is consistent with the Gospel,” Schnurr noted.

“Unfortunately, in recent years some Scout organizations have adopted and promoted an impoverished worldview regarding human life and sexuality,” Schnurr noted. “Through activities, badges and awards, these organizations have helped to normalize a gender ideology that is devoid of Christian virtue and at odds with the Catholic understanding of man as created in the image and likeness of God.”

AHG membership guidelines require girls to commit to living according to the AHG Oath and AHG Creed and invite all girls to join the group. The Girl Scout troop’s mission is to “promote women of integrity through service to God, family, community and country.”

“We often hear from youth ministers, parents and volunteers that the girls at AHG are deeply involved in community life – active in youth groups, eager to serve their communities and set a positive example for other young Catholics,” Goodwin said. “Through AHG, these girls become more virtuous and develop a lasting foundation of faith that shapes their biblical worldview well into adulthood.”

Sister Elizabeth Grace Donahue of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George, an AHG graduate who was awarded AHG’s highest honor, the Stars and Stripes Award, said AHG serves families well.

“Through a balanced mix of Bible studies and life skills, the girls are becoming more and more like Christ’s role models,” she said in a statement to CNA. “The troop has also blessed our church in many ways.”

The AHG also includes a National Catholic Committee, which elected Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, as episcopal moderator in 2015. The committee “acts as a link” between the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts by “promoting and providing for the growth and spiritual development of its Catholic members.”

The Girl Scout organization has received support from other Catholic leaders, including Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, who approved an archdiocesan transition from the Girl Scouts to the American Heritage Girls in 2017. AHG has also received support from other Catholic dioceses and archdioceses, including Birmingham, Alabama; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Fort Worth, Texas; Milwaukee; Omaha, Nebraska; Rockford, Illinois; and St. Louis.