Boy Scouts May Have Misrepresented Catholic Position on Gay Leaders
Boy Scout leaders reportedly told both Latter-day Saint and Southern Baptist leaders that it had the support of the Catholic Church regarding its proposed policy change on gay members and leaders despite the fact that Catholic officials were still discussing the issue at the time, sources familiar with the conversations informed The Christian Post.
However, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops took that a step farther and told CP that it has offered no such support.
Before the BSA announced publicly on Jan. 28 that it was considering changing its policy on gays, BSA leaders spoke with leaders of the Catholic, LDS and Southern Baptist churches. According to a spokesperson for the USCCB, Bishop Robert Guglielmone of Charleston, the bishop liaison to the National Catholic Committee on Scouting, called Cardinal Timothy Dolan after BSA leaders spoke to him. Dolan did not express support for the change in that conversation, the source said. The USCCB had previously declined to comment about the situation.
Sources say both the Baptists and the Mormons are in contact with the Catholic church on the issue, but details on the discussions are confidential. The Mormon church has said publicly that it will not take a position until the BSA makes a final decision, but the Southern Baptists have been vocal in their opposition to the plan.
[[despite the fact that Catholic officials were still discussing the issue at the time,]]
There shoudl have been no discussion at all- the church shoudl have realized that when a gay person takes an oath to ‘uphold the religious principles of God’ that they are LYING and therefore falsely takign an oath- period- the answer shoudl have been obvious from the start- what the heck was there to ‘discuss’?
Interesting, if true. Very interesting. I had not suspected something like this - but it’s pretty clear that yes, it’s about getting Catholics out of scouting.
5/24/2013
http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/boys-scouts-of-america-lifts-ban-on-= homosexual-scouts
Bishop Robert Guglielmone, the USCCB episcopal liaison for the National Catholic Committee on Scouting (NCCS), attended the meeting and wasn’t surprised by the result of the vote. “I kind of expected that this is the way the vote would go,” Bishop Guglielmone told the Register. I’m not particularly encouraged by it, but I knew it would happen eventually. As the policy change is right now promoted, we can live with it.. Unfortunately, there are many people who are interpreting this policy to go much further than it actually does, particularly in the secular press.”
Bishop Guglielmone believes that the revision is acceptable to Catholics because, in accord with Church teaching, it makes a distinction between same-sex attraction and same-sex actions. “Church teaching is very clear that the homosexual inclination is not sinful and that same-sex attraction is not immoral,” he says, “but that what we’re dealing with here is the distinction between the inclination and the conduct. The standards remain the same as they always have for scouts. Homosexual activity will not be condoned.”
Bishop Guglielmone, who served as the Holy See’s world chaplain to Catholic scouting for 2, 4-year terms (2000-2008), believes Catholic flight would be a mistake. “My concern is that we have well over half a million young people in the program,” he said, “and most of those kids are going to stay no matter what happens. We have a real obligation to stay in dialogue and to stay connected to the program.” Added the bishop, “The leadership of the BSA has made it very clear that they intend to hold the line on adult leaders, but they also said they would hold the line on this issue, so where this could go, I don’t know. That’s why I feel it’s imperative for the Church to continue to be involved. And if it gets to the point where some of our basic issues our threatened such as being able to pick leaders for Catholic chartered groups or in diminishing the role of religion and God, then we will have to re-evaluate our participation in the program at that time.”