Download PDF Version – English | Download PDF Version – Spanish

October 28, 2024

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

God’s blessings to you and your family.  I write to you today to convey a difficult decision regarding our longstanding partnership with Girl Scouts in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.  After consultation with the archdiocesan Presbyteral Council and Deans, and with the recommendation of key archdiocesan leaders, I have instructed pastors of the archdiocese to discontinue their parishes’ partnerships with the Girl Scouts.

Scouting is fundamentally good – it builds virtue, discipline and community.  It helps form responsible, well-rounded citizens.  Scouting has a strong, multi-generational heritage in our country, one associated with positive values and memories.  Scouting can be an efficacious part of Catholic youth ministry, espousing a way of life congruent with the Gospel, as it has in our own archdiocese for decades.  Many of you have served as scout leaders, faithfully helping young people incorporate the values and lessons traditionally associated with scouting into their lives.  I am deeply grateful for your dedication to this calling.

Unfortunately, in recent years, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) has embraced and promoted an impoverished worldview regarding gender and sexuality. Through some of their activities, resources, badges and awards, Girl Scouts – including the local chapter, Girl Scouts of Western Ohio – has contributed to normalizing a sexual and gender ideology contrary to the Catholic understanding of the human person made male and female in the image and likeness of God.  Our greatest responsibility as the Catholic Church is fidelity to the Gospel and sharing the saving mission of Christ.  It is therefore essential that all youth programs at our parishes and schools affirm virtues and values consistent with the teaching of Jesus Christ.  The Archdiocese of Cincinnati cannot partner with an organization that, from its highest level, advocates ideas which the Church considers false and harmful.

Please know that this decision has not been made lightly.  It only comes after extensive research and interaction with leaders of the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio.  We have attempted to mitigate the influence of GSUSA at the local level; however, despite mutually respectful discussions and communication with the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio over the past two years, we have been unable to agree on an acceptable path forward.

The timetable for the conclusion of the partnership with the Girl Scouts will extend over the next 14 months out of respect for the decisions and steps that will need to be taken by those impacted.  By the end of calendar year 2025, every Girl Scout troop currently operating on any Catholic campus must: (1) convert to an American Heritage Girls troop; (2) find another location at which to meet; or (3) disband.  In the meantime, no new Girl Scout troops may be established, and Girl Scouts may not be featured or promoted as an official ministry or extracurricular activity of any Catholic parish or school in the archdiocese.

More information on this matter, including how to start or convert to an American Heritage Girls troop, can be found at https://catholicaoc.org/girl-scouts.

While this development is difficult to share, it does not diminish my profound respect and appreciation for the many Girl Scout leaders in our archdiocese who have faithfully served our youth.  Your mentorship has made a difference in the lives of many and I am very grateful for your service.

Please join me in praying for the renewal of our culture and country through the good news of Jesus Christ and the intercession of our Blessed Mother.

                                                                       Sincerely yours in Christ,

                                                                       Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr

                                                                       Archbishop of Cincinnati

Download PDF Version – English | Download PDF Version – Spanish

Many themes emerge throughout the month of October in the life of the Church. It is Respect Life Month, so we pause to pray more intentionally in thanksgiving to God for the great gift of life and that this gift may always be safeguarded and respected from the first moment of conception until natural death. We also celebrate World Mission Day on the third Sunday of October. This is an opportunity to learn about the continued work of missionaries to spread the Gospel to every corner of the world. Finally, the Church devotes this month to Mary under the title of “Our Lady of the Rosary.” This feast day memorializes the prayers of Christians throughout Europe as they sought Mary’s intercession to protect them from invading forces in the late 16^th century. At first, these might seem like disparate themes; however, reflection on the life and example of the Blessed Mother can reveal their underlying unity.

Growing up, Mary was formed in her faith through the teaching and practice of her parents. Saints Joachim and Anne instilled in Mary a great love for God and respect for the traditions of their religion. From a young age, Mary dedicated herself to God’s service, knowing that her very life was itself a means to give glory to God. She learned that this was true of every other person as well. That is why when Gabriel asked Mary to be the mother of Jesus, she didn’t fully understand, but she fully trusted that God would be with her through any circumstance, no matter how challenging. Mary firmly believed that the life of the child she was asked to bring into this world would result in great good. From the beginning there were challenges, yet she remained close to God, sought to do His will and, with Joseph at her side, raised Jesus, sharing with Him the same values and faith that her parents had shared with her.

When Jesus began His public ministry, Mary witnessed the ways in which He cared for others, especially the poor and the outcasts. Surely He learned care, compassion and openness from His mother. As Jesus’ Divine understanding grew and He embraced the saving will of His Father, His desire for all people to be redeemed and have eternal life also increased. Jesus knew the love with which each person is created, and He spent Himself so that all might know that love and accept it fully. His disciples continued that work of spreading the faith in a God who is Love, and Mary was first among the disciples. She surely encouraged them in the beginning days of the Church, and she continues to intercede for missionaries throughout the world as they seek to bring the saving love of God to all people.

Finally, Mary is a woman of deep prayer. She constantly turned things over in her heart before God. In doing so, she discovered more and more how God works in the world and how He calls us to share in that work. In heaven, Mary continues to be a woman who prays; she intercedes with her Son on behalf of all her children. Having such a powerful intercessor is certainly something for which we ought to be grateful.

May we spend this month, then, close to Mary, learning from her the profound value of every human life, striving to bring others to know the Love of God, and praying for all those in any kind of need.