VA Catholic Church Bans Girl Scouts Over Alleged Planned Parenthood Connection

In recent weeks, The Girl Scouts of the USA has been forced to field an array of negative publicity.

In its most recent drama, a Catholic church in Virginia has banned the organization from meeting on its grounds due to alleged connections with Planned Parenthood. This, of course, follows two other recent incidents of note.

At the end of December, the Blaze exposed one of the organization's books that refers young readers to Media Matters for America as one of the primary sources for debunking lies and deceit. Then, a teen Girl Scout recorded a video calling for a cookie boycott over the organization's acceptance of a transgendered male.

The newest controversy comes as St. Timothy Catholic Church in Chantilly, Virginia, has decided to banish several Girl Scout troops from meeting both at the church and at St. Timothy School, an associated facility that educates children grades preschool through eight. According to NBC Washington, the scouts also cannot wear their uniforms on church premises.

The Arlington Diocese explains that St. Timothy's pastor doesn't believe the Girl Scouts is in line with the church's message. The church's decision was apparently rooted in the perceived notion that the Girl Scouts has an attachment to Planned Parenthood. Considering the ongoing debate surrounding the network of clinics and their willingness to perform abortions, this was enough to lead the church to ban the group's activities.

"Every pastor in the diocese has the responsibility to determine how best to use their parish facilities, consider the requests of outside groups, and reconcile such requests with the needs and mission of their parish community," read a portion of an official statement from the diocese.

The pastor's angst seems to surround the World Association of Girl Guides & Girl Scouts (an international coalition of scouting groups) connection to Planned Parenthood. But the Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital said that its parent isn't WAGGGS and that it reports to Girl Scouts of the USA, an organization that does not have an attachment to Planned Parenthood.

In the past, WAGGGS has come under fire for advocating for abortion rights, as its web site purportedly advocated for "affordable, accessible, safe abortion."

While it is true that the Girl Scouts of the USA doesn't answer to WAGGGS, the group does, indeed, tout its membership in the international scouting coalition on its web site:

The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) is comprised of 145 member organizations, including Girl Scouts of the USA. WAGGGS not only unites all of its member organizations, but also promotes and establishes Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting organizations around the world. The goal of WAGGGS is to enable girls and young women to develop their fullest potential as responsible citizens of the world.

The Girl Scouts, though, aren't dissuaded by the pastor's ban. In an official response, leaders committed to finding a new place to meet.

"This location change presents us with an opportunity to serve not only the girls from St. Timothy’s, but to invite more girls from the area to join Girl Scouts," the statement read. "After all, this is our 100th anniversary year and a great time to be part of Girl Scouting."