The stance of the Boy Scouts on same-sex marriage and sexual diversity angered the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Mario Poli. The Diocese of La Plata, under Bishop Aguer, had already announced measures in this regard. The groups operating in parishes in that area received an ultimatum: they must leave the churches by May. Photos: Courtesy of 100% Diversity and Rights

[News updated on 15/02/2017]

The scoop that the Scouts Association of Argentina will be expelled from the Church for its stance on sexual diversity and same-sex marriage came from a publication by the Argentine Catholic News Agency (AICA). On Thursday, AICA published a note with the title "Bishops concerned about Scouting training." And he attached content far more powerful than mere concern: the epistolary exchange This is the case between Cardinal Mario Poli, successor to Pope Francis as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and Monsignor Héctor Aguer, Archbishop of La Plata. For them, the final straw was the modification of a text in the Scout educational project that defines the concept of family.

"The rope has already broken and there's no going back."

Poli—designated cardinal by Bergoglio himself—was a Boy Scout as a child and young man, and today is an honorary member of the movement, which has 75,000 participants in Argentina. In response to a letter from Aguer, Poli wrote: “I warned the Council of the Scouts Association of Argentina a few months ago here at the Curia not to pull on the rope because it is about to break; now I consider that it has already broken and there is no going back.” The cardinal’s arguments lament, among other things but especially, that the educational project of Scouts of Argentina changed its definition of family in November. Previously, the text stated: “We educate for love, a force capable of uniting a man and a woman and forming a family.” For almost seven years, in various circles, and especially in Scout forums, there had been calls to modify the text. In November 2016, the National Assembly of Scouts of Argentina (the highest decision-making body at the institutional level, attended by delegates from zones and districts) voted on the amendment. It now reads: "We educate for love, a force capable of uniting people and forming a family." Scouts on the Pride March

"Profess love and close the doors"

“It’s sad that an authority figure in a religion that professes love and helping others would close its doors to you. They profess acceptance, yet they’re turning you away,” confided a member of the Scout movement who asked to remain anonymous. “But we can see it as an opportunity to continue growing. To step outside the comfort zone of simply finding a parish, when you can also find schools or clubs,” he added. In his letter to Aguer, Poli speaks of the advance of a “gender ideology” that is “seeping in.” And he contrasts it with “education in love.” In the cardinal’s words: “The Association (Scouts of Argentina) has increasingly shown itself very inclined to assimilate state educational projects—sex education, for example. While we continue with the ‘education in love’ program, this orientation has nevertheless seeped into our common events.” This, coupled with the advance of gender ideology, which many leaders have been proposing modifications to the original educational project for years, reached its peak in the last National Assembly, when a vote was held to change the definition of family from "formed by a man and a woman" to "formed by people." To justify this change, the principles and tenets of gender ideology, even the right to abortion, were clearly invoked.

The response from Scouts of Argentina

This weekend, Scouts of Argentina issued a statement from its Board of Directors where it is categorically denied that our organization, at both the national and international levels, has taken a position regarding the practice of “abortion,” and we regret that such high-ranking officials of the Catholic Church have been misinformed on the matter. In a dialogue with Presentes, sources from the press office of Scouts Argentina stated: “The change was voted on at the national assembly for many reasons. We are in favor of inclusion in society, but we also have a law (on same-sex marriage). And not all of our members are Catholic, although the vast majority are.” For Scouts of Argentina, the final word has not yet been spoken: “Nothing is settled. We requested a meeting with Poli. We haven't received a response yet; he's not in Buenos Aires. And we also had a meeting with Aguer regarding the La Plata issue; we agreed to continue the conversation.”

"The November assembly, a historic turning point"

Martín Canevaro, Secretary General of 100% Diversity and Rights, told Presentes that they participated in several of the youth scout forums, invited by the organizers. "That is to say, the young people themselves were the sole and exclusive protagonists. We had the opportunity to offer workshops on equality in dignity and rights for sexual diversity. Several of these young people participated in logistical and organizational tasks during the national meeting of LGBT families with children, and accompanied them during the Pride March." For Canevaro, “the recent attack by sectors of the Catholic Church hierarchy against the Scouts confirms the truth of one of its premises: a movement for and by young people, whose democratic leadership made it possible for a generation in favor of diversity and feminism to emerge within an organization supported by the Church, with pseudo-imperialist and military origins,” he says.  This is how he interprets the majority will that led to the national assembly in October, “marking a historic turning point and including in its educational plan the recognition and respect for all family structures, within the framework of human rights and Argentine law.”

"They have to leave the parishes before May."

In that letter to Aguer, Poli anticipated that the operation to break with Scouts of Argentina and form another organization was already underway. "With some bishops, priests, and laypeople, and with the presence of pastors and evangelical leaders, we are developing a strategy to sever ties," he wrote. Aguer, in a letter dated November 26, 2016, from La Plata, had warned Poli of the need to intervene. "Lately, things have worsened because, as you know, natural and Christian truths about marriage, family, and society are being jeopardized. The ambiguity of the formulations alone is enough to ensure that, combined with the iniquitous laws that have been enacted and the overwhelming propaganda disseminated by the media, young people are not receiving the education we owe them, but quite the opposite," he wrote. From La Plata, Aguer did not limit himself to haranguing the cardinal: «The time has come to intervene decisively in the pastoral problems posed by the current situation of the Scout Movement.”  In December, he moved in that direction and announced  that the Diocese of La Plata would withdraw its sponsorship of Scouts of Argentina. The decision is based on the belief that “some founding values, such as the place of God and family, which Baden-Powell (the founder of the Scout Movement in 1907 in England) intended for them, are being lost.” Weeks after writing this to Poli, Aguer, in radio statements, linked the rise in femicides to the crisis of marriage.

The Episcopal Conference will issue a message

This weekend, many groups based in  parishes of the Diocese of La Plata received an ultimatum: they have until May to leave the groups that operate within the Catholic Church. Presentes attempted to contact the authorities of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. "The press office closed when Bergoglio left," explained a person from the Chancery area of ​​the Archdiocese by telephone. The response to the request made by email stated:The Episcopal Conference will issue its statement on the matter shortly. For the Church, the statement released in the media is not the "appropriate" one on the subject.  

"It won't be so easy for him to tell them to leave."

“The recent reactions from the Catholic hierarchy are a sign that they were already operating separately. The reality in the parishes is surely quite different. Cardinal Mario Poli won’t find it so easy to simply say ‘let them go’ and that’s it. At the grassroots level of the Church, there are long-standing relationships between laypeople and religious; these are generations of leaders who have built bonds that cannot be erased with a stroke of the pen,” says Canevaro. The secretary of 100% Diversity and Rights does not believe the Catholic hierarchy can expel the Scout movement from its parishes. "If anything, they are withdrawing from an institution they did not found, which will lead to their increasing isolation," he stated. "Unfortunately, there are no changes in the Church, or none that are truly relevant."    

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