During a private audience at the world meeting of the International Conference of Catholic Guides (ICCG) this week, Pope Francis asked Girl Scout and Girl Guide leaders from around the world to promote respect for God’s design for marriage and family.

LifeSiteNews is reporting on the private address to leaders of girl scouting organizations from around the world who met in Rome from June 25-30. Included in the gathering were leaders of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGS) and Girl Scouts USA who have both come under heavy criticism for their support for abortion, homosexuality, transgenderism and contraception.

"It is very important today that a woman be adequately appreciated, and that she be able to take up fully the place that corresponds to her, be it in the Church, be it in society,” Pope Francis said in his June 26 address.

"We are in a world in which the most contrary ideologies are spreading to the nature and design of God on the family and on marriage. Therefore, it is a question of educating girls not only to the beauty and grandeur of their vocation of women, in a just and differentiated relation between man and woman, but also to assume important responsibilities in the Church and in society," Pope Francis said.

Because of the threat these ideologies pose to the truths about marriage and family, he stressed the importance of properly forming girls, saying it “is absolutely determinant for the future."

"Education is, in fact, the indispensable means to enable girls to become active and responsible women, proud and happy of their faith in Christ lived in every day life. Thus they will participate in the building of a world permeated by the Gospel."

The theme of the ICCG meeting was “To Live the Joy of the Gospel as a Guide” and stated as its purpose the need to reaffirm and strengthen the organization’s 50 year-old history within the Catholic Church.

Among those present was Girl Scouts USA CEO Anna Maria Chavez as well as National President Kathy Hopinkah Hannan, both of whom have been leading one of the most controversial eras in Girl Scout history as they seek to introduce girls to “progressive” ideologies such as support for abortion and contraception, radical feminism, and the embrace of both homosexuality and transgenderism.

CEO Chavez has maintained that faith is “at the heart of Girl Scouts, and is woven into everything the organization does to inspire girls to take action to make the world a better place” but her words are not backed by her actions. She has a long history of association with pro-abortion groups and support for feminist leaders such as Geraldine Ferraro and Sandra Day O'Connor.

This is why the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a cautionary report on the scouts and some aspects of their teaching that go against Catholic teaching and doctrine.

The bishops' major issues of concern include the Scouts relationship with Planned Parenthood and WAGGS, their views on human sexuality, and resources distributed by the organization that contain “inappropriate content”.

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