Boy Scouts, canon law and trying to predict the future<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Every since the gay Boy Scouts earthquake, many Catholics have been asking canon law expert Edward Peters to fill a role he has clearly stated he has no\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2013\/07\/boy-scouts-canon-law-and-trying-to-predict-the-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Boy Scouts, canon law and trying to predict the future\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Every since the gay Boy Scouts earthquake, many Catholics have been asking canon law expert Edward Peters to fill a role he has clearly stated he has no\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2013\/07\/boy-scouts-canon-law-and-trying-to-predict-the-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Terry Mattingly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-07-02T15:51:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tmatt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tmatt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2013\/07\/boy-scouts-canon-law-and-trying-to-predict-the-future\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2013\/07\/boy-scouts-canon-law-and-trying-to-predict-the-future\/\",\"name\":\"Boy Scouts, canon law and trying to predict the future\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-07-02T15:51:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-07-02T15:51:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#\/schema\/person\/76ce2260a572ff41a28fb285de9350f1\"},\"description\":\"Every since the gay Boy Scouts earthquake, many Catholics have been asking canon law expert Edward Peters to fill a role he has clearly stated he has no\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2013\/07\/boy-scouts-canon-law-and-trying-to-predict-the-future\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2013\/07\/boy-scouts-canon-law-and-trying-to-predict-the-future\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2013\/07\/boy-scouts-canon-law-and-trying-to-predict-the-future\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Boy Scouts, canon law and trying to predict the future\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/\",\"name\":\"Terry Mattingly\",\"description\":\"On Religion\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#\/schema\/person\/76ce2260a572ff41a28fb285de9350f1\",\"name\":\"tmatt\",\"description\":\"Terry Mattingly directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. 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{"id":3990,"date":"2013-07-02T11:51:37","date_gmt":"2013-07-02T15:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/?p=3990"},"modified":"2013-07-02T11:51:37","modified_gmt":"2013-07-02T15:51:37","slug":"boy-scouts-canon-law-and-trying-to-predict-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2013\/07\/boy-scouts-canon-law-and-trying-to-predict-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Boy Scouts, canon law and trying to predict the future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u201cI\u2019m no good at predicting the future. My only concern is with the BSA policy as written,\u201d said Peters, reached by email during a busy week. \u201cThat policy does not conflict with the church\u2019s teachings on homosexuality or homosexual persons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right now, it\u2019s logical for parish leaders and Catholic parents to be asking two questions, in the tense aftermath of the recent Boy Scouts of America declaration: \u201cNo youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Question No. 1: Should Catholic organizations continue to sponsor Boy Scout troops? Question No. 2: May Catholic groups or parents cut their ties to the Boy Scouts?<\/p>\n

However, the nervous partisans in these debates keep asking Peters variations on questions that boil down to this: \u201cWhat it?\u201d <\/p>\n

For example, \u201cWhat if gay-rights groups sue troop sponsors seeking the acceptance of gays and lesbians as Boy Scout leaders?\u201d Or there is this one: \u201cWhat if openly gay Scouts want to date each other?\u201d<\/p>\n

How Catholics respond will be crucial, since Catholic organizations sponsor more than 8,000 Boy Scout troops or packs. Other religious organizations will also pay close attention to these debates, since Catholic teachings on related topics are so specific.<\/p>\n

Peter\u2019s views have been circulated widely, after he posted detailed essays<\/a> on his \u201cIn the Light of the Law\u201d website. He teaches canon law at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in the Archdiocese of Detroit.<\/p>\n

For Catholics, he wrote, the key is not to be pulled into speculation, but to seek a logical and compassionate application of all church teachings linked to homosexuality.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, the Church\u2019s absolute rejection of homosexual acts and her description of same-sex attraction as objectively \u2018disordered\u2019 \u2026 is not subject to question among
\nCatholics. Second, the Church calls on persons who experience same-sex attraction \u2018to fulfill God\u2019s will in their lives\u2019 \u2026 and to practice chastity,\u201d he noted. As for all unmarried persons, this means, \u201ccomplete continence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catholic teachings, he added, also warn society to avoid \u201cevery sign of unjust discrimination\u201d against those who experience same-sex attraction.<\/p>\n

The line between orientation and behavior is crucial, due to a clarification issued by the Boy Scouts: \u201cAny sexual conduct, whether homosexual or heterosexual, by youth of Scouting age is contrary to the virtues of Scouting.\u201d<\/p>\n

This firm statement, Peters argued online, \u201cseems wholly in-line with sound Catholic teaching against sexual activity outside of marriage and stands in welcome contrast to the indifference toward premarital sex shown by some other youth organizations. \u2026 Aside from youth programs expressly oriented toward chastity, I know of no other secular organization that so clearly declares all sexual conduct by its youth members to be contrary to its values as does the Boy Scouts.\u201d<\/p>\n

At this point, Peters thinks it would be premature to reject the Boy Scouts, although it would not be wrong for cautious Catholics to cut those ties.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, another key player in ecumenical discussions of this issue \u2014 the new leader of the Southern Baptist Convention\u2019s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission \u2014 is concerned that the Boy Scouts have adopted \u201chighly politicized\u201d language that defines personal identity in terms of sexual orientation. This could affect how the Boy Scouts approach marriage and family.<\/p>\n

\u201cChurches have the ability to distinguish between penitents and seekers, and to articulate concepts of sin, etc.,\u201d said the Rev. Russell Moore, via email, while drawing these kinds of moral lines is a challenge for the Scouts. This new homosexuality policy may mean the \u201cScouts will have little ability to speak of, as normative, sexuality expressed only in terms of conjugal marriage and family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once again, said Peters, it\u2019s hard to predict what will happen as this policy is implemented, attacked and defended. However, Catholics must clearly communicate to Scouting leaders that the church cannot accept mixed signals about marriage.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, I\u2019m not good at guessing which way things will play out,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the principles for a Catholic approach here are pretty clear. Persons of the same sex cannot marry, so conduct implying that they can marry is either forbidden outright or is at least strongly discouraged on the grounds of prudence.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"