The Girl Scouts of the USA have long been a lightning rod for conservative criticism. Now they're facing their highest-level challenge: An official inquiry by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
At issue are concerns about program materials that some Catholics find offensive, as well as assertions that the Scouts associate with groups whose stances conflict with church teaching. The Scouts, who have numerous parish-sponsored troops, deny many of the claims and defend their alliances.
The inquiry coincides with the Scouts' 100th anniversary celebrations and follows other controversies.
Earlier this year, legislators in Indiana and Alaska called the Scouts into question. Last year, the Scouts angered some conservatives by accepting into a Colorado troop a 7-year-old
transgender child who was born a boy but was being raised as a girl.
