National Membership Initiative
National Membership Initiative |
The National Catholic Committee on Scouting and the BSA launched a
membership initiative in July 2002. The ultimate goal of the initiative
is to bring a quality Scouting program to more Catholic youth than ever
before. |
Goal |
The NCCS goal is to have 10,000 Catholic-chartered units by 2005. |
Record |
The Roman Catholic Church has used the Scouting program since the early days of the Boy Scouts of America. It is one of the most extensive users of the BSA program. There are more than 350,000 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Venturers in more than 9,600 packs, troops, and crews under Catholic auspices and an equal number of youth members in other Scouting units. Scouting is used in about one-third of the parishes in the United States. |
National Committee |
The National Catholic Committee on Scouting (NCCS), a corporate
entity Committee affiliated with the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops (USCCB), is a voluntary organization of clergy and lay persons
formed in 1934 and is recognized as such by the USCCB and the Boy
Scouts of America through a Plan of Cooperation ratified by both parties
in 1934. The Plan of Cooperation was renewed in 1968 and codified
in the NCCS Bylaws and Handbook of Operation in 1998. It has had the
responsibility to promote and guide cooperative contacts between the
authorities of the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts of America in
the United States. The Scouting program is recognized as an integral
part of the total youth ministry at the diocesan level. As such, Scouting becomes part of parish children's and youth ministries as units operated by the parishes, parent-teacher organizations, Holy Name Societies, and schools. The Knights of Columbus and other church-related organizations also operate units. The NCCS also promotes and coordinates Scouting in the Eastern Catholic Churches, creating new programs or modifying current ones as needed. Each archdiocese, diocese, and eparchy is encouraged to have a Catholic committee on Scouting, and more than 300 BSA local councils have affiliated subcommittees. Every two years, the National Catholic Committee on Scouting holds a national conference for all members of the diocesan and local Catholic committees. At this conference, new programs are introduced, planned, and developed, and training workshops are offered. Ultimate approval for new programs comes from the vote of the membership. Thus, ideas, comments, and experiences from every part of the country can be heard and shared. The national committee also sponsors a weeklong training conference at the Philmont Training Center each year for those Scouters and diocesan personnel entrusted with the responsibilities of operating diocesan Scout committees. |
July 3 2007
