To: The Most Rev. Robert Carlson, Archbishop of St. Louis

Tell St. Louis Archbishop: Don't kick Girl Scouts out of churches

Your misleading accusations against the Girl Scouts are an embarrassment to the church. Please rescind your letter and let parishes continue hosting Girl Scout troops.

Why is this important?

With cookie season in full swing, the archbishop of St. Louis is asking Catholic parishes to end a century-old tradition of hosting Girl Scout troops.

Archbishop Robert Carlson claims that the Girl Scouts are "increasingly incompatible with our Catholic values" because of tenuous connections to organizations like Oxfam and Amnesty International whose political views he disagrees with.

Despite conducting a lengthy witch hunt, the archbishop and his staff found nothing happening in local troops that he objected to. Unfortunately, that didn't stop him from writing a misleading letter to priests and troop leaders which makes plenty of vague accusations but omits the simple fact that the Girl Scouts don't take positions on controversial issues like abortion.

More than 4,000 Girl Scouts meet in Catholic churches in the St. Louis area. They don't deserve to be held hostage to Archbishop Carlson's culture-war politics.