Is a Bear Catholic? Does a Pope Sh*t In the Woods?

The answer to that question would be "No," and "Maybe, if the Pope were to go on a camping trip with the Scouts of St. George," a new Catholic organization based on the Boy Scouts:

A little further under the radar, another scouting group has quickly grown from the vision of one man and, while it's not having a big convention in September, it's sending troops out into the wilderness to sharpen their outdoor skills and practice their faith.

On May 24, Texas outdoorsman, college chancellor/professor, Eagle Scout, and father of seven (including four boys) Dr. Taylor Marshall (pictured) announced on his blog, Canterbury Tales, his intention to create a new group. It was to be built on the principles set out by BSA founder Robert Baden-Powell in 1908, who chose St. George—the dragon-slaying patron saint of his native Britain—as also the patron of young men seeking strength and virtue.

Along with traditional scouting activities, Taylor wanted the group to also emphasize his faith, as a former Episcopalian priest who converted to Roman Catholicism.

In a few short months, the Scouts of St. George has become a reality, with troops springing up—largely but not necessarily connected to Catholic parishes—around the country and overseas. The first camp-out for a SSG troop happened the weekend of Aug. 24, but the bulk of the current troops' first outdoors adventures will come during September.

"Our campout," says Marshall, "for Troop 1 and Troop 5, Dallas and North Fort Worth, we're are going to go out Sept. 6 and 8. We're going to have a couple priests and deacon; we'll have Mass, rosary both nights, Angelus prayer. It'll be great; it'll be so much fun."

Such an organization will be a fat target for the scorn of the Left, with questions about merit badges for pedophilia being only the most obvious avenue of attack. This new organization is obviously a response to the continuing attacks on the Boy Scouts of America by the gay and atheist lobbies, and designed to prevent either of those lobbies from entry:

One of the chief concerns Marshall has been dealing with is the concept of the SSG as being exclusive to one faith.

"That's been the most controversial," he says, "but I've stood by my guns on this. We are a Catholic organization; we do hold to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, so everything they teach, we hold. And the membership is Catholic. Of course, we realize that every boy's father is not Catholic, but those fathers are welcome to join us and be part of what we're doing.

So by being openly a Catholic-only organization, atheists - - no matter how virtuous - - are excluded, and the language about "the Magisterium of the Catholic Church" means that non-celibate gay boys would not be admitted, either, and nominally celibate gay boys that joined the group would be expelled if they were caught engaging in homosexual acts. Or perhaps, like certain orders of monks, they would have to publicly confess their sins and be subject to corporal punishment.

I can't imagine this new organization will go very far. The level of scrutiny it will receive will be extreme, and any missteps trumpeted far beyond reality by a hostile media.