It was good to read that Pope Benedict sent a message of support
to the Scout movement on the occasion of its 100th anniversary.
August 1 marks the centenary of the first Scout camp, organized by
Sir Robert (later Lord) Baden-Powell on the island of Brownsea, in
England.
Popes and Scouting do not seem to have a great deal in common at
first glance. But Popes, especially Popes as formidably
intellectual as Benedict, do not make statements on a whim. This
pronouncement may be seen as part of the Pope’s ongoing campaign
against moral relativism, a campaign which he appears to have
identified as the most important cause to be fought in the modern
age, and a campaign part of whose target is inevitably Western
decadence.
Boy Scouts, and the values which the Scouting movement
inculcates, have attracted the admiration of great men from the
movement’s earliest days. Its beginnings were Edwardian, and it has
preserved much of the best of that sunny and admirable period of
Western civilization.
Baden-Powell, though not a senior commander, had become a
popular hero by his skillful defense of Mafeking during the Boer
War with about 800 men when it was besieged by a force twelve times
that number. He had made searchlights from tin cans and soup from
locusts, and resurrected an ancient muzzle-loading cannon being
used a gate-post and pressed it into service to supplement his
scanty artillery. With his many earlier adventures as a soldier and
spy in wild parts of the world, and his relish for such sports as
pig-sticking and hog-hunting, he was a living advertisement for the
fact that West could beat the rest at their own games.
Kipling was closely associated with publicizing Scouting in its
first days, though he seemed to see it as a military organization
or a training-school for junior spies. Winston Churchill paid
tribute to Scouting in 1938, saying:
The three most famous generals I have known in my life
won no great battles over the foreign foe. Yet their names, which
all begin with a B, are household words. They are General Booth,
General Botha and General Baden-Powell. To General Booth we owe the
Salvation Army; to General Botha, United South Africa; and to
General Baden-Powell, the Boy Scout Movement.
In this uncertain world one cannot be sure of much. But it seems
probable that one or two hundred years hence, or it may be more,
these three monuments that we have seen set up in our lifetime will
still proclaim the fame of their founders, not in the silent
testimony of bronze or stone, but as institutions guiding and
shaping the lives and thoughts of men.
In a letter addressed to Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, president of
the French bishops’ conference, Pope Benedict stated:
For one century, through play, action, adventure,
contact with nature, life as a team and in service to others, you
offer an integral formation to anyone who joins the Scouts.
Inspired by the Gospels, scouting is not only a place for authentic
human growth, but also a place of strong Christian values and true
moral and spiritual growth, as with any authentic way of holiness.
The sense of responsibility that permeates Scout education leads
to a life of charity and the desire to serve one’s neighbor, in the
image of Christ the servant, based on the grace offered by Christ,
in a special way through the sacraments of the Eucharist and
forgiveness.
The Pontiff encouraged the brotherhood of the Scouts, “which is a
part of its original ideal and makes up, above all for young
generations, a witness of that which is the body of Christ, within
which, according to the image of St. Paul, all are called to
fulfill a mission wherever they are, to rejoice in another’s
progress and to support their brothers in times of difficulty. I
thank the Lord for all the fruits that, throughout these last 100
years, the Scouts have offered.”
He encouraged Catholic Scouts to go forward on their path,
offering “to boys and girls of today an education that forms them
with a strong personality, based on Christ and willing to live for
the high ideals of faith and human solidarity.”
Benedict XVI’s message ends with advice from Baden-Powell: “Be
faithful to your Scout promise, even when you are no longer young,
and may God help you to do so!
“When man seeks to be faithful to his promises, the Lord himself
strengthens his steps.”
I WAS NEVER A SCOUT myself, but I was active in a rather similar
youth organization, and can testify that the value to me and those
I knew was incalculably great. As well as teaching valuable aspects
of character such as teamwork, self-reliance and friendship,
scouting skills and discipline have saved many lives and enriched
many more. As early as the First World War, Boy Scouts in Britain
were serving as air-raid wardens, and Sea-Scouts are said to have
manned some of the boats that went to Dunkirk. They were promoting
environmental conservation decades before Greens were heard of.
I don’t know if John Smeaton, the Glasgow airport
baggage-handler who tacked the burning Jeepster Jihadist and later
issued the memorable warning to terrorists: “Coom ta Glasgie an’
we’ll set aboot ye!” was a former Scout, but I am sure that
Baden-Powell would have approved of him heartily.
It is an interesting exercise to imagine the attitude of
latter-day world leaders to Scouting. I don’t mean just in regard
to the obvious Scouting requirement of being clean in thought, word
and deed, which might trip up Bill Clinton and certain other
politicians, but in terms of an overarching attitude of mind, a
kind of innocent adventurousness and idealism. Ronald Reagan, I
think, in some ways — the best of ways — never stopped being a
Scout. I can imagine Australian Prime Minister John Howard taking
an interest, even accepting honoury Scouting positions and
occasionally donning the uniform.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is much harder to
imagine in the role — he was too concerned with an up-to-date
image, and discreet dinner-parties for the likes of “Sir” Mick
Jagger were more his speed. Present British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown seems too dour (Baden-Powell hated those he described as
“Swots,” which seems a reasonable description of Brown). George
Bush? There is something Boy Scout-like about him, and I don’t mean
this as a derogation. Vladimir Putin? No chance, I think.
