"We are not afraid" of losing members, and "for us, welcoming everyone comes first. We don't distinguish between boys and girls; it would be strange to do so between adults." Paolo Di Tota, delegate of the Italian Catholic Guides and Scouts Association, commented on the document approved by the General Council on "Gender Identity and Sexual and Affective Orientation," which, in a historic turning point, opens the possibility of becoming guides to the LGBT community, including transgender people. "In light of the journey undertaken by Agesci, this document was created with the intention of being a new tool for synthesis, guidance, and perspective, aimed at supporting our educational credibility in welcoming and caring, when these are open to the full recognition of personal experience," reads the text approved by 300 delegates, the culmination of years of preparatory work. The Catholic Association has a total of 183,000 members divided by age group, from 8 years old and up.

"Aware that the pedagogy of welcome," the text further explains, "rooted in the daily routine of our educational service, is not subject to discernment, it is essential to promote paths aimed at overcoming homo-lesbian-transphobic feelings and attitudes. Such feelings, in fact, constitute an obstacle to the recognition, inclusion, and integration of leaders, both male and female, within our Groups and at all levels of the association." "From the path taken," it continues, "it has emerged that respect and recognition are 'non-negotiable directions' and that the need for leaders to train themselves, in light of the promise, the law, and the association agreement, is essential to enhance care for the individual and to counter the prejudices arising from homo-lesbian-transphobia."

The document, Di Tota explains, was approved "unanimously. " "In the past," he says, "there have been cases of some guides (both male and female) leaving because they felt discriminated against. This happened because we weren't ready. These are very few cases, we can count them on one hand, but precisely because we've always talked about welcoming and listening, we needed to reiterate that, and we've done so with this document."

Arcigay welcomed Agesci's change of heart with "relief": "It puts an end to a long history of isolation and discrimination. For years, LGBTQIA+ people have been excluded, forced into hiding, and removed from an educational environment that should have educated them about community and values," says Gabriele Piazzoni, secretary general. The Pro Vita & Famiglia association, on the other hand, is completely opposed, arguing that Agesci "betrays the trust of families." "It speaks openly about gender identity," says spokesperson Jacopo Coghe, "despite the fact that the Magisterium of the Church and all recent Popes have repeatedly denounced the educational risk and the 'ideological colonization' that comes from gender ideology. What will leaders teach children and adolescents? That everyone can perceive themselves as any gender, regardless of their biological identity as male or female?"

(Unioneonline)

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