As a member of St. Jude Catholic Church for the last 15 years I wanted to express my extreme disappointment in our current head pastor, Father Tom Flowers. Over the last several months I have watched our church bulletin used as a bully puppet by Father Tom to attack not only those who disagree with him, but also anyone who seems to annoy him.
A few months ago he turned his attention toward the children who altar serve at Mass, attacking them for swaying to the music during Mass.
However nothing could have prepared me for what was posted in this week’s bulletin. Father Tom published an apology to the parish for the “unauthorized sale of Girl Scout cookies after Mass two weeks ago.”
He then stated that when asked for permission, he said he wouldn’t allow GSA cookie sales due to their affiliation with Planned Parenthood.
Let’s set the record straight now. It was my daughter who sold cookies outside of Mass. She was given permission by your Associate Pastor Father Jones that same morning. She sold cookies to parishioners who knew her from Mass.
The following day my wife called the office and asked for permission to set up an actual table the following week. We were told no by office staff who said they couldn’t accommodate every request. Nothing was said about Planned Parenthood.
Let’s address the false claim that Girl Scouts is affiliated with Planned Parenthood. This lie, like many, became popular with a social media meme that started several years ago. A diligent person would only have to go to the Girl Scout website to see a statement dispelling this rumor and clearly stating GSA has no affiliation with Planned Parenthood.
Other websites including factcheck.org also squash this viral rumor. In 2016, Snopes.com also dispelled this myth and provided detailed information to support their determination.
Don’t worry, Father Tom, you won’t see my children serving at Mass or selling cookies ever again. We are finished with St. Jude until you are gone.
Josh Rowle
Lewes