Interest is being now revived in the Boy Scouts Movement at a time when it has become officially recognised as an organisation which youths may join for purposes of national registration, and it is expected that new mem. bership will swell the ranks of tht. 10,000 Catholic Scouts in England at the present day. While no serious attempt has yet been made to set up an English Catholic Scout Movement independent from official Scouting, a step which apparently would be deplored in Catholic circles, it is interesting to recall, as stated in our issue of February 13, that the London Scout Guild has deced to form 26 exclusively Catholic groups within the metropolitan area, which boys may join under the national scheme.
Some notes contributed by the Rev. R. More OTerrall, who is deeply interested in the subject, reveal that among other proposals for distinguishing Catholic Scouts from the main body is one for the wearing of a special scarf by our boys, but this has not met with official or universal approval. " It has also been suggested, perhaps with better reason," he writes.," that there might he special tests for Catholic Scouts, and that more attention might be paid to such matters as Mass serving. Some groups arc inclined to neglect the religious aspect and to forget that they are Catholic Scouts."
FOREIGN SCOUTS ARE LITURGY-MINDED
As an example of what has been done abroad Ft More °Terrell quotes Hares. ford Webb, Catholic Editor of the official publication The Scouter who tells how in France Catholic Rover Scouts made a special study of the revival of liturgical practice, trying to ensure in their parishes that the liturgy be fully carried out. as altar-servers, sacristans, and choir-members In Hungary. on the other hand, scouting had been introduced as definitely a part of the curriculum in several of the big seminaries for the training of priests.
" Clearly, therefore," Fr. More
O'Ferrall points out, " while scouting is not in itself of course a Catholic Movement it ran very easily and MOS1 profitably be adapted for the training of Catholic boys to be good citizens both in a worldly sense and for the Kingdom to come."
It will be recalled that the Scout promise insists on loyalty first to God and then to the King, and the following story supplied by Fr. More °Terrell has an interesting bearing particularly on the patriotic aspect
of the promise. " In India recently," he writee, " certain native Scouts wanted to remove the name of the King from the Scout Promise and to substitute words such as Prince, Ruler or State. Imperial Headquarters would not agree to this suggestion, aarmless as it may seem on first sight, because it would undermine the fundamental loyalty of the Movement and would be the thin end of a wedge. Unhappily, some 60,000 Scouts broke away from the official Movement, but it is pleasing to recall that the Catholic Scout Groups remained mostly loyal to official Scouting. The present writer can vouch that this loyalty to the King-Emperor as de facto Ruler of British India in no way prejudices the patriotism of Indian native Scouts or their strong desire for political independence."