Pope Leo XIV defended this Monday the model of differentiated education between boys and girls during an audience granted to members of the Italian Association of Catholic Guides and Scouts of Europe (AGESCI) on the occasion of the organization’s 50th anniversary. The Pontiff praised the association’s pedagogical choice to organize male and female sections separately, stating that this methodology favors the integral development of young people and helps them better understand their own identity.
During the meeting held in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father highlighted that the educational proposal of Catholic scouting remains an effective instrument to accompany children and young people in their encounter with Christ and in their human and spiritual growth.
Specific attention for boys and girls
One of the most significant passages of the speech was the explicit reference to differentiated education, a characteristic feature of the European Catholic scout association.
«The pedagogical choice of your association is expressed, in this sense, in educating in separate male and female sections, in order to dedicate specific attention to boys and girls,» affirmed Leo XIV.
The Pope emphasized that this educational model allows for better accompaniment of each person’s development and fosters a deeper understanding of one’s own identity. «Exploring in this way the fundamental characteristics of being a woman and being a man is a propaedeutic dynamic for an authentic and conscious encounter with the other, which can favor mutual maturation,» he explained.
For Leo XIV, the formation of «good Christians and good citizens» remains one of the great objectives of the scout method, which seeks the harmonious growth of the person through education, responsibility, and service.
The Gospel as a guide for life
The Pontiff also encouraged young people and their leaders to maintain a constant relationship with the Word of God. Recalling a teaching of Pope Francis, he invited the scouts to always carry the Gospel with them as a fundamental reference to guide their decisions.
«The Gospel is much more than a book: it is the very person of Christ, good news for a humanity confused, deceived, and disappointed by so many evils,» he affirmed.
Addressing the scout leaders in particular, Leo XIV highlighted the importance of personal witness and consistency in life. According to him, young people find in their educators concrete examples that help them grow in faith and discern the vocation to which God calls them.
Nature as God’s school
The Pope also recalled the importance of contact with nature within the scout method. Outdoor life, he explained, allows one to discover God’s goodness through creation and fosters an integral education open to wonder and contemplation.
At the same time, he encouraged complementing this experience with the study of Sacred Scripture, which offers the deep meaning of history and sustains the Christian in the difficulties of the journey.
A Europe united by Christian humanism
At another moment of his address, Leo XIV praised the European dimension cultivated by the scout association, although he clarified that it should not be understood in political terms, but rather in cultural and spiritual ones.
«I also appreciate your choice as an association to cultivate the dimension of Europeanism, not at the political level, but at the cultural level, renewing the commitment to build a Europe of peoples, not only of business, united by the highest values of Christian humanism,» he affirmed.
With these words, the Pontiff encouraged the new generations to contribute to building a society inspired by the dignity of the person, solidarity, and the Christian roots that have marked the history of the continent.
Service, the heart of scouting
Leo XIV concluded by recalling that service constitutes the core of the method devised by Baden-Powell and one of the privileged paths for the formation of young people.
«Serving means placing one’s own abilities and one’s own time at the disposal of others, with total gratuity, without expecting anything in return,» he noted. Lived from faith, he added, service helps to overcome selfishness, strengthens the sense of responsibility, and opens one to the experience of community.
Before imparting the apostolic blessing, the Pope entrusted the scouts and their families to the protection of the Virgin Mary and asked the Holy Spirit to multiply among them the gifts of charity, welcome, and peace.