More than 4,000 Girl Scouts meet in Catholic churches in the region. An unknown number of girls who are Catholic attend troops outside of Catholic churches and schools.

The news set off spirited Facebook discussions among parents whose children attend Catholic schools with Girl Scouts troops.

“I think they are too focused on other people the Girl Scouts may have some associations with rather than what our local girl scout chapters are actually doing,” said Julie Mudd of St. Louis.

Mudd said the troop within her daughter’s Catholic school, St. Margaret of Scotland, has multiple honors from its affiliated church for good works.

Mudd said she hopes to enroll her daughter, 4, in the school’s existing Daisy troop when she enters kindergarten. She and her husband are parishioners at St. Pius V.

“I was a Girl Scout, my mom was a den leader for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and I’m planning to become active when my little girl enters scouting. It was a great experience. It was really empowering,” Mudd said.

Carlson’s letter does not mandate that parishes disband Girl Scout troops. Rather, it calls on them to seek alternatives.