Amid everything else he has to do, the pope took a little time to write a letter in praise of scouting:

Playing together, working on activities and sharing adventures, Scouts learn about nature, teamwork and service to others, Pope Benedict XVI said in a letter marking the 100th anniversary of Scouting.

The specifically Catholic form of Scouting, founded a few years later, “is not only a place of true human growth, but also a place of strong Christian proposals and true spiritual and moral maturation,” the pope said in a letter to Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard of Bordeaux, president of the French bishops’ conference.

In preparation for 100th anniversary of the Scouts Aug. 1, the pope wrote to Cardinal Ricard to praise the way Scouting has been embraced in France, but also to encourage the three separate French Catholic Scouting groups to work more closely together.

Pope Benedict said troop leaders have a responsibility to lead their young troops to a true encounter with Christ and to an active involvement in their life of their parishes.

He also praised plans to mark the anniversary with ceremonies for past and current members to renew their Scouting oath.

In addition to renewing their oath, he said, members will be asked “to make a gesture in favor of peace, underlining how the vocation of peacemaker is related to the ideal Scout.”

I wonder if the pontiff can tie a square knot?

Image: “A Scout is Reverent” by Norman Rockwell, 1954.