Catholic Scouts first Utahns to receive highest religious emblem

Friday, Mar. 22, 2019

BOUNTIFUL — Scouting has always been very important to the family of Joe and Sara Bouley, parishioners of St. Olaf. The parents of six children, the two have seen five of their offspring participate in Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts.

Joe Bouley has been actively involved in Scouting since his youth and has served in several leadership roles as an adult, including Cub Master, assistant Scout Master, as religious emblems chairperson for the Diocese of Salt Lake City and as membership chairperson for the National Catholic Committee on Scouting.

Sara Bouley was the leader for two Girl Scout troops at the same time that included daughters Rachael and Caroline. Later, she dropped back to serving as Caroline’s Troop Leader.

As the family has grown, they have worked hard in Scouting. Last year, daughter Eleanor became the first female in Utah to receive the Ad Altare Dei emblem, which helps Catholic youth develop a fully Christian way of life.

This year, twins David and Caroline, 14, each received the Pillar of Faith emblem. This is the first time these awards have been earned in Utah. 

In Boy Scouts, the Pillar of Faith - Duty to God award is given to those who, over the course of their scouting career, have completed all four of the religious-themed programs: the Light of Christ, Parvuli Dei, Ad Altare Dei and Pope Pius XII.

In Girl Scouts, Caroline earned the Pillar of Faith - Service to God emblem by completing the Family of God, I Live My Faith, Marian Medal and Spirit Alive programs.

Bishop Oscar A. Solis presented the awards during the annual Scout Saturday ceremony at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, which this year was March 2.

David is a member of the nondenominational Troop 220 sponsored by the Bountiful Elks Club. While he initially got involved in Scouting to please his father, David said he learned to enjoy the experience and now appreciates meeting different people and participating in different groups.

Earning the religious emblems “has taught me to make my own decisions regarding church and to interpret it for myself and to apply it for myself and others,” he said.

Caroline, who has been a Girl Scout since kindergarten, said that it makes her “feel good to know that I did something for my church and Scouts at once. It has been a cool experience to connect with God and Mary in so many actual ways.” 

Making Scouting a priority has meant some sacrifices for the family, but they say it has been worth it.

“When I started having kids, I came back to what I learned before with Scouting,” Joe Bouley said. “I wanted them to have the fun and enjoy the leadership opportunities I had had.”

“I like to think I have not been pushing them but presenting them with an opportunity,” he said with a smile. “The value of Scouting is that it binds us together. We have some common experiences, camps, service and church activities to do with Scouts. Many of these are also with people of other faiths; that’s what makes it pretty neat.”

“Duty to God is very important no matter what your faith is,” he said. 

Members of David’s Elks-sponsored troop include Scouts from “just about every religion, but the thing that binds them to each other even more than the camaraderie, is duty to God.”

Both David and Caroline are altar servers at their parish, where their mother is a Communion minister, a lector and teacher of the Confirmation class. Joe Bouley has been the parish council president for the last five years and is a Communion minister.