PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
August 9, 2019
A lawsuit filed in Philadelphia this week against the Boys Scouts of America on behalf of a Pennsylvania man has created a heart-sinking déjà vu. Lawyers claim to have uncovered hundreds of unreported cases of sexual abuse in the organization. It hearkens back to almost exactly a year ago when Attorney General Josh Shapiro released a grand jury report that detailed decades of sexual abuse by 300 priests across the Commonwealth.
The déjà vu has much to do with the similarities between the scouting scandal and the legacy of abuse in the Catholic Church — and how hierarchal organizations supposed to be wholesome and beneficial instead preyed on the innocent and vulnerable, compounding the damage by remaining secretive and insulated.
The Boy Scout abuse scandal emerged nearly a decade ago when a secret file of “ineligible volunteers” suspected of abusing their charges – called the “perversion files” — came to light.
In the church, the cover-up was even worse: secrecy compounded by the fact that instead of making abusive priests ineligible to serve, the church would simply transfer them to new communities where the abuse could continue.
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