Boy Scout Police Program Shocker
At least a dozen teenagers assigned to work with police departments as part of the Boy Scouts' Law Enforcement Explorers program have allegedly been sexually abused by officers during the past year. In the past five years, such molestations number at least 25, according to criminologists' research being released Wednesday.
I read about this in the newspaper this morning. It's a horrible thing, and my heart goes out to all the victims. Still, I wonder how much play this will get in the media in comparison to the Catholic Church's crisis? Law enforcement officials in American society are arguably standing on the same type of pedestal that the clergy are.
Not to mention, Chris, that they have more secular power over the citizenry.
Let us remember to pray for the healing of our broken world. Lately I am feeling a call to be very responsible in all of my choices relating to sexuality and the marketplace. (What I buy from whose ad campaign. What movies I watch, etc). Our culture has opened the flood gates of hedonism. At least public culture still knows that this sort of conduct is wrong (for the most part, anyway.)
The major difference is that the Boy Scouts are:
1) Required to run a background check on all volunteers; if any child-related violations come back, they cannot be allowed in to the programs.
2) Required to kick out anyone who is convicted of a crime, and suspend their work after an allegation is made.
Sure, just like the Church, the Scouts still have their bad apples. Heck, any program that works with children is going to have those bad apples.
It's just a shame that molestation has evolved in to a Catholic Church-only event, according to the media.