Now that the Boy Scouts of America have been ruined by their astonishingly stupid decision to allow gays into the Scouts, the churches that sponsored them may find themselves on the financial hook for the abuse perpetrated there:
Amid the Boy Scouts of America’s complex bankruptcy case, there is worsening friction between the BSA and the major religious groups that help it run thousands of scout units. At issue: the churches’ fears that an eventual settlement—while protecting the BSA from future sex-abuse lawsuits—could leave many churches unprotected.
In July, the BSA proposed an $850 million deal that would bar further lawsuits against it and its local councils. The deal did not cover the more than 40,000 organizations that have charters with the BSA to sponsor scout units, including many churches from major religious denominations that are now questioning their future involvement in scouting.
The United Methodist Church—which says up to 5,000 of its US congregations could be affected by future lawsuits—recently advised those churches not to extend their charters with the BSA beyond the end of this year. The UMC said these congregations were “disappointed and very concerned” that they weren’t included in the July deal.
Now isn’t that convenient. The BSA, which was actually responsible, would be let off the hook, while the churches who were foolish enough to permit the predators to operate on their premises will remain potentially liable. The whole thing stinks to the heavens of sulfur.