Students react off of campus late Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, in State College, Pa. Hundreds of students gathered about two blocks from the campus, with some chanting "We want Joe! We want Joe!" Some shook a lamp post and others tipped over a news van, kicking out its windows. Police fired bursts of pepper gas to control the crowd.

BOSTON — Nearly a decade and hundreds of miles separate Penn State from the clergy sex abuse scandal that erupted in Boston's Roman Catholic archdiocese then spread nationwide, but those who lived through the church crisis see painful parallels.

At Penn State, school administrators, including a beloved coach known for his integrity, didn't notify prosecutors when they learned years ago that former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky had been accused of molesting children. In the Archdiocese of Boston, the case of one predator priest led to revelations that for decades church leaders had moved guilty clergy among parish assignments without alerting parents or police.

Both cases had consequences for administrators.

Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law wound up leaving his post and, on Wednesday, coach Joe Paterno was fired.

Failing to act thoroughly on abuse allegations has happened in organizations ranging from the Boy Scouts to elementary and high schools — even when the molestation occurs within families. Still, Boston-area Catholics can't help but see some similarities between what they went through and what the Penn State community is suffering now. How could such respected leaders fail to take swift action to protect children?

“The sort of instinct to protect the institution is very similar. And of course, in both cases, it backfires horribly. If your idea was to avoid a scandal, you sure failed,” said Phil Lawler, who wrote “The Faithful Departed: The Collapse of Boston's Catholic Culture.”

The scope of the crimes alleged to have taken place at Penn State doesn't nearly match those in Boston, where dozens of priests were accused of abusing hundreds of victims over six decades. At Penn State, Sandusky was indicted on charges he abused eight boys over the course of 15 years.

Still, a couple of Penn State administrators face accusations that echo what was alleged in Boston.

Two Penn State officials, Senior Vice President Gary Schultz and Athletic Director Tim Curley, turned themselves in after being indicted on perjury charges and accused of failing to alert police about abuse complaints. Their lawyers say they're innocent and will seek to have the charges dismissed. Sandusky's attorney also has said his client is innocent.

The indictment paints a picture of administrators who had ample warning about Sandusky but failed to act.

Boston attorney Carmen Durso, who's represented numerous clergy sex abuse victims, said the Boston and Penn State cases likely will share a lack of proper accountability for the people who allowed abuse suspects to work with children years later.

“If you're a powerful person in any regard, the rules are different for you,” he said. “That's why Cardinal Law just had his (80th birthday) party in Rome, and that's why Joe Paterno is still a hero to people even though he let this go on.”