When I commented on the case of the Canadain sextuplets I referred to an essay of two German JW attorneys, Armin Pikl (JW lawyer) and Gajus Glockentin (Bethelite) from the year 1998. I turned some pages and came across another remarkable statement. You still find the whole essay on the Watchtower's server: http://wachtturm.de/0/pdf/rec/ues/1998/1998-09-01.pdf
The statement on page 30 deals with the accusation that JW would tell their members to break professional descrition. It reads (translation mine):
CC) Jehovah's Witnesses requested to break "professional descrition"?
[...]In iurisdiction and theory it is recognized that the protection of secrets does not represent absolute right [...] There could be e.g. be the theoretically designed situation that someone in the medical sector gets to know of a case of sexual child abuse, whereby the obvious danger exists that still further acts with the endangerment of further children can happen. Indisputably the person has the right to initiate measures on the part of the youth welfare office and the law for the protection of the children . In addition, it must be possible for that person to informi the responsible persons in the surrounding of the child in order to protect thereby the child against further abuse. Some time ago, there were criminal determinations against a certain church due of cases of child abuse through clergymen. According to reports, they had failed to intervene to avoid further damage.
They stated that exceptions like that one are meant when WT literature talks about the necessity to maybe break professional descrition.
It is really very disturbing that the German branch wrote this in 1998 and starting 2001 silentlamb started to uncover the same things within in the JW movement and proved that they, too, did fail to intervene. And last year, they tried to relie on their "descrition" as clericals to avoid making child abuse cases public.
This is all so sick.