Here is the latest on the Catholic child rape scandal:
http://www.slate.com/id/2247861/?from=rss
The Great Catholic Cover-Up The pope's entire career has the stench of evil about it.
By Christopher Hitchens
Posted Monday, March 15, 2010, at 10:20 AM ET
One paragraph snippet:
...............................
Very much more serious is the role of Joseph Ratzinger, before the church decided to make him supreme leader, in obstructing justice on a global scale. After his promotion to cardinal, he was put in charge of the so-called "Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith" (formerly known as the Inquisition). In 2001, Pope John Paul II placed this department in charge of the investigation of child rape and torture by Catholic priests. In May of that year, Ratzinger issued a confidential letter to every bishop. In it, he reminded them of the extreme gravity of a certain crime. But that crime was the reporting of the rape and torture. The accusations, intoned Ratzinger, were only treatable within the church's own exclusive jurisdiction. Any sharing of the evidence with legal authorities or the press was utterly forbidden. Charges were to be investigated "in the most secretive way ... restrained by a perpetual silence ... and everyone ... is to observe the strictest secret which is commonly regarded as a secret of the Holy Office … under the penalty of excommunication."(My italics). Nobody has yet been excommunicated for the rape and torture of children, but exposing the offense could get you into serious trouble. And this is the church that warns us against moral relativism! (See, for more on this appalling document, tworeports in the London Observer of April 24, 2005, by Jamie Doward.)
................................
Very interesting article, I encourage all to read the whole thing.
The part I highlighted above....does it sound familiar? Who else attempts to control issues regarding sexual abuse among their religious leaders?
And the issue of motive....as the Slate article indicates, there appears to be a coverup designed to "protect" the pope.
So, what motive do JWs have in continuing to enforce the "2 witness" rule regarding their own numerous cases of sexual abuse of minors? And in strictly enforcing disfellowshipping on grounds of "slander" and "causing divisions" for those who would highlight the issue?