WTBTS Approves of Admitted Pedophiles Serving as Elders!

by 00DAD 21 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  WTWizard

  For years? How many, 0.000000001 years?

  This kind of abuse rarely involves simple sexual contact. There is generally manipulation involved, including threats to disfellowship the victim for "slander" if they blab. They weasel their way into hounding calls with minors, and sexual contact is almost never without coercion. They are threatened with their lives, and if they don't comply, they could be in for "brazen conduct" or given more severe requirements. Or, they might have done a little "sin", and if they don't give into the sex, it will be treated as a big sin. "Privileges" are threatened. Which is significantly more serious than merely doing consensual sex.
• 

  DaCheech

  good point, wtwiz
• 

  Band on the Run

  There is something i do not understand. Perhaps someone can explain to me. Acknowledging that the WTS does not care about the pedophiles' victims, what is in for the Society to have these men serve? Liability claims and the resulting publicity within the local and national community seem very harmful to the Society. There are so many rules to exclude other candidates that it seems as though they are inviting pedophiles.

  If I were a pedophile and completely isolated from society with a secret that causes revulsion, I'd love a religion that embraced me. The beliefs would not matter much to me. Jesus embraced many outsiders. Yet I think He would pause here. I can't imagine Jesus throwing stones but I don't think such men would have ready access to children. Again, one can err on the side of pedophiles or err on the side of innocent, vulnerable children.

  I fail to see any difference between the Society and the Roman Catholic Church cover-ups.
• 

  BluesBrother

  I think that it looks even worse if one reads the paragraph in context :

  Shepherd The Flock Of God (2010) page 38

  "19. If it comes to light or an appointed

  brother confesses that he has committed a disfellowshipping

  offense years in the past: The

  body of elders may determine he can continue to

  serve if the following is true: The immorality or other

  serious wrongdoing occurred more than a few years

  ago, and he is genuinely repentant, recognizing that

  he should have come forward immediately when he

  sinned. (Perhaps he has even confessed to his sin,

  seeking help with his guilty conscience.) He has been

  serving faithfully for many years, has evidence of

  God's blessing, and has the respect of the congregation

  .

  20. If the sin occurred before he was appointed as

  an elder or a ministerial servant, the elders will need

  to take into consideration the fact that he should

  have mentioned this possible impediment to his being

  qualified when elders interviewed him just prior

  to announcing his appointment. Moreover, the nature

  of the sin may reflect greatly on his qualifications

  to serve. For example, the sin may involve past

  child abuse, and this would likely disqualify him for

  many years.-w971/1 pp. 26-29; w77 pp. 697-698.

  38 "
• 

  00DAD

  Let's not forget:

  If the wrongdoing occurred within the past few years while he was serving as an elder or a ministerial servant, he is disqualified from serving as such, not being "free from accusation." (1 Tim. 3:2, 10; Titus 1:6, 7) Depending on the circumstances, the situation may also need to be handled by a judicial committee. - (Emphasis in original)

  Ok, let me see if I understand this:

  1. An elder or MS can continue to serve even after sexually abusing a child and covering it up as long as it has been more than a "few years" and,
  2. This "may also need to be handled by a judicial committee", but only "depending on the circumstances", whatever THAT is supposed to mean.

  I would guess that those "circumstances" would be if it now appears that:

  1. He has NOT been serving faithfully for many years
  2. He DOES NOT have evidence of God's blessing
  3. And he DOES NOT have the respect of the congregation

  Notice the emphasis on appearances. And how could these three things be otherwise as he as hidden his sin for at least a "few years" and pretended to be a model citizen?!?!?

  This is one seriously f**ked up policy!!!

  I'm only glad that in all the years I served as an elder I never had to deal with any child abuse issues in the two congregations I attended.
• 

  00DAD

  Ooops, I meant to note that the above quote is from paragraph 21 of the Shepherd the Flock book, the paragraph immediately following the two quoted by BluesBrother!
• 

  Violia

  One reason the wts does not act more decisively is b/c they view one sin as no worse than another. So if you have sinned then you have no right to judge the rapist b/c you have sinned too. they also feel women "ask for it", Some of these men feel for each other and know how easy it is to fall into sexual sins.

  Most folks who join jws do not realize they have agreed to submit themselves to the Org's and elders authority. That scripture about "not taking your brother to court" is one I noted in the flock book. However , as I once heard, You do not give up your rights as a citizen of the country you live in just b/c you walk in the KH door.

  I do not see how it would be in the wts best interest to allow a confessed pedophile to be in a position of authority.
• 

  TheListener

  Absolutely sickening.
• 

  BluesBrother

  From my earlier post I checked the WT reference that they gave. It gives an insight into the way they think :

  WT 1997 1/1 Page 28

  "What if a baptized adult Christian sexually molests a child? Is the sinner so wicked that Jehovah will never forgive him? Not necessarily so. Jesus said that ‘blasphemy against the holy spirit’ was unforgivable. And Paul said that there is no sacrifice for sins left for one who practices sin willfully despite knowing the truth. (Luke 12:10; Hebrews 10:26, 27) But nowhere does the Bible say that an adult Christian who sexually abuses a child—whether incestuously or otherwise—cannot be forgiven. Indeed, his sins can be washed clean if he repents sincerely from the heart and turns his conduct around. However, he may still have to struggle with the wrong fleshly impulses he cultivated. (Ephesians 1:7) And there may be consequences that he cannot avoid.

  Depending on the law of the land where he lives, the molester may well have to serve a prison term or face other sanctions from the State. The congregation will not protect him from this. Moreover, the man has revealed a serious weakness that henceforth will have to be taken into account. If he seems to be repentant, he will be encouraged to make spiritual progress, share in the field service, even have parts in the Theocratic Ministry School and nonteaching parts in the Service Meeting. This does not mean, though, that he will qualify to serve in a position of responsibility in the congregation. What are the Scriptural reasons for this?"

  Peculiar reasoning, eh? They really do not accept that child molesters are sick and will always be subject to their urges....In this article though it said that he would never qualify for responsibility. It seems that that has gone by the wayside!
• 

  00DAD

  BB, Thanks for the additional research!

  As I said before, This is one seriously f**ked up policy/organization!!!