Article: Reveal News-California court guts child abuse ruling against Jehovah's Witnesses

by AndersonsInfo 47 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

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  The Searcher

  I am really saddened by what I've read in the judgment, because I only see this as a major money-saving & face-saving victory for the Org.

  Candace will walk away with $2.9m - so what? She lost!! She wanted the Org to change its practices of shielding perverts, and the courts have denied her that.

  The Org will now direct Elders to absolutely restrict perverts from ever being alone with a child on "theocratic activities". Outwith that, it's not their problem, because the "superior authorities" have let them off the hook!!! (I feel like swearing for the first time in 17 years!)

  A personal message from me to the G.B. and every fellow Witness who is wallowing in this "victory for God's Org" -

  Your Org has nothing to do with Christ. You played and used the system to protect your unrighteous riches, and you succeeded, but, you totally refuse to live up to your declared Master's command, "All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you also must do to them."

  By your "fruits", many more people now know you!
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  OrphanCrow

  Where the WTs might end up shooting themselves in the foot over this court case is in the way that the elders have been presented and accepted by the legal system as members of 'the clergy'. The judgement in this case, that reverses the punitive damages, is based pretty much solely upon clergy privilege of confidentiality. The final judgement took the position that the court could not define for a religious institution what that 'clergy' could actually 'look' like and instead, reverted to established practice of 'staying out of religious business'.

  Therefore, because this court case established that the JW elder system is 'clergy' in nature, cases that claim that the elders do not have a duty to mandatory report suspected cases of child abuse/rape because they are not clergy, no longer have a leg to stand on. This case establishes that the elders are, indeed, clergy. And bound by the same rules as such.
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  Vidiot

  violias - "...it needs to be pursued b/c registered sex offenders should not be allowed in field service and that is just obvious."

  Back in the day, WTS reps would have fervently disagreed with you; that the door-to-door ministry was a command from God, and therefore, even a "known" child abuser should be allowed to do it.

  These days, though, they'd have to be idiots to say something like that out loud.

  x

  This particular aspect of the issue may be somewhat academic before too long, anyway:

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/197790003/door-door-activity-over
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  violias

  Reading all this the last few days made me recall Sinead O'Conner. Many might recall she went on SNL and tore up a picture of the then Pope. She got a lot of blowback b/c of that but she was right. I really admire her for her stance on child abuse within religion. I recall the song she sang, " Fire on Babylon" and I dedicate this to Candace and all who are fighting organized religion for protecting child abusers and molesters.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP1IhAV1TJE
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  violias

  bttt
• 

  sir82

  The judgement in this case, that reverses the punitive damages, is based pretty much solely upon clergy privilege of confidentiality.

  I'm surprised this hasn't been exploited more as a line of attack by the attorneys.

  The JW system is nothing like "confidential".

  Firstly, a "confession" is always done to at least 2 (or 3) elders - not one, as Catholics do.

  Secondly, if the "confession" results in disfellowshipping, the nature of the offense and certain details are passed onto the WTS service department (in writing!), where who knows how many more people read about it.

  There is no "clergy-penitent confidentiality" in the JW system - potentially dozens of people find out about the "confession".

  Don't Simons & the others know this? Or am I just missing something?
  
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  scoobydont

  As long as the wider society, including the courts, has it's head up its backside, the WTS will continue to get away with their despicable acts, in the full knowledge that nobody gives a rat's whisker what they do to their members and just how destructive they can be. This charade of hair-splitting between what's legal and moral, hosted and encouraged by the US legal system without due regards to the measurable damages that the WTS inflicts, is simply ludicrous and clearly highlights an area where the government has failed in its primary duty of protecting the citizenry. Please let no one take this as an attack on the US or its legal system as I am sure the US has uncountable things to boast and about, and rightly so. Unfortunately, this apparent lapse in the Conti case is not one that the US can boast about.

  Is this the government's way of saying that anyone joining any religious group is basically out there on their own and does so at their own peril ?! Of course, that was a dumb a question since the government has zero interest in religion and cares even less what happens to anyone involved in religion especially those fringe ones such as the WTS.

  The American law, as I understand it, allows the creepy WTS to snake its way under the bar on the grounds that spiritual matters are not justiciable in American courts...even when the effects of membership are evident and quantifiable ?! I am begging any law expert to help me out on this !

  I live in the UK and would agree with anyone that it is far from being a perfect society, but this Conti case is one that could have left the WTS wondering what hit it if the case had been heard in a UK court !
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  carla

  The public at large needs to know that the wt knowingly and willingly will send pedophiles to knock on their doors. Most don't believe it and my jw believes that all pedo's are df'd, he is totally clueless as are most jw's I suspect.