Well Brother Ted Jaracz
That didn't go down very well did it? I have never seen such fumbling from so called 'mouthpieces' of God, and so public too.
And our Presiding Overseer from Scotland didn't do too well either did he? Although he had probably been warned not to get involved before the Panorama team got there. I think he was scared to the point where he need the toilet very quickly! ;-)
However, let's have a spiritual point here. Matthew Chapter 10 and verse 19. Would you like to turn that one up Brothers? It reads there, and it's our Lord's words remember . . .
"However, when they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what you are to speak; for what you are to speak will be given you in that hour; for the ones speaking are not just you, but it is the spirit of your Father that speaks by you."
Now I don't know about you Brothers and Sisters, but I would say that the Society would put the Panaorama team in the same class as 'persecutors' wouldn't you? I mean all those lies they were speaking was so obviously persecution! - So I ask . . .
"Why did God and the Holy Spirit fail to give our dear Brothers the exact words they needed to fend off this vicious attack on the Truth?"
In Ted's case, surely there was plenty of Holy Spirit to go round at that assembly? And just what did our pillar of spiritual learning and experience come out with? Well refering to the UK's and the European Union's Privacy Laws, he said ;
"The Bible says, 'do not go beyond the things written'. We never go beyond the things written"
Well Ted I take exception to that quote because you were misquoting and misusing the Bible. That scripture is used by Paul to encourage his fellow Christians not to set aside God's Word for man's traditions. It does not refer to the words of men.
Of course you used it in relation to keeping 'Confidential' records secret and quoted 'Privacy Laws' in the UK and Europe. These of course being mainly the Data Protection Act in the UK. However, there is a stronger law than just the Data Protection Act. That is the Human Rights Act.
Here is an excerpt from a consulation paper/situation regarding both Acts and wether the DSS (Department of Social Security - UK) can use reuse information covered by the Data Protection Act. This example is specific to the role of the Commissioner, but we can get a very basic principle from the written word about the two Acts.
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The Role of the Commissioner
The first duty of the Data Protection Commissioner, as set out in s.21 of the Data Protection Act 1998, is the promotion of the following of "good practice". This is defined in the Act:
"...'good practice' means such practice in the processing of personal data as appears to the Commissioner to be desirable having regard to the interests of data subjects and others, and includes (but is not limited to) compliance with the requirements of this Act."
The comments which are set out below are made primarily in the context of this wider duty rather than the rather the Commissioner's rather narrower role in the enforcing the minimum requirements of the Act.
The Human Rights Act
The wider context of the comments is given by the Human Rights Act 2000 and, in particular, Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention. Article 8(1) states:
"Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence."
Clearly if the proposals set out in the Consultation Paper were carried forward through legislation (and thus satisfying the narrow requirement of the Data Protection Act that the processing of personal data must have a lawful basis) there would be a significant intrusion into the privacy of benefit claimants subject to investigation by the DSS. The question therefore is whether this intrusion may be justified according to the criteria set out in Article 8(2):
"There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights or freedoms of others."
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The Human Rights Act carries more weight than the Data Protection Act!
I think that it is clear, that Ted and his cronies like to spout off about an individual's rights to privacy (as well as their own as an organisation of course) the said individual being the child abuser. However, Ted, you forget that there are wider issues of human rights such as 'the prevention of disorder and crime' and more importantly the 'protection of the rights and freedoms of others'.
Those rights include the right of a child not to be emotionally, physically, verbally or sexually abused.
Do you and the rest of your cronies Ted, think that protecting the confidentiallity rights of a child abuser over-rides the rights of a child not to be abused? I think that anybody with any sense of proportion knows exactly the answer to that question.
I also take exception to the supposed answer to all these problems. "Leave it to Jehovah" you say. In effect you are blaming him and making him responsible for your indefensible actions!
Lastly in this 'rant' I would like to suggest why Ted came out with that famous phrase - "We never go beyond the things written".
This is because all the Governing Body do in any difficult situation they find themselves in, such as the unfullfillment of Society presumptuousness and interpretation of certain scriptures, is - wait for it - write something different!
Yes just write some 'New Light' to cover the situation and then they can say that they are not going beyond the things written!!
Sounds very much like a famous George Orwell book to me.
Very finally, I would like to express my fellow feeling for all the abused ones. Take care and take some comfort from the fact that you have the support of many who you will probably never know.
(This includes to a lesser extent those abused slaves still under the Watchtower yoke.