Local Paper

by silentlambs 2 Replies latest jw friends

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  silentlambs

  This is an article for the local weekly newspaper.

  silentlambs

  Witnesses expelled Bill Bowen

  By Johnnie Davis

  Tribune Courier Staff Writer

  Former elder of the Draffenville congregation of Jehovahs Witnesses, William H. Bowen, received notification Thursday morning that he had been disfellowshipped .

  Bowen resigned his position in December of 2000 as a way to protest the handling of child molestation cases by the church.

  Three elders from congregations outside of made up the panel that decided to disfellowship Bowen. They were Jeff Steen and George Bandarra of and Ron Cary of Central City.

  Bowen has accused the church of protecting pedophiles by not reporting cases of child abuse brought before it. Church leaders deny wrongdoing and claim to follow the law.

  " My purpose in doing this is to protect the children in the Jehovahs Witness community, Bowen said in an interview Friday. The children who come forth should be praised as heroes, not ostracized and treated as villains."

  Bowen said he will appeal, which must be done within seven days of the disfellowship . The appeal was to be made on Monday. The panels decision is not final until it is announced to the congregation Thursday. Bowen said he anticipates the appeal committee to make it decision Friday. Bowen was to make his appeal before the three original panel members and three members of the appeal committee.

  Disfellowship is the harshest of decisions made by Witnesses. It results in the person being shunned by Witnesses including members of his own family.

  "Religion is protected by the First Amendment,' Bowen said. ' The religion will laugh at the courts if I try to pursue this legally."

  Neither Bowen's attorney, Rush Hunt of Madisonville , nor members of the disfellowship panel could be reached for comment.

  " It is the policy of the Watchtower to silence people by disfellowship , Bowen said, 'they want people silenced." The Watchtower is a Jehovahs Witness organization.

  Bowen has started a support group for abuse victims at www.silentlambs.org.

  Edited by - silentlambs on 4 August 2002 20:55:37

  Edited by - silentlambs on 5 August 2002 3:58:12
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  COMF

  Neither Bowens attorney, Rush Hunt of , nor members of the disfellowship panel could be reached for comment.

  I've mentioned this before, but didn't get a response. I've seen the editing often enough now to realize that it is editing, done with the intent of removing locations or other specifics that might reveal too much information about someone. That's fine; I suppose it's a good idea. What bothers me is the method of editing.

  Neither Rush Hunt of , nor

  ...looks like a major typo. I have to stop and study it to try to figure out what it is. It takes a deal of figuring to finally realize that it used to say,

  Neither Rush Hunt of Sometown, nor

  It would be much more readable if something were inserted in place of the deleted text:

  Neither Rush Hunt of [deleted], nor

  ...for example. During the time that I'm trying to figure out what it's supposed to say, I've lost my concentration on the subject being discussed. It's distracting and detracts from the reader's grasp and enjoyment of the post.

  FWIW
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  silentlambs

  When I do a cut and paste it often loses cities and dates. for anyone interested:

  Judicial committee:

  Ron Cary-Central City KY

  George Bandarra-Murray, KY

  Jeff Steen-Murray, KY

  I would certainly not want these superfine brothers to feel they were being missed.

  silentlambs