Today's Calgary Sun discusses the latest on the shunned father and his daughter. Of her whereabouts, etc., he still remains in limbo. See "Sick girl's birthday off limits."
Shunned Father and Daughter
by Kenneson 5 Replies latest jw friends
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Mary
This can't really be shocking to any of us. We all know that Witnesses don't celebrate birthdays so why would this make the news?
What I find bizarre is why the father hasn't gone to court to force the wife to at least tell him where she and his daughter are receiving treatment. There seems to be speculation that they're in California. Even though he went against what Witnesses believe regarding the blood issue, he still, in my opinion, has every right to see his daughter. Obviously, he had her best interests at heart when the blood issue came up, and shows that he's a very caring father who wanted to save his daughters life.
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Simon
I believe he is currently doing just that and I wish him every success as I'm sure most people with any compassion do.
What sort of sick religion does this to a family?
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BeautifulGarbage
Mary,
Randy (Dogpatch) posted a communication from ShunnedFather stating that he was in the process of divorcing his wife so that she would be forced to disclose their daughter's whereabouts.
In the US, if I remember correctly, in most states, if a couple is married and one spouse takes a child and refuses to disclose the location of that child, then it is not considered kidnapping. If their is a divorce and a ruling on custody is made, then if one parent flees with their child it is considered kidnapping and is a crime. Canada may also have such laws.
It seems to me that is the angle shunned Father is using.
Andee
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myMichelle
This can't really be shocking to any of us. We all know that Witnesses don't celebrate birthdays so why would this make the news?
The reporter for the Calgary paper most likely is not a JW. The legal manuvers of the WT lawyers and the behavior of the family is astounding to many nonJWs. That the father has zero contact with his daughter, for whom he has sacrificed much, is tragic and emphasized more so on the anniversary of her birth.
JWs and family members (JW and NonJW) know birthdays aren't celebrated. Some of the general populace know too (ie. Dateline and Connie Chung identified them as the group that doesn't celebrate Christmas or birthdays), but are unaware to how rigid and even rabid some JWs can be about following the rules. The continuing articles are giving the public the picture of how some Organization members will turn viciously on one of their own if the rules aren't followed.
News worthy? I think so, maybe not earth-shattering, but I bet some of the NonJWs reading the series will say "Thanks, but no thanks" to the next JWs knocking on their doors. Totally worth the paper, ink and bandwidth IMO.
Michelle
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Kenneson
Mary,
Make sure you read the entire article. Maybe you only read the synopsis. The article states that the lawyers are rankling over her custody. So there appears to be litigation going on. But, in the meantime, the father is afraid that the daughter could die before he gets to see her. It also states that she is at a cancer center in Alberta, rather than California or somewhere in the U.S.