by silentlambs 84 Replies latest jw friends
For instance, when Jehovahs Witnesses are confronted with issues involving blood transfusion, they make sure that the doctor respects their religious beliefs.
What does this have to do w/child molestation or abuse of any kind? There should be no corresponding religious belief that overrides the law in this regard. Perhaps the writing department was smoking crack and just decided to throw that in there for a good laugh.
Sincerely,
District Overbeer
It makes you want to scream, doesn't it !
We have long instructed elders to report allegations of child abuse to the authorities where required by law to do so, even where there is only one witness. (Romans 13:1) In any case, the elders know that if the victim wishes to make a report, it is his or her absolute right to do so.--Galatians 6:5,"
Isn't that a quote from a very recent article on their site ? like others cited in this press release. Made after they realized that SilentLambs was all over the place and uncovering their little secrets?
Watchtower has taught me what Jesus meant when he said, " When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of the lie"
The PR department leaves out just enough details to make it seem true. What about states without reporting reguirements? Has this ALWAYS been your policy? When did this policy beome commen practice? Define severely censored . Oh, yes,this is my favorite The congregation works to extend spiritual and practical support to victims of child abuse and focuses on their welfare.
Celia,
The excerpt you quoted in disingenous in the extreme. If course they report the offense WHERE THE LAW COMPELS THEM TO DO SO. Why doesn't the self-professed ``righteous indignation'' extend to going the extra mile and advising elders -- and rank-and-file JWs for that matter --- to report all allegations to Caesars's duly appint guardians of the public welfare.
It's also ludicrous that they seek praise for not allowing confessed molesters to proceed from door to door unacompanied --- hello? Don't you dunderheads understand that these are CRIMINALS with serious sociopathic proclivities?
Thanks Bill -
They are missing the point and purposefully doing so (nothing new). Regardless of their current rhetoric - What about the many victims that were hurt, betrayed and terrorized due to their policies, written or implied? Where's the apology? Not only with the child abuse issues , but with the blood issues, civilian military service, failed prophecies, discouragement from attending college, etc. They are avoiding the issue again. I'm sure many of us can testify, myself included, that the Elders told the victims and their parents to 'leave it in the hands of Jah' or showed them the scripture that said 'don't take your brother to court, etc.' Bill, if I rememeber correctly, you even recorded the direction given to you from the Headquarters on the Dateline program.
People's lives were damaged or lost due to their polices and ignorance. Should we just act like it didn't happen, swept it under the rug, blame the victim, or blame the local elders for mishandleing the case? This isn't right - Accept Responsibility For Once! I hope the 'logic' that attracted the JW's to the BORG will be the same 'logic' that helps them to see the hypocrisy.
Thanks again for the update.
Peace - LL
i just saw this post. i will print it and take it to my car to read during lunch.
i'll comment in a bit.
The individual is also directed that he should not be in any unsupervised company of children, including when he engages in any public witnessing."Does anyone else WITNESS what is wrong with THIS picture?
Yes - he is a CHILD ABUSER... but,
1. He has not been kicked out of the WT.
2. He is still allowed to be around children.
3. "Unsupervised" may be less than two witnesses.
The Watchtower obviously has their head up their ass. It's hard to smell shit when you ARE shit. Nice smoke & mirrors Watchtower !!! What are you going to do when an independent investigation takes place?
The WT is very good at telling people half truths and these sorts of statements can be very incendiary especially to persons who have suffered abuse and who have experienced the opposite of what the Society claims to be their policy.
I think time will tell the true picture as more and more things that have out of necessity needed to be kept quiet are revealed. Well-worded media statements have to be considered in the context of so many abused persons who claim they were discouraged from going to the police or getting professional counselling.
"Severely censored" in the context of Vicki Bower's trial in Toronto meant delayed reporting to the authorities, loss of microphone "privileges" and private reproof of the molester. What sounds so glowing on paper is pathetic in reality.
At the end of the day all I can do is encourage patience and courageous endurance and persistance on the part of everyone affected. You have to be very proud of how far everyone involved has managed to take this and be hopeful for the future. I hope we can manage to balance the need for justice with making sure those who have suffered these terrible things can go forward no matter what happens.
Path
1. elders immediately work to assure the safety of the victim and of other children.
2 Also, they make every effort to comply with the law.
3 On rare occasions a member of a congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses takes up or reverts to the disgusting habit of child molestation.
4 We view child molestation as a disgusting, abnormal and criminal practice. The congregation works to extend spiritual and practical support to victims of child abuse and focuses on their welfare
5 We have long instructed elders to report allegations of child abuse to the authorities where required by law to do so, even where there is only one witness.
Thanks for posting this. These five highlighted points jumped out at me because each of them was not carried through in my family's case and # 3 I find the understatement of the new millennium. A HABIT? I have never ever heard that word used for sexual abuse and I've been working on this issue for over 2 decades.
There was no concern for our satety. There wasn't even a tiny, visable, or invisable effort to comply with the law. The Elders and Witnesses that knew did not view the abuse as criminal. They did not focus on our spiritual welfare or welfare on any level, and did not offer practical support. Police, authorites never even came up.
One of the Elders when questioned just before our trial told me "We didn't know it was against the law" "Call the Children's Aid Society! What? And break up the family?"
How much better it would have been for the Society's press release to admit they made a lot of mistakes, their Elders made a lot of mistakes, and thank the Silent lambs present for bringing this to their attention!!!
I know...that is the fantasy, not the reality!
