The Report - BBC Radio 4 about Jehovah's Witnesses and Child Sexual Abuse can now be heard (page 4)

umbertoecho

Thank you mephis, it's the only way I will be able to hear or see it.

breakfast of champions

I thought it was good how they used the Bible quotes from the Society's own recordings: "don't reveal a confidential matter" (in American accent) sounds pretty sinister.

Yes! I thought exactly the same. Very cult-y sounding.
BTW - Welcome back SBF!

True The Searcher. Very true. They have a pat response to this sort of reporting, they will say it's Satan's system doing this evil undermining of the WT. Then they will feel comfortable and justified.

I will say..." So why does your' organization feel comfortable fighting for other rights in Satan's legal world then. Why have you bragged for decades about every win you have ever had in those evil Satanic courts. You employed lawyers who were not JWs, you employed lawyers who were of Satan's world to defend your' rights and that was okay?"

They will just clam up. They always do. It will be that over done expression of "We are being persecuted".

Slidin Fast

What a great thing that they used the creepy voice of Stephen Lett. They really should keep him in a back room, just take him out every now and then for group photos and then put him away again. Photoshop should then be skilfully used. Whatever you do, don't let him near a microphone.

He really is the opposition's best asset.

OzGirl

Excellent reporting by BBC

ScenicViewer

Slidin Fast: ...Stephen Lett. They really should keep him in a back room, just take him out every now and then for group photos and then put him away again.

Same for Anthony Morris III.

Thank goodness they are letting these fanatical men speak publicly. It's bad for Watchtower but good for everyone else. Go Watchtower TV!

Vidiot

I've said this before, but I find it a particularly sharp irony that the predictions of a former member of an apocalyptic religion are coming true *, especially when said apocalyptic religion holds the unofficial record for failed predictions.

x

* ...that the Org would eventually face tons of lawsuits and bad PR if they didn't fix the problem...

Brokeback Watchtower

BTTT

cha ching

umbertoecho: So true! My feelings exactly!

I will say..." So why does your' organization feel comfortable fighting for other rights in Satan's legal world then. Why have you bragged for decades about every win you have ever had in those evil Satanic courts. You employed lawyers who were not JWs, you employed lawyers who were of Satan's world to defend your' rights and that was okay?"

Let's not forgetting about their bragging over "first amendment rights" regarding the flag salute.

*** w55 10/1 p. 590 Part 19—Christian Neutrals in America During World War II ***

For relief, for refuge, the doors of the United States Supreme Court were clamored at. Finally the unusual happened. The Supreme Court reversed itself on June 14, 1943, in the case of West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, holding that Jehovah’s witnesses need not salute the flag. From the court’s historic opinion we quote:

“To sustain the compulsory flag salute we are required to say that a Bill of Rights which guards the individual’s right to speak his own mind, left it open to public authorities to compel him to utter what is not in his mind. . . . If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. . . . We think the action of the local authorities in compelling the flag salute and pledge transcends constitutional limitations on their power and invades the sphere of intellect and spirit which it is the purpose of the First Amendment to our Constitution to reserve from all official control. The decision of this Court in Minersville School District v. Gobitis . . . [is] overruled.”

What rejoicing this victory brought to Jehovah’s people! Now their children could return to public schools for their education and no longer would it be necessary to operate the temporary Kingdom Schools. For the first time in eight long years could the children of the witnesses take their rightful places in the schoolrooms of the nation, This without their being required to make what to them is an idolatrous salute."

How much time and money did they spend taking this flag salute issue to court?

Are they as earnest as to time and money defending a child's rights against child abuse?

Ruby456

nice to get some history barbara

Like punkofnice we were warned too about the 2002 panorama programme but I went ahead and watched it. I was shocked but not enough to leave. It was only when the reality happened in our own congregation years later that I finally left.

In the UK child abuse awareness had been steadily growing from about the 1990's but in the US it was much earlier - from about the 70s. The GB being US based could have been truly pioneering about this issue instead of covering in up so effectively. Jehovah witnesses saying they were the early pioneers against child sexual abuse in the steps they took to protect children is a complete fabrication (Rick Simmons brought this to light very well in the Conti case). Being as they are so close to families they would have been aware of how common child sexual abuse really is from very early on - almost as early as Sigmund Freud ( the mid 1890's).

The Report - BBC Radio 4 about Jehovah's Witnesses and Child Sexual Abuse can now be heard

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