Will Child Abuse Issue Keep Growing Like A Forest Fire?

by OnTheWayOut 50 Replies latest watchtower scandals

• 

  OnTheWayOut

  Blondie, my respect for you and what you have accomplished in the ex-JW community knows no bounds. You have definitely been put through the ringer and your brave attempts to do something about it are amazing to me.

  I was never directly aware of child sexual abuse in any congregation I was in. When I first entered the ex-JW community, that was not my issue at all. I assumed that it was a problem like it might be in any religious group, but have since learned better. The issue is far larger by percentage than it is with the Catholic Church. We all know that the biggest problem is that Watchtower swept these things under the rug time and time again in order to save the reputation of the congregations and the corporation under the claim of not bringing reproach upon God's name.
• 

  blondie

  But, why fight alone where there are so many others who have been fighting for so long and succeeding...is a jw child worth more than a non-jw child? Why is did Kathleen Conti have to go to SNAP tor concrete support, to set up a support group to help other in the jw and ex- jw community to benefit from the work that SNAP has provided to other non-Catholic religious groups? Why re-invent the wheel? Barbara Anderson and others in the ex-jw community see the need to work together with these organizations. I would suggest you take some time to read about SNAP and what they have accomplished and are still doing, because the hiding in the RC is not over, the laws are still weak in many areas, and more and more countries are dealing with this issue with the help of SNAP.

  www.snapnetwork.org

  It is goal to bring down the WTS or help abused children? Can abused children be helped without bringing down the RC or the WTS? Yes.

  Why do you think the RC swept it under the rug?

  swept these things under the rug time and time again in order to save the reputation of the congregations and the corporation under the claim of not bringing reproach upon God's name. (or the Catholic Church)
• 

  millie210

  I really appreciated the point made in the OP about the "Cosby effect".

  I think that is where this battle will gain momentum. Each case building on the one before.

  Like Blondie mentioned, a lot of brave folks have gone before...
• 

  Vidiot

  blondie - "Why do you think the RC swept it under the rug?"

  "...to save the reputation of the congregations and the corporation under the claim of not bringing reproach upon God's name..."

  There are a couple of deeper, darker possibilities that I've suggested before...

  ...that the sheer number of accused sex offenders (secret database notwithstanding) is actually so high that...

  a) if those identities became common knowledge (and more importantly, believed) amongst the R&F, JW parents who wanted to protect their kids would ultimately be unable to find an offender-free congregation to move to... and would, in the end, simply stop going...

  ...and...

  b) the WTS would feel compelled to remove/restrict any of these "known" offenders from serving in a position of responsibility in the congregations... and with the increasing shortage of willing and "qualified" brothers to perform duties, they'd run the very real risk of running out of men who could keep said congregations properly functioning.

  Either scenario would be potentially catastrophic for the Org.
• 

  cattails

  In every congregation I've been in there's always been gossip about pedophilia among the Witnesses. Once you gain the trust of the regular pioneer crowd they're the best source for dirt.
  

  Will Child Abuse Issue Keep Growing Like A Forest Fire?

  I hope so, I truly hope it burns the WT like Gehenna!
  
• 

  flipper

  Yes, indeed- I DO think that we are at the tip of the iceberg here. The titanic WT Society is wobbling a little right now. It's like Pandora's box right now - the more child abuse cases that get released out of the box, the more official commissions like the Australia Commission start investigating and this access to information is hit on millions of times on Google search- there is NO way the WT Society will be able to stop it from being known worldwide.

  And with ex-JWs spreading the news on websites like this- before you know it if it keeps up the JW's will become KNOWN for allowing child molesters free reign and will become KNOWN for not reporting child molesters to police. It's how the " dirty laundry " business works in the media. Just my 2 cents
• 

  blondie

  BTW vidiot I was quoting OTWO above

  blondie - "Why do you think the RC swept it under the rug?"

  "...to save the reputation of the congregations and the corporation under the claim of not bringing reproach upon God's name..."

  ( We all know that the biggest problem is that Watchtower swept these things under the rug time and time again in order to save the reputation of the congregations and the corporation under the claim of not bringing reproach upon God's name. )
• 

  Vidiot

  Got it.

  Incidentally, what do you think of my theories?
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  Replies to page 5:
  
  Blondie, the protection of children must be first. The justice for victims must come ahead of hurting Watchtower. I do not have the answers, but I like the thoughts you offer. I do not deny bias in my case. But where I discuss forest fires and this getting out of control for Watchtower, it comes from a bystander to the pedophile issue who was never victimized but wishes to see pain put upon the organization that magnified the problem. If I were ever a participant in the problem (iow, if I were ever an elder on a judicial matter that helped sweep things under the rug) I would hope that I could apologize to the victim and be as helpful as possible to the authorities now. I would be even more upset at Watchtower when I saw what they had done with my help, so I would more so want them to experience pain.

  millie210, I just can't help but think about the "Cosby effect." An issue that seems dead-and-buried arises and several individual victims learn that they can have their voices heard. Despite the statute of limitations or other factors, the issue gains momentum and people are swayed to the side of victims. It's only sad that the vast majority of Americans (and I hope it's just Americans) would care more about Cosby and less than 50 victims than they would ever care about Watchtower and it's possibly thousands of witnesses.

  Vidiot, I do highly wonder about your point A having validity. Even without details on names and congregations, it could happen anyway. The Roman Catholic Church is huge, but it was crippled by the scandal. Even without so many families declaring their abandonment, they have ceased church activity and have certainly withdrawn their children from church activity.
  While your point B is interesting and possibly valid, I also know that if the sh*t hits the fan, Watchtower would throw all the necessary elders under the bus if that put them in a better position.

  Cattails, I have to assume this is correct about many congregations. I climbed the ladder to elder rather quickly in my first congregation without hearing about this, and the gossipers may have always been leery of me because of my title. I didn't hear about it, but I have heard so much since leaving.

  Flipper, that's what I think. I think the JW's will be among the last to know details because they will follow marching orders to steer clear of the stories. But people will keep asking them about the issue. If the Roman Catholic Church were going door-to-door, it would have happened to them.
• 

  Vidiot

  OnTheWayOut - "While your point B is interesting and possibly valid, I also know that if the sh*t hits the fan, Watchtower would throw all the necessary elders under the bus if that put them in a better position."

  Noted.

  A scenario which, I might add, would have considerably less negative impact on the Org if/when it's successful in (as Barb Anderson has suggested) its transition to an internet-only presence... something else JW loyalists - the GB included - would probably view as part of "keeping God's Organization alive in the face of the Great Tribulation" (should they decide to steer the rhetoric down that road; "strange instructions", after all)...