Montana jury awards two women $35M in sex abuse lawsuit against Jehovah's Witnesses

by AndersonsInfo 92 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

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  dontfitin

  So does anyone know how or if it is possible to obtain court transcripts from this trial? This would be helpful for some of us to be able to share a neutral document. That's what made the ARC so powerful.

  I mentioned to my husband about them saying they were not responsible for the actions of the elders. He was stunned. So far the lies being told in court have been what has impacted him the most.

  1. The claim that JWs have a clergy penitent privilege of some kind, because everyone knows that is not the way it is set up.

  2. The claim that elders don't have any special duty of protection over the congregation, hence no duty to report.

  The idea that the org is using money dedicated to Jehovah to pay lawyers to LIE in a court of law is powerful even to those who are still in.
• 

  careful

  LHG,

  "All the stalwart JWs still sitting there (who have two brain cells left to rub together) have to be absolutely nauseous from it all."

  From what I hear and have seen, unfortunately but also rather expectedly, many R&F are just digging their pro-org heels in deeper, even to the point of being more irrational than ever. "How dare you bring that subject up!" "I won't listen to this! Stop!" "You don't know what you're talking about." "Of course it's slander. Consider the source. The media belongs to Satan's world, right?"

  There will be those, however, who will begin to break down under the barrage of media coverage, but it will surely be a minority. I'm reminded of one account in Ray Franz's book where an elder on a JC said something like, "If the GB tells me that this book cover is red when I always saw it as green, I'll just have to adjust my thinking and say, 'Well, I always thought it was green, but now I know it's red.'"

  But I think you are right. There are some who must be suspicious that where there is smoke, there's fire. They know that there are some facts, some truth, behind all the org's denials and bravado. Some victimized sisters who have stayed in know full well how wrong the treatment they received was, and those other sisters to whom they confided know as well. That may well be a pot that is yet to hit the boiling point.
  

  It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
• 

  LongHairGal

  CAREFUL:

  You are probably right that it will only be a minority of thinking JWs who will be fed-up enough to leave.

  I’m convinced that the majority of the still-in JWs will not leave no matter what. I always said that even if Jesus Christ came smashing through the walls on a wrecking ball, they’d still stay.

  At this point, I believe these still-in Witnesses are there until death and/or until the halls are literally sold out from under them. When there are few or no new halls (or maybe no religion) to travel two-hours to..they will be like people left standing in a game of musical chairs when the music stops...Maybe they can start meeting in their homes again. Who knows?

  Maybe they can start a new religion again.🤮
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  Finkelstein

  Perceived attacks onto the JWS organization and how a individual JWs responds to these attacks is to most JWS a measure of their loyalty and faithful allegiance.

  ie. the Russia ban and other child abuse law suits
  
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  Dagney

  Interesting tax return. The signature of the preparer was an elder in my old hall. I was wondering if he was still in the thick of it...I can't believe it, almost.

  
  

  There it is.
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  truth_b_known

  Romans 13:1-7 states that Jehovah gives us the earthly authorities as a minister to us and that Jehovah gives those authorities a sword to use. When the authorities use that sword it is Jehovah's will.

  The courts are part of the earthly authorities.

  A Witness can claim the "media" is controlled by Satan, but Satan does not control the courts according to Romans 13:1-7. To dispute this is to say the Bible contradicts itself.
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  Crazyguy

  Some of the best news about this is not only are they getting their ass handed to them in the media but more attorneys will be willing to step and sue the WT seeing how it is possible to win.
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  cofty

  I agree Crazyguy. Every victory makes future successes more likely.

  34 million is a massive amount no matter how you spin it.
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  truthseeker

  That prob explains why, in the UK, £4,500,000 from legacies were funneled to WT HQ from 2015-2017. They need money to fund these payouts. In some cases, it was literally £ for £ that was deposited to HQ.
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  truthseeker

  If the WT claims they only operatey on voluntary donations then it's the friends who are indirectly paying for these lawsuits.

  It gets worse when you look at some of the filed reports with UK congregations on the charity commission wesbsite; almost no congregations had investment income of any kind.