JD. Thanks for your posting.
I was impressed by part of today's symposium entitled ' Safeguard your children from what is evil'
by UnshackleTheChains 51 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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zeb
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Simon
I sometimes wonder if some people might be happier if the WTS never changed so they could continue to hate them for being evil ...
We should applaud any improvement and any movement toward doing things better. Whatever is more likely to protect than risk children is good, yes - even if it's the WTS that is doing it.
Carrot and stick people !
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Finkelstein
Sounds like the WTS is going through some damage control over the outing of the JWS organization being a place that is unsafe due to predatory sexual abusers.
It has in the past because the Org. strategically wanted to uphold and maintain a clean image in the public's eye and within the organization itself but in reality the JWS has been having pedophilia issues like some other religions.
Clean wholesome religions are not suppose to be a social environments where children are targets for sexual abuse.
Unfortunately they are because of people including clergy exploiting this pretentiously clean safe social environment.
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never a jw
"Credit where credit is due" Really?
Even if they get rid of the two witness rule, there's no credit there. They would do it under pressure, after a calculated analysis of losses and gains.
Giving credit for that talk is like giving credit to the serial killer for swerving his car to avoid hitting a dog on the road for fear of damaging the bumper of his own car. That's the purpose of the Watchtower, save face to minimize financial losses. No sense of justice or care for anything else.
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never a jw
"It is entitled Letter from Watchtower Australia to All Bodies of Elders regarding Protecting Minors From Abuse"
If the Watchtower cared one iota about children over money, they would implement the same policies and send the same letter to all countries, not just Australia. But the Watchtower will do everything to protect money over everything else.
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Dreamerdude
I am glad they addressed this at the RC. It's a subtle admission that child abuse is a problem. The talk I heard made it seem that the problem is school bus drivers and other worldly people. The parents were told to warn their children about predators and to make sure they dress modestly.
They will need to be forthright about the fact that the kids should not be sent to service, meetings, or family studies with people outside the family or even with family members that might have a tendency toward phedophilia. They also need to admit that the subject of pedophilia within the congregation is not just apostate driven lies.
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Doubtfully Yours
UTC,
In the Spanish RC too, the speaker spelled it out loud and clear about the responsibility parents have and how to spot people that might want to hurt your child. I felt a talk like this one was long overdue and should be given at every assembly, and even made into a public talk on Sundays.
I see in the Spanish side that parents are very trusting of everyone, and many parents (no education, perhaps without legal papers) have to work so many hours just to make a living; then they keep having children they cannot care properly for, so they start trusting just about anyone as long as they are JWs, and that's a danger right there.
This type of public talk deserves much publicity and repetition until parents understand how to properly care for their young.
Then again, if the abuse comes from within the child's own home, how can that be the Org's fault?
Change their policy to turn all accused abusers to the secular authorities and they have a winner!
DY
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dubstepped
7I have to give credit where credit is due. After the government caught my friend defrauding the government through tax evasion and froze his assets, taking control of them, he made it right by letting them keep the portion of money that had been rightfully due.
While I'm happy for the kids and hope this helps them truly, screw Watchtower and Richard Oliver under a different name (let the reader use discernment). That is all.
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konceptual99
Whilst it was a good reminder to parents it was clearly a cynical attempt to put a smoke screen up and enable claims to the authorities that the WTS does not shy away from advising parents on the matter.
What they failed to do was mention anything about congregation procedure or what responsibility and proactive action to support or initiate the reporting of allegations to the authorities the elders will take.
They failed to detail what the child protection policies are in the congregation.
They failed to explain the limitations in congregational situations that parents should take notice of.
They had a perfect opportunity to explain where things had gone wrong before, apologise and detail what has changed to prevent future problems.
But they didn't.
Parents must be the ones to protect their kids. They cannot do it in an environment where they feel they must defer to WTS rules and hierarchy. The WTS must also recognise it cannot avoid it's place in protecting children whose parents are complicit in abuse.
The talk was ultimately fluff and avoided any mention of the part the organisation has to play.
Shame on them.
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Anders Andersen
I agree with all who say a talk like this was long overdue. I also applaud any improvement Watchtower makes to their policies, regardless of their motives or whether it's not nearly enough improvements.
Yet I think this talk may even worsen the problem! Yes, parents are told to be vigilant. And they're told in almost all cases the abuser is someone the child knows, which is very useful information.
But with the common distrust of non-JW and the blind trust of all JW within the 'spiritual paradise', a talk like this should mention explicitly that abusers can hide within congregations as well. But all examples focus on non-JW activities.
This silently reinforces the very much false notion that only non-JW abuse children. This may make the parents even less vigilant towards inappropriate behaviour of JW towards (their) children. And it's other JW that are closest to JW children....