The WT church has made changes to policy and will likely slowly adapt to the modern world. The question is will this make the WT church more attractive or less? Will thousands who have left (POMI) over this issue return to the WT church?
CSA and the UK Catholic Church.
by Lost in the fog 13 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
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Fisherman
The fact that they are willing to comply with mandatory reporting when it is the law,
It seems to be the rule that when you are a victim of a crime or report a crime that you witness, you get entangled in the legal proceedings. Reporting a crime creates legal problems for the person reporting. It is not so clear cut to go and report crimes to the authorities. If a person can legally avail himself to counsel, that may be a defense from the legal consequences and problems that can result from reporting a crime. What a person chooses to do on his own though is up to the person and reap benefits or consequences.
J W elders are functionaries of the JW church entity and are required to follow orders—sort of speak . If they don’t want to, they are acting outside their authority. It seems that the JW policy is for their church officials to report crimes to their legal department. This means that the church and elders involved in the incident are legally represented by counsel— but wouldn’t shield the elder from personal liability but that’s why he went to a lawyer to begin with. The law firm also may be liable because they are required to do what the law mandates. For example, if a person goes to a lawyer to confess a crime or report a crime doesn’t release him of liability because he informed his lawyer. The law firm is also required to do things without breaking laws.
The only issue here is if the WT doing things relating to mandatory reporting without breaking the law. The Courts also have jurisdiction over natural justice relating to unclean hands, unfairness, deceptiveness, misrepresentations that results in injury to someone if someone is using the law to harm others. But all this is legal and not moral. The law doesn’t govern good and bad. An example of this is legal se$ual conduct or legal a*ortions that a lot of people find shocking and offensive and immoral and wrong—but very legal. JW like everyone else are not above the rule of secular law but if the only issue with mandatory reporting is your moral standard vs JW what can the Courts do?
Based on 1A people can ridicule and bring public awareness about policies —which is bad publicity. The institution may as a result be pressured to change but if it is a core belief or elemental on how things are done it will remain the same. How many people are pressured to change their immoral conduct because of 1A preaching to them about it? Just a thought.
Ultimately, children need to be protected and the Courts and the law have that power so that people don’t use the law resulting in helpless children being abused.
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ThomasMore
Ernest, Sounds like the same old song and dance of WTC.
It is a crime and should be reported. let the police/DA sort out whether to press charges. Why are JWs trying to be judge, jury and executioner all in one?
Has their policy not done enough damage to countless lives?
i asked a relative what she would do if her young daughter was raped by the neighbor. She exploded and immediately said that she would call the police . But what if he was a JW? She reversed course. When will the insanity end?????
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Fisherman
Why are JWs trying to be judge, jury and executioner all in one?
How so?
JW are required to obey the law.That’s what the Courts are for.
Laws would need to be changed to make it compulsory in every State to report harming children, make it illegal to marriage of children, punishing severely false accusations of harming children, dangerous housing conditions affecting children, etc.
Very simple if laws specifically compelled any church official to report crimes they heard at confessions ( including Catholic priests)to the authorities nobody would confess to the church. No more problems.
Doctors put up a sign saying they report signs of abuse to authorities. What a dumb thing to do. Because that warns an abuser and “it” won’t bring the child to the doctor. —What a horrific world we live in— But that is secular law. The doctor may be liable for breach of confidentiality and may be sued by the person that brings the child to the doctor if the doctor discloses the information unless the doctor has immunity. Or puts up a warning sign. But if the person knows he will be reported, the child is not taken to school or doctors. Making it law to report children being harmed may help a little but there are harmful consequences to children too.
The way the laws are crafted, somebody calls cps to report abuse , they show up at the door maybe take custody of the kids even if it is a lie no consequences for s false report and if you penalize false reports nobody will make honest reports either afraid of being falsely accused. You always have to rely on integrity and that’s not possible because the law is not about integrity it us about being free and about winning in Court and that sums up the law. Very easy for a mother to get custody of children, accuse the father of abuse. That ruins the man’s reputation forever because who would trust such man accused by the mother of his kids. The judge will rather err on the safety of the children and bring an innocent man to ruin and separate the father from from his children. That’s child abuse too and legal. Suppose the man was exonerated or years later the child confessed mom lied. Too bad. No consequences. How about ending a child’s life in the birth canal horrifically, legal. Is that not child abuse? Not when legislation says its fine. On the one hand the law is going after a church group in a State that happens to mandate reporting but maybe says its ok to terminate a “child’s” life during birth. “Be quick about it before he is completely born.”It’s law not morality.