Just like the WTS, the Mormons (okay, the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," hey look, a religion with even less talent at picking a name than the JW's) hide their net worth. Nobody knows how much money they have, though estimates go as high as 30 billion USD.
Well, this guy in Portland is suing them for (what else) pastoral pedophilia, and part of the discussion of damages, the plaintiff argues, is the revelation of how much money the church has. In the words of the attorney for the plaintiff, "A jury needs to know the entire financial context to know whether a punitive award is too much or sufficient or not enough."
Obviously the church disagrees and has been fighting to keep this information secret, but last Thursday, the 12th of July, 2007, the Oregon Supreme Court agreed with the plaintiff and ordered the church to reveal their financial data including their net worth.
Here's a link: http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/1184210740215720.xml&coll=7 (mini-reg required to read article.)
Why did I say this was big Watchtower news? Well, put the pieces together. I am not a lawyer, but I believe that this case will establish a little thing that lawyers like to call "legal precedent." Remember, the trial hasn't even started yet--these are pretrial maneuvers. The court has agreed that for the trial to even start, the jury must have the church's financial details in order to evaluate the damages the plaintiff is asking for.
In other words, next time someone sues the WT for damages for child abuse (and you know it is only a matter of time,) they will be able to ask the Society for their net worth, on the basis of this established legal precedent.
How would you like to know how much the Society is worth? I know I would. If it is indeed an astronomical sum as many here speculate, do you think the revelation of that fact would affect anyone's faith? I think it might.
You want some big Watchtower news? I think this is big news.
by under_believer 30 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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under_believer
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Gretchen956
I thought this was big news too, thats why I started a thread on it. But no one seemed to think it was a big deal or at least it didn't seem to generate much interest. Maybe you'll get more. I think this has implications way bigger than the WTS, but we'll see how it goes.
Sherry
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What-A-Coincidence
Interesting indeed. Keep us posted one eyed wonder.
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under_believer
Gretchen, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to duplicate your thread. I looked several pages back and didn't see anything. The search functionality here is broken. I would have bumped your thread, had I found it!
Anyways, yeah, I think it's going to be a big deal. Seriously! What kind of effect would knowing the Society's net worth have on many Witnesses, who think that they are this cash-strapped organization that pays out as much as it gets in to support the building and missionary work? If they knew they Society was worth X billion dollars, would they be more or less likely to contribute? -
MinisterAmos
Nice, but if it doesn't happen in a court of appeals it isn't binding.
I'm not sure if you have any experience with the law, but all those books on the shelves that provide binding authority come from appeals.
Not a single case in any of them is from the court of lesser claims. -
BlackPearl
The problem here is that the WT has had each congo incorporate individually so that the society cannot be sued. Sure, you could the court to force the congo to reveal it's cash position, but that's what, about forty seven bucks? The society has it so layered, they can't get sued.
BP
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Hortensia
well, little chinks in their armor - every little bit helps. I hope that general public disgust with the pedophiles combined with public anger when/if they find out how much these organizations really are worth, would bring down religion in general. Then for those who still want religion, maybe a new kind of religion that doesn't depend on corporations or hierarchies.
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horrible life
I read this when I got a Google alert to my email, of any JW "stuff" in the news. If somebody doesn't have google sending them alerts, you should. Great way of catching bad news. Or some good eye rolling.
I thought someone would post it. I think it has great ramifications for the tower.
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choosing life
I hope it holds up in the appeals court. They seem to be trying to hold the LDS church responsible for what a door to door person did while teaching a young man. If this holds up, the society may be in for some rocky waters.
They are sending people out to teach their doctrines and it is an intrinsic part of their worship. They may be layered, but they just settled 16 lawsuits so they must not be layered well enough.
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Gretchen956
This happened in the Oregon State Supreme Court. Don't know where it goes after that, is that the appeals you all are talking about? I thought it went from state supreme court to federal Supreme Court. Does it have to start over in the federal system?
Sherry