>>People didn't have the body of knowledge 18 or 20 years ago to say that this is something that will harm your child emotionally
Remember, we're talking about 20 years ago here! With all the knuckle-dragging, and woolly-mammoth hunting, added to society's focus in general on achieving "fire", you can understand why we hadn't yet caught on to pedophilia being a bad thing. *roll eyes until they hurt*
Observant poster Brinjen once quoted this from the 1997 Watchtower article 'Trust In An Imperfect World':
Notice that Paul mentions attitudes that have to do with the Christian ministry. How can a Christian minister serve others if his hands are not pure, if he is not a man of integrity? The head of an Irish religious order who recently resigned well illustrates the point. He admitted that he "allowed a paedophile priest to continue working with children long after his child abuse became known," according to TheIndependent newspaper. The account explained that the abuse extended over 24 years. The priest was jailed for four years, but think of the suffering imposed upon the children he assaulted during those years because his overseer lacked the moral integrity to take action!
So apparently "The Independent" had accumulated a "body of knowledge" on this topic more than 20 years ago, as had the legal system under which the pedophile was convicted.
Wow.
Dave