I have something to ask, about child molestation cases. (page 3)

dawg

crazyblonde, I'm glad for anything that may ease your suffering.

Wasanelder.. I knew what you were saying my brother, I must not have made myself clear, sorry... but I knew what you were doing and appreciate you for it.

jamiebowers

dawg, it is important to note that the elders in the Simental case testified in exchange for immunity against prosecution. That means the elders broke CA law when they failed to report the admitted molestation to the police. The WTB&TS focuses so much on sin that the rank and file, and maybe even some elders fail to realize that child molestation is more than a sin and that it is a crime.

Every jw and jw apologist with whom I've corresponded on YouTube claims that the rules have changed and that elders do report molestation in states in which it is required. But the Simental case proves that it simply isn't true. Even the elders view guidance from the society as inspired, so they either knowingly or unknowingly break the law by not reporting it. Bill Bowen said during an interview on Rick Fearon's conference call that he has it on tape that the advice from Bethel was to leave in Jehovah's hands if the child victim didn't have a second witness to the molestation.

It just boggles my mind that jws can't see the deceitful ways of the governing body. How could anyone turn their back on a child who claims to have been molested? How could they in good conscience fail to report it to the police whether or not they live in a state that requires reporting?

wobble

Thank you all for your posts, I am crying as I write this for the poor victims. What a satanic organisation that cares more for it's own FALSE reputation than for these poor people who have had so much stolen from them.

Here in the U.K Priest-Penitent confidentiality has not been legal since the reformation,is it in fact recognized under U.S law?

The sad thing is that Elders here do not know how to handle these matters in a morally acceptable way,the minimum should be contact the Police and other authorities FIRST then if you must the bet-hell legal desk. Any other way of doing it is an insult to the victim and shows no love

Love to all

Wobble

dawg

Thanks Jamie, I didn't know that...

Wobble, in some states, they have laws where the clergy can keep silent, in other states they have "reporting" laws.

Mary

BigTex said: Mary I'd agree with you, but also just as important to them (much moreso than the victim) is money. If they report a guilty man the local congregation, the elder body and WTS as a whole has legal exposure to litigation. And we can't have that.

I'm embarassed to say, I never even thought about it from a financial point of view, but you're right. Ironically, I think that if they DID report pedophiles to the police (whether they were required by law or not) and disfellowshipped them, you'd have very, very few Witnesses who would be interested in sueing the Organization.

reniaa

I agree with wasaelder on this one, but also it's to easy to make snap judgements and dangerous too because it's leads into a mindset of seeing this as a Jw issue only;

On reading write up this case this was put towards the end

The Jehovah's Witnesses and the Roman Catholic Church are not the only religious groups to be sued and accused of concealing child sexual abuse.
Similar lawsuits have been filed against other religious organizations across the nation.
Seattle-based attorney Timothy D. Kosnoff said he has handled 25 cases against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for people seeking to recover damages for alleged abuse. He has 11 cases pending.
He said the legal battles being waged on the confidentiality privilege issue in child sex-abuse cases provide a sense of what matters to Americans.

WItnesses have been wrong but not alone in their wrongdoing, pedophilia is a world-wide issue, for example human rights groups are fighting for people in this country to be informed if a child-molester is housed near them, but saying when some people in a small villaged found out about a molester in their mist they burned his house down.

So should a government tells us if a child-molester newly out of prison is housed near the vulnerable?

blondie

In recent days, the WTS uses the phrase "paid clergy" very often and is drifting away from saying there is not clergy/laity class...........so are they saying there is a clergy class, just not paid?

*** w03 8/1 p. 20 "You Received Free, Give Free" ***

By way of contrast, Jehovah’s Witnesses endeavor to imitate Jesus and his early disciples. They have no paid clergy

*** w01 6/1 p. 16 par. 15 "If God Is for Us, Who Will Be Against Us?" ***

What group is noted for having no paid clergy, all of its members being preachers?

*** w95 11/15 p. 8 Jehovah’s Witnesses Around the World—New Zealand ***

Of the many hundreds who visited the construction site, one gentleman observed that the Witnesses were building "churches" while his religious denomination was selling them because of dwindling membership. "If you had waited about another twelve months, you could have bought one of ours," he ventured. "We have to sell one because we can’t keep up the payments. But, of course, you people don’t have paid clergy. . . . And then your buildings are low maintenance, not high buildings with steeples that are impossible to maintain."

*** w94 8/15 p. 10 Why Do the Witnesses Keep Calling? ***

Most religions have a paid clergy.

In contrast, the Witnesses have no paid clergy, and often their Bible literature is offered without price to sincere seekers of truth, though many of these are moved to make voluntary donations.

*** w85 9/1 p. 22 par. 4 God’s Ministers Prove Their Qualification ***

Today Jehovah’s Witnesses imitate the apostle’s fine example in not peddling the priceless Word of God but in making it available to all. They do not commercialize such a holy thing. Thus they have no paid clergy, their public speakers do not charge for lectures, and a collection plate is never passed at their meetings.

*** w71 8/15 p. 507 How Religious Expenses Are Met ***

" Likewise among Jehovah’s witnesses today there is no paid clergy class burdening the congregations.

*** sh chap. 15 p. 362 par. 36 A Return to the True God ***

Logically, if Jehovah’s Witnesses hold meetings and are organized to preach, they must have someone to take the lead. However, they do not have a paid clergy class nor do they have any charismatic leader on a pedestal.

*** w02 1/1 pp. 6-7 Is a Classless Society Really Possible? ***

according to Scriptural principles. They recognize that social classes have no meaning in the eyes of God. Thus, they have no clergy/laity division, and they are not segregated according to skin color or wealth.

*** w81 4/1 p. 15 Insight on the News ***

Interestingly, Jehovah’s Witnesses have for years followed the direction of the Founder of Christianity that "all you are brothers," and have no clergy class among them.

*** w74 10/15 p. 630 How Are Jehovah’s Witnesses Different? ***

There is no clergy-laity distinction. All, regardless of race or social status, are "brothers" and "sisters."

reniaa

So should a government tells us if a child-molester newly out of prison is housed near the vulnerable?
Hmmm....lets see. Do you have children reniaa? If a man got out of prison after spending the last 3 or 4 years in there for raping children, would you want to be informed if the scumbag was living right next to you? I can't believe you would even ask a question like this.

Absolutely I would want to know and because i'm a peaceful person, i'd probably just sign petitions to oust him out of the area but others would harass and attack a named person in the area maybe to point of killing him and the british government can't just turn a blind eye to it especially if they have served the prison term for which they were sentenced, how does the american government deal with this issue?

jgnat

Reniaa, my church has a rigorous screening and training program for child workers. My instructor pointed out that pedophiles target organizations and groups that may be naturally trusting, will put them in a position of authority, and will give them easy access to children. Here in Canada, a trusted RCMP officer was recently charged with molestation. Understandably, the families are devastated. One child has committed suicide.

The difference between a negligent organization and a responsive one, IMO, is not in the number of pedophiles that are caught, but in how the organization handles the information once known. In the case of the RCMP officer, he was immediately removed from his position. For my church, it leads to many safety measures including windows in to all classrooms, and a hall monitor that checks on activities in all the rooms. All children's leaders also go through an annual criminal records check.

The catholic church was justifiably "caught" in the wrong because of it's long practice of hiding the problem, even moving pedophiles to unsuspecting parishes.

The Watchtower society has yet to admit there is even a problem. This is why survivors of abuse call the Watchtower Society a "pedophile paradise". It's secrecy, the authority conferred on elders, it's unwillingess to admit that they are even vulnerable to abuse, make them an easy platform for an abuser to remain at large, undetected, for some time.

Big Tex

how does the american government deal with this issue?

It depends on the state, but generally if one is convicted, upon release that person must register as a "sex offender" as part of their parole. This means that they must inform the state if they change addresses and their address is published for anyone who wants to know. Generally it is published on a website. In my town, there are 6 registered sex offenders who live just a couple of miles from where I live.

To my knowledge mobs do not gather and burn their houses down, nor does anyone try to murder them. But neither does anyone want to live near them either.

I'm sure there have been offenders who have been attacked, but I would say that is the rare exception. Generally they are left alone.

I have something to ask, about child molestation cases.

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