My Response to J. R. Brown
I am writing to follow up with information concerning J. R. Brown’s response to comments I made to the media regarding Watchtower’s policy hurting children and protecting pedophiles. In the course of the last year the Jehovah’s Witness Public Information Department headed by J. R. Brown and local Elders have repeatedly offered misinformation to the public. On the anniversary of this issue being brought public, I wish to offer a few examples with documentation of how this religious organization seems to have a problem with telling the truth. When the PR department originally responded to the editor of the Paducah Sun in Paducah Kentucky, J. R. Brown offered the following comment with the heading to his letter, “Protection of children priority in Watchtower organization”:
“We were very surprised to see that these statements were made, and we noted how inaccurate they are.”
This statement was offered with not one attempt to answer any of the five questions posed in my original letter, instead, Mr. Brown went with a series of quotes from various Watchtower and Awake articles that offered nothing to answer the questions I asked the public to ask Jehovah’s Witnesses when they called at their door. I would now like to provide you with quotes from Watchtower documents to show what actual policy is for Jehovah’s Witnesses. The original five questions were:
1. If a pedophile were to move into your congregation, would you be informed?
The answer is found in the July 1, 1989 letter to all Bodies of Elders. This letter offers the following instruction regarding child molesters:
“Think before you speak. Do not discuss private and judicial matters with members of your family, including your wives, or with other members of the congregation. Be extremely careful not to inadvertantly disclose private information when others are present, such as when speaking on the telephone with others listening in or nearby.”
Now how would a congregation member ever be informed of a pedophile if elders follow the above direction? The answer is, never! The elder would not be allowed to warn other members for it is considered confidential information.
2. If a pedophile molested your child, would you be allowed to warn other parents in your congregation?
The answer to question #2 is found in “Insight to the Scriptures” which is an encyclopedia for Jehovah’s Witnesses there it compares any negative comment about anyone in the congregation to gossip or slander with the following counsel:
*** it-1 990 Gossip, Slander ***
”Gossip is talk that reveals something about the doings and the affairs of other persons.’ It may be someone’s faults and mistakes that the gossiper is talking about. But even if the things said are true, the gossiper is in the wrong and reveals lack of love. The proverb says: “The one covering over transgression is seeking love, and he that keeps talking about a matter is separating those familiar with one another.”—Pr 17:9.
Sometimes matters are confidential, but the slanderer delights in revealing them to others who have no right to know. (Pr 11:13) The slanderer gets pleasure in revealing things that cause sensation. The one listening to slander is also wrong and is damaging himself. (Pr 20:19; 26:22) A person may be turned away from his friends because of some defamatory remark about them made by a slanderer, and enmities and divisions may develop.—Pr 16:28.
The Scriptures foretell that the notable presence of slanderers would be one of the marks of “the last days.” (2Ti 3:1-3) Such persons, men or women, if present among God’s people, are to be reproved and corrected by responsible ones in the Christian congregation.
So according to this information if you say anything about anyone in the church even if it is true you could be subject to excommunication for doing so.
3. If a pedophile denied he molested your child, and you could not produce two witnesses to the act of molestation, would the church discipline him/her in any way?
The answer to question #3 is found in The Watchtower 1995, 11/1 pages 28-29 in the Article, ”Comfort for Those With a Stricken Spirit”, under the heading, “What Can Elders Do?” it plainly states:
“If the accusation is denied, the elders should explain to the accuser that nothing more can be done in a judicial way. And the congregation will continue to view the one accused as an innocent person. The Bible says that there must be two or three witnesses before judicial action can be taken. (2Cor.13:1; 1 Tim. 5:19) Even if more than one person “remembers” abuse by the individual, the nature of these recalls is just too uncertain to base judicial decisions on them without other supporting evidence. This does not mean that such “memories” are viewed as false (or that they are viewed as true). But Bible principles must be followed in establishing a matter judicially.”
Watchtower policy dictates if you do not have two eyewitnesses and the pedophile denies the charge he/she continues to be viewed as innocent and enjoy the protection of the Body of Elders.
4. If the state where you reside does not require reporting a pedophile that has molested a minor, will church officials report it?
For the answer to this question we can look no further than JR Brown for the answer. In a press release on this issue he clearly stated: “If child abuse becomes known to our church elders, they strictly comply with applicable child abuse reporting laws.” This statement says it all in that they simply comply with the law nothing more nothing less. Here in Kentucky a minister is not required to report, thus when I personally faced a situation where a child was suspected of being molested I was told to not report the matter as my obligation as a minister had been fulfilled. Only sixteen states require ministerial compliance, so what do you think Watchtower policy is in the other thirty-four states? You see what happened here in Kentucky.
5. If, as an adult, you charge a pedophile with molesting you when you were a child and he denies it, would he discontinue serving as an elder?
The answer to question #5 was provided this year in a June 1, 2001 letter to all Bodies of Elders it states:
“The elders may have written to the branch office and given full details about a former child abuser who is currently serving as an elder or ministerial servant. In such a case, if the branch office has decided that he can be appointed or continue serving in a position of trust because the sin occurred many years ago and because he has lived an exemplary life since then, his name should not appear on the List, nor is it necessary to pass on information about the brother’s past sin if he moves to another congregation unless contrary instructions have been given by the branch. If therefore, such an appointed man moves to another congregation a letter confirming the move should be sent, addressed to the Society’s Legal Department.
“There are, however, many other situations that are connected with the abuse of a child. For example, there may be just one eyewitness, and the brother denies the allegation. (Deuteronomy 19:15; John 8:17) In these and similar cases no entry will be made on the Child Protection List. Rather, information should be kept in a sealed envelope in the congregation’s confidential file as described below.
This letter to Elders covers two scenarios: when a child has grown to an adult the pedophile may continue to serve if the Branch Office says it is ok and two if he simply denies the charge no sanction is offered and he does not even appear on the “Child Molester” list.
This direction offered by Watchtower literature and internal documents to Elders leaves little room for “surprise” and shows where the “inaccurate” statements about Watchtower policy originated. I find it interesting that JR Brown made this statement in his letter to the editor of the Paducah Sun, “ Our position on pedophilia has been well-publicized for decades.” I disagree with this statement as you can see from the above Jehovah’s Witnesses are not informed of the above policies and simply will never know unless their child is molested and they are faced with Watchtower policy.
Another part of this story that has not been mentioned is the fact Jehovah’s Witnesses require child molesters to call at your door. All Jehovah’s Witnesses are well aware of this fact. In his original response to the editor of the Paducah Sun JR Brown even quoted from the article that bears this out. The quote he made was:
“Following are excerpts from the Jan. 1, 1997, issue of The Watchtower: Depending on the law of the land where he lives, the molester may well have to serve a prison term or face other sanctions from the state. The congregation will not protect him from this."
Yet Mr. Brown failed to complete the paragraph, the misinformation of his quote can be cleared up if you include the next sentence in the same paragraph, it states:
“Moreover, the man has revealed a serious weakness that henceforth will have to be taken into account. If he seems to be repentant, he will be encouraged to make spiritual progress, share in the field service…”
This shows a child molester who has been newly released from prison will be encouraged to call at your door. Are you comfortable with WT policy?
Jehovah’s Witnesses are well aware of this policy of sending child molesters to your door. From sources in the local area there are alleged child molesters who work regularly in Paducah, Mayfield, Draffenville, and Murry congregations. Each congregation territory will include the counties these towns are found within. While Jehovah’s Witnesses have no problem with sending child molesters to your door and are encouraged to do so by home office, do you the public see this as being a problem? In the upcoming Dateline program the facts are going to be presented, JR Brown is well aware of this, yet Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to make any adjustment to protect children. Is this the Christian way?
Mr. Brown made the following statement in his concluding remarks to the editor of the Paducah Sun:
“In conclusion, we reiterate that Jehovah's Witnesses do not shy away from informing people about pedophilia. We abhor the practice and actively work to keep our congregations free from such harmful influences.”
Mr. Brown, in view of the printed material of your organization the statements above present you to be a bald faced liar. You should be deleted as an Elder and removed from your position in the Public Information Department. Men who allow children to be hurt while verbally protecting bad policy have no right to represent any religion that claims the blessing of Christ on their efforts. I encourage Jehovah’s Witnesses who wish to stand for what is right and you the public to call Jehovah’s Witness headquarters at 718-560-5000 and demand the resignation of JR BROWN and the application of the following three adjustments to Watchtower policy:
1. If a child is molested call the police first.
2. No brother or sister who molests children should be allowed privileges in the congregation.
3. No brother or sister who molests children should be allowed to go in the door-to-door ministry.
By doing so you not only will protect your children from possible danger but also you help Jehovah’s Witnesses to have a safer organization for their children.
William H. Bowen