The Watchtower organization's authority structure is a safehaven for child molesters, and they need to be pressured to change their policies that harm children!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This article is an update on a previous article found here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A civil suit was filed in Washington district courts this week aiming to change the policies of the Watchtower Society and Jehovah's Witnesses which protect child molesters. Erica Rodriguez was raped and abused on an almost weekly basis from age four to age eleven by an appointed congregation elder. She was threatened with disciplinary action from the congregation if she told anyone about the abuse.
I spoke briefly with the plaintiff in the case, Erica Rodriguez on Wednesday evening. She said that she wasn't aware of how much of a persistant problem sexual molestation within the congregation was because Witnesses aren't allowed to take in information from sources like the Internet. Erica said that she felt shocked and betrayed because the Watchtower headquarters, congregation elders, and dozens of congregation members showed up to support the convicted rapist. Erica went on to say that the elders felt that the disciplinary system set up within the church was enough to deal with the problem, and that it wasn't even necessary for the proper authorities to know about it, and deal with it.
Erica also spoke of the way the congregation authorities tried to protect Beliz, the rapist. They threatened not only her, but also her family, friends, and anyone who supported them with punishment if the police were informed. She was told to keep quiet, as was everyone who knew about it. Meanwhile, Manuel Beliz was allowed to continue in his role as a leader within the congregation.
Erica was quite expressive of the emotional toll taken by all this. She said that she felt guilty and horrible, not only because of the abuse, but because of the betrayal of trust brought on with the way the congregation authorities protected Beliz and supressed the truth. She also lamented over the toll that it has taken on her family members, especially her mother. She felt that if she didn't tell others though, the would be partially at fault if Beliz were to molest other girls(Ezekiel 3:20). She was also shocked that dozens of Witnesses, instead of helping her, showed up at the trial in support of Beliz, and wrote letters claiming they trusted him enough that they would even let Beliz care for their kids.
Beliz has already been convicted of his crimes, and is currently in prison. This lawsuit is directed not only at him, but also at the central authority of Jehovah's Witnesses. Erica said that the criminal trial was her way to try to stop Beilz from further harming children, and this civil suit is her way of trying to change the policies of the Watchtower organization. I am sure we all hope she succeeds.
I was also able to speak to William Bowen, the founder of silentlambs.org, the first nonprofit organization founded to bring attention to the problem of child molestation within Jehovah's Witnesses, and to bring support to the victims of this problem. Bowen is in a position to know a great deal about this problem.
I have lived as a Jehovah’s Witness for over 43 years and served in an appointed capacity for over 20+ years. I pioneered [served full-time in the door-to-door service], served at bethel[the headquarters of the Watchtower Society], served as a ministerial servant, elder, taught elder schools, served on well over 100 judicial committees, worked in many administrative and managerial positions, given talks at circuit and district conventions.
He gave a little more details on the problem as a whole, and Erica's case in particular. Something he said that struck me as disturbing and hypocritical. He said that before the criminal trial, Beliz stood on the steps of the courthouse and read from the Bible about the trials of Jesus. He must have imagined that he was going through these trials for similar reasons Jesus went through his supposed trials, and equated himself to Jesus, elevating himself to the status of a persecuted hero. About 60 of his fellow witnesses were there, smiling up at him and supporting him. He also said the same thing Erica did about the elders testifying that the disciplinary actions of the congregation were enough, and that punishment by the criminal system wasn't necessary.
I hope that as more details come out about this, the Watchtower Society will change their rules regarding child molesters so that the system is no longer one that protects child molesters. Keep an eye out for the Dateline NBC airing about this situation, and if anyone would like to do anything, they can send letters to the Watchtower Society asking them to change their policy. I haven't detailed the specifics of this dangerous policy because Mr. Bowen has it outlined well on his site.
Further information is available at silentlambs.org. There you can find all sorts of information from an authoritive source. They have court transcripts, audio segments, and many different features. Silentlambs.org, its founders, and its purpose have the full endorsement and support of morons.org.
--Sam Kennedy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sam Kennedy writes for morons.org on a sort of daily basis. You can't see my homepage even if you wanted to.