Hi everyone
I have been given permission by Barbara Anderson to relay some interesting correspondence related to the Society's negiligent approach to child abuse. It should be said at the outset that these letters are anonymous, and the only thing that can be said with certainty is that they are letters addressing the subject of child abuse that were likely sent some time between 1997 and 2004.
With names and dates having been removed, it is impossible to verify the events described in these letters, although IF TRUE, they betray a shocking arrogance and apathy on the part of the Society. They also describe pedophiles running virtually unchecked in certain congregations with little or no safeguards for their victims. Parents are said to be intimidated into keeping the names of the abusers of their children confidential, and the impression is given of pedophiles being allowed to abuse repeatedly with hardly any sanction - with some even reporting hours from their jail cell.
Here is a link to the letters: http://www.watchtowerdocuments.com/documents/Child_Abuse_in_Canada.pdf
These letters were first disclosed to Barbara in 2004 and are only now being made public following the sad death of the author of the initial correspondence, as well as his wife. I am led to believe that the author continued to be a devout Witness and regular pioneer right up to his passing, as did his wife. I am also led to believe that the same author was told by a detective investigating the cases of child abuse and the suspicious deaths of informants that the Witness organization in North America appeared at the time to be "infiltrated" by pedophiles. This was obviously a number of years ago.
Both Barbara and I believe that some improvements have been made respecting the way cases of child abuse are handled, but there are still glaringly obvious "loopholes" in Society policy that allow the potential for committed and devious pedophiles to go about their perverted practices without sanction. Most notably, there is the fact that the "two witness" rule still takes overwhelming precedent in deliberating cases of pedophilia. If a pedophile says he "didn't do it", and he wasn't witnessed by someone other than his victim, he gets off "scott free". The Society MUST bring about urgent reform in this area, as such a callous and negligent approach places untold millions of children in harm's way.
I will be writing a lengthy blog article on the issue of child abuse in the near future, but in the mean time, I would like to thank Barbara for making this information available.
Cedars