A series of articles in the January 30th Consolation magazine from 1946 considers the history and purpose of excommunication in the Catholic church. It notes the failure of the Catholic church to excommunicate Hitler and contrasts this with the excommunication of bishops who spoke out against the church. It concludes:
"From all the foregoing we are able to draw certain conclusions as to what offenses merit or call forth Papal excommunication as punishment. By comparing all the known facts there appears little doubt that the crimes punishable by excommunication are not robbery, not rape, not atrocity, nor torture and murder of innocents, but criticism, especially exposure of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy. Is there any Catholic or Protestant, Jew or Gentile, bond or free, male or female, who can read any other answer into the documents presented?" Consolation, Jan 30th 1946, page 28.
Considering how the Governing Body covers up for abusers, but banishes anyone who criticises their leadership, what should people conclude is the purpose of Watchtower shunning?