I so want to print this letter out and anonymously mail it to every Witness that I know. This is just beyond the pale, and has such a huge loophole. One case of child abuse is too many, and parents should be notified of ANY and ALL threats facing their children in the company of the congregation.
We will decide who is a predator! New Watchtower Instructions to Elders on Child Abuse
by Jaime l de Aragon 104 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
-
-
truthlover
Cedars/Annomally -
why do I get runtime error and cant read the letter on my system? Am I doing something wrong?
thanks
-
ldrnomo
It look's to me like the bORG shot themselves in the foot again on this one. They certainly are a cocky bunch
-
BreathoftheIndianNose
Fucking disgusting! No mention of the authorities, 2 witness rule inforced. It's becoming even more internalized.
If the person is not repentant over the gross sin, disfellowshipping action would be warranted. If the decision is to reprove, the reproof should be announced.
So if they find the abuser to be guilty, and he says he's sorry, they might just decide to publicly reprove him?! No legal action, no informing people as to why he's being reproved. Most people will probably assume the public reproval was because he got drunk at a get-together or something. Then the creep is still among the congregation like nothing ever happened.
It's transferring what little power the elders originally had, to the legal and service departments. At least the local elders have feelings for the ones in thier congregation, which makes it more likely for them to help. Now it's transferred to departments who only care about policy and protection of the Borg.
Billy said it best, just "call the police"!
Idiots!
-
MrsCedars
Cedars would like to make it clear that Atlantis was the one that passed the letter to him through Barbara, so Atlantis is the one that should get the credit for it along with the elder who leaked the letter.
-
Christ Alone
There IS a positive in this. I don't know if this is new, but it looks new to me. It says:
If two persons are witnesses to separate incidents of the same kind of
wrongdoing, their testimony can be deemed sufficient to take judicial action.
Obviously this is still miles away from being the ideal thing to do. But at least it looks like the policy is changing a bit. I always argued, "How many times is there 2 witnesses to a single child molestation?" So at least there is this. YES, it has to be 2 kids that get it, but at least some steps are being made.
This also is new:
Because of the delicate nature of handling a judicial case where an
adult sexually abuses a child, please contact your circuit overseer. He will designate an experienced elder from your circuit to serve as chairman of the judicial committee.
Obviously they are getting tired of the elders that scew up their image with the public. But at least they are seeing that these cases will now be made public more often and are trying to make sure the right thing is done, according to their policies.
Unless I missed it there is still no direct instructions that the matter should always be reported to the police. Things seem to be changing, but not quite enough.
-
Finkelstein
I think Outlaw said it right in that the WTS. is really shooting themselves in the foot if this information gets
revealed in court. The implied insinuation that if there's no confession or two actual witnesses to an egregious act of this kind,
the elders shouldn't take any action, unless of course they are required to do so by the law of the land.
Or in other circumstances such as the accused confesses and following repents upon their behavior, again the elders shouldn't
inform the authorities, is another very irresponsible thing to do for the person may just fade away out of the congregation and into
other open areas of the general public.
The WTS. is taking a two faced approach to this situation in that they state they find sexual child abuse abhorrent and the must take
a protecting stand to protect the congregations from these people, then they take the position that if there's no confessing and there's
no two witnesses to the act then elders should do nothing unless they are legally forced to.
Unwarily stupidity and irresponsibility can be seen in the latest document by the WTS. regarding what elders should do
in situations of child abuse and an open disregard to the general public at large.
-
Billy the Ex-Bethelite
CA: 'I don't know if this is new, but it looks new to me. It says: " If two persons are witnesses to separate incidents of the same kind of wrongdoing, their testimony can be deemed sufficient to take judicial action."'
This isn't really new, but it is typically ineffective. If a dude gets accused but it is not handled judicially (in this case because there is no confession or a second witness), it gets forgotten. The congregation isn't warned to be on guard. So nobody is alert to realize that their kid could become the "second witness" to his perversion. Additionally, the initial accusation may not be noted if the dude moves. If it happens a second time, the second BoE may know nothing about the initial case, and if they call Legal Dept and they check their database, he won't show up if a different name variation and different address is used.
Like I said, they should start by notifying the police. Forensics and careful police work are more effective than WT legal department and a JC for really protecting children. The police and judicial system aren't perfect, but they're better than a secret committee of religious nutters.
-
aposta-Z
8. What is child molestation from a congregational standpoint?
"...We are not discussing a situation wherein a minor who is a willing participant..."
0_o -
Jaime l de Aragon
The purpose, the reality, the substance of the matter is that there comes to light the abuse, the question of two witnesses is an excuse
hide information of the police, hide under carpet
