A Couple Points about New Elders Child Abuse Letter Directions ...........

by flipper 35 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

• 

  flipper

  In Aragon's thread which has reached 6 pages a couple of points were touched on that I wanted to bring out but thought these points deserved a whole thread to dissect and discuss them.

  First off : There seems to be a total hypocrisy , arrogance, or typical speaking out of both sides of their mouth when the WT instructions in the letter says :

  " The branch office, not the local body of elders, determines whether an individual who has sexually abused children in the past will be considered a ' predator ' . "

  Then this quote from the 1997 WT instructions : " And the congregation cannot read hearts to tell who IS and who IS NOT liable to molest children again. "

  So is this the WT society just arrogantly claiming that ONLY THEY can read child molesters hearts and determine if he or she is a " predator " ? And/or is it just a control mechanism used to disempower the elders from making decisions on child abuse due to legal issues to defer to the WT legal department ONLY and EXCLUSIVELY now ?

  My point # 2 is regarding why the WT society stated this in paragraph 22 in the NEW letter, " It CANNOT be said in every case that one who has sexually abused a child could NEVER qualify for privileges of service in the congregation. " Then the quote from 1997 WT again stating, " Experience has shown that such an adult may well molest other children. True, NOT EVERY CHILD MOLESTER repeats the sin, but many do. "

  My opinion on WHY they word it this way is that they have no other choice than to word it this way based on WHAT CRIMINALS they've already allowed to be appointed as elders, ministerial servants and GB members ! Essentially they are having cognizant dissonance regarding themselves allowing known child molesters to have already been appointed and convincing themselves they did nothing wrong in allowing it to happen !

  Not only do they show an ignorant, stupid view of the fact that 99 % of child molesters DO repeat and offend again - by them taking this stance they are justifying the hush-hush policies of tolerating high ranking WT society officials who allegedly committed child abuse such as Greenlees, Chitty, Jaracz, and Pierce. And the way they get out of answering to police or anybody ELSE about it is by transferring them to OTHER " assignments " such as I know happened in the case of Greenlees and Jaracz for sure .

  Bottom line is the new elders letter is basically a WT society leaders " cover my a$$ " letter designed to arrogantly take control away from elders and local congregations who might blow it legally for WT leaders by getting involved and opening their mouths saying incriminating things in evidence against the WT society. So WT society tries to " silence " any critics, including it's own appointed elders to protect itself legally. Kinda how I'm seeing this now. I welcome any and all opinions about the things I'm mentioning here. Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks ! Take care all, Peace out, Mr. Flipper
• 

  whathappened

  Using the word "arrogant" to describe the Governing Body is truly an understatement. Gross arrogance times 1,000 is more like it. Satanic like arrogance is what they are showing. Their actions and this letter certainly proves they are not faithful nor are they discreet, and certainly not slavelike.

  This stance they are taking on child abuse should trouble everyone, Mr. Flipper. Anyone sitting on the fence about this organisation needs to WAKE UP!
• 

  Slidin Fast

  I agree Flipper, the hypocracy is breathtaking. I think you could be right WT have painted themselves into a corner by re-appointing so many dodgy men.

  On a side note, does anyone know if the same letter has been issued in the UK. The particular laws about reporting paedophilia seem to vary from state to state but UK law is different.
• 

  ziddina

  I truly wish that the British reporter who asked Jaracz about the Watchtower Society's attitudes towards child molestation would have asked these three questions instead:

  1. Have you ever molested a child?

  2. Why were you removed so peremptorily from your assignment in Australia?

  3. If we were to enquire among the Australian congregations, what sort of information about your behavior while you were there, might we uncover?

  I would LOVE to have seen Jaracz' face if he had heard these questions!!!
• 

  stillin

  " The branch office, not the local body of elders, determines whether an individual who has sexually abused children in the past will be considered a ' predator ' . "

  Then this quote from the 1997 WT instructions : " And the congregation cannot read hearts to tell who IS and who IS NOT liable to molest children again. "

  That's a good catch Flipper. It would seem to me that the local BOE, if they aren't biased by anything except wanting to do the right thing, or, that is to say, "do it Jehovah's way" would be the best suited to decide whether there are any circumstances that might be considered "mitigating," not the branch. For instance a dubious accusation or certainly, the scope of the wrong, the perception by others, the passing of time.

  But no. The Brotherhood (I use the term loosely) continues to fail to distinguish shades of color. It's all black and white.
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  I definitely believe the GB is arrogantly telling elders that the GB can use their direct line to holy spirit to get guidance.

  But it also seems like they were damned if they did and damned if they didn't. They tried to put a layer of deniability between them and the congregations but they now see that courts know the congregations are just following orders.

  On point 2, I think it's to cover their own asses when they make a mistake. More importantly, I think they know of molesters in high places and they may, one day, need to defend the decision to put them there.
• 

  flipper

  WHATHAPPENED- I feel the WT society is arrogant to the point of being BEYOND evil. Criminal, really. I use the word " criminal " to describe them in many of my threads or in my posts. So yeah, I agree with you. People DO need to wake up and smell the coffee about the criminality of this organization. One reason I try to post threads like this one- to inform.

  SLIDINFAST- Exactly, I agree. The WT Society HAS painted themselves into a corner in more ways than one now. Not only are they making excuses for having ALREADY in the past allowed child molesters to serve on the GB or higher positions, but they are duct taping the mouths of elders shut so as to NOT let elders say ANYTHING to police authorities unless they call Bethel legal first. And then most probably elders will be told to STFU and let Bethel legal handle it. WT leaders are REALLY running scared due to the Conti lawsuit loss. Good. They need to be scared. A taste of their own medicine for once.

  ZIDDINA- For sure, for sure. I wish that British journalist had asked the same questions you mention to Jaracz while he was alive. Talk about a guy skating away with a crime. Jesus.

  STILLIN- Very true. Black & White reasoning clouds the judgment of WT leaders and legal teams as well as corruption clouding their decisions over child abuse. They are essentially telling elders, " we will nOT let you say anything because you WILL cost us millions of $$$ if we let you speak. " Pretty creepy to hold that much control over JW members.

  ON THE WAY OUT- I agree with you. I think the jig is up. The courts DO know that elders follow the WT legal advice so there is no more hiding for WT leaders behind their confusing policies. The cloak of secretness or veil is falling, coming down. And yes WT is covering it's own anus to make excuses for any current appointments of high ranking WT positions as well as excusing past appointments. I think they are digging themselves a deeper whole actually
• 

  flipper

  BTTT any comments welcome ! Peace out, Mr. Flipper
• 

  undercover

  This might be a slight hi-jacking, yet still related... since the thread is about directions from the WTS in how elders are to deal with child abuse allegations.

  I read an article about the Boy Scout scandal this morning. With the release of the 'secret' documents, it's being revealed how the BSA handled allegations of abuse in-house and did not, nor want to, involve authorities, or in some cases, inform parents. One of the quotes was eerily similar to WTS comments and directions.

  An excerpt of the story from the AP:

  His file shows local scout officials were contacted in early 1974 by the father of two brothers, ages 11 and 12. They had been overhead by an older sister talking about what happened in Menghi's motel room. Other parents also reported that their sons had been molested.

  After interviewing the parents and some of the scouts, Kia Kim District Scout Executive George F. Hardwick Sr. drafted a memo stating that he believed there was evidence Menghi had abused as many as 10 boys. He and other officials met with Menghi the next day to confront him with the abuse claims and barred him from scouting.

  "The biggest thing was to get the guy out of scouting and away from our boys," said George Heib, 86, a retired U.S. Army officer who was at the meeting. "Putting the boys through all the trauma of having to go to court and trial and all the stuff like that, I didn't think it was worth it. Of course, the publicity wouldn't be good for scouting, either."

  The local scouting officials wrote to national headquarters seeking guidance on whether to encourage the parents of the abused boys to file a criminal complaint. Paul I. Ernst, the BSA executive then in charge of the organization's secret files, directed them not to.

  "Normally, we do not suggest that any legal action be instituted by parents," Ernst wrote. "If they desire to do this on their own they certainly should bring about any action they feel necessary. Certainly in this case, there is every indication that legal action is justified." (Bold mine)

  Sound familiar?

  This is sure to turn the stomachs of many people. I can only hope that current elders, (who bother to keep up with current events) read these stories on the failings of the BSA and make a connection. Will the be sickened by the conduct of the leadership of the BSA? If so, will they recognize that they, personally, are in the same position as these leaders of the BSA? And will they do anything about it?

  Full article here:

  http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCOUT_ABUSE_NC?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-10-26-04-59-44
• 

  punkofnice

  " The branch office, not the local body of elders, determines whether an individual who has sexually abused children in the past will be considered a ' predator ' . "

  Surely the operative words here are ‘sexually abused’ then ‘children’. What’s to determine? Call the police!

  " It CANNOT be said in every case that one who has sexually abused a child could NEVER qualify for privileges of service in the congregation. "

  Good grief! I’m speechless. Who do these morons think they are? No. Don’t give them privileges CALL THE POLICE!!!!!!!!

  Of course, their new ‘don’t bother to protect the victim’ stance might be their ultimate undoing.