One of my very best friends, who I also consider a sister, left the Org about a year after me. She is actually closer to my parents age (she's 40) but our families always did things together while we were all JW's and now that her and I are not we're even closer.
After she left the Org she told me about the molestation she and her younger sister suffered at the hands of their father. At the time he was not a JW as was their mother. When she was in her mid teens she finally confessed what had happened to her mother. During those years her father had become a JW and the sexual abuse had stopped. Her mother was distraught but could do nothing since he was now a JW in good standing. She has suffered with the knowledge that her husband committed these horrible acts against her 2 older daughters for 25 years. Needless to say, she's not the happiest woman in the world.
My friend did not receive any counseling for this until about 10 years ago. She had always had a suspicion that her youngest sister (who is now 25, married with a child of her own) might have also been a victim. Well, apparently just within the last few days she found out she was right.
What sickens me is that this man, who has been a family friend for most of my life (I'm 27), was appointed a MS in the congo my dad presides as PO. My father knows the history of this man with his 2 older daughters. As if wasn't bad enough that he excused this man's disgusting behavior because it was prior to him becoming a JW, now come to find out he committed the same gross acts while in good standing. (Why would he not when he never got any counseling of his own...of course discouraged or outrightly condemned by the Org).
I always felt my father was an exceptionally kind and honest man. I've never seen him behave in a haughty or self-righteous manner. In fact, any attempts to fix our relationship has always been done by my father (my mom is bit of a manipulating, resentful bitch). So it seriously distresses me to think that my father would allow this kind of stuff to happen in the congo he presides over. I wish he had the guts to be like Bill Bowen aka Silentlambs.
I lost a great deal of respect for my father last night with the learning of this news. I am very tempted to call him up and tell him so!
Losing my dad in yet another way,
Shauna