by Watchtower-Free 20 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
If not, then what reason could they possibly dream up of allowing peole to be destroyed in this manner?
They beleive they are protecting Jehovah's name from reproach.... as if Jehovah somehow needs to be protected. The elders will do whatever they are told by big brother. The responsibility for such crimes fall squarely on the GB
I believe Elders allow pedophiles to roam free in the congregations for many reasons. The main problem is the strict chain of command in the religion, theocratic order demands that they follow procedures. Since the Watchtower is invested in pretending they do not have pedophiles (or if they do it is a very, very tiny number), they are primarily concerned with not bringing reproach on "Jehovah's organization". Elders who do not follow procedure are removed.
In addition, elders are very poorly trained compared to paid clergy. Most lack a college education, so they have ever little understanding of human psychology or pedophilia. Most pedophiles are adept liars, as they have learned to manipulate others to get access to children and they are good at inventing excuses for their behavior ("she came on to me").
The two witness rule is a gift to pedophiles, as they are not usually caught in the act. Even if a child makes a complaint they are not usually believed because people have a hard time believing that someone they know and like could do something like that.
Even when they have evidence or a confession, they may still see it as a spiritual failing, a mistake. If the person expresses remorse and promises to never do it again, they are many times fooled into thinking the problem has been fixed. They don't understand that an attraction to children is deeply ingrained, no matter how sorry the individual feels, or how hard they try to suppress their urges, they will always be at risk to offend a gain. A person like that should never be allowed access to children.
I had a close friend whose son was molested by a brother. He confessed and was reprimanded. Shortly thereafter he became engaged to a sister with children. My friend got in trouble for warning the woman her children were at risk. As far as the elders were concerned, he had confessed and been forgiven. They probably thought everything would be fine because he had a woman now and wouldn't turn to children for sex.
Pedophilia is an uncomfortable subject to talk about, it is sometimes easier to ignore or play down signs or evidence of abuse. It is a problem not unique to the JWs, you hear of similar cases in the school system and other organizations. Jerry Sandusky molested boys for years despite the fact that he had been caught in the act, and many people had reason to believe there was a problem. It's usually just easier to pretend you didn't see what you saw.
I believe most elders have good intentions, it's just that they don't know what they don't know. The real evil is the Watchtower, as they do know what they are doing and know they are putting children at risk.
Disgusting...
Lisa Rose. The two witness rule certainly appears valid when you read the cited scripture given by Watchtower, however when the entire passage of scripture is read you will see that it is simply one action in a plan of action consisting of an investigation by at least two men. Jehovah understands these wicked predators will lie, cheat and mislead so the victim if assessed to be honest but in God's eyes, not the Watchtowers then He will permit severe action without witnesses other than the poor victim's testimony and reputation. Deuteronomy 18:19 states the judges will search thoroughly to determine if the witness is a false witness. If the damaged victim has an exemplary reputation (and of course virtually all of them will) then the elders are not restricted for time to interview whomsoever they wish "THOROUGHLY" to establish what exactly happened. In my experience the elders simply cover for the pedophile and compound the damage. Think of this: If a Nazi officer orders a german troop to kill a child and he does, who is guilty? The officer? The soldier? or 50% 50%? NO! The officer is 100% guilty of murder and the soldier is 100% guilty of murder! Any elder who knowingly sends predators forth into the community or hides them in the congregation is 100% guilty of any resulting abuse, as is the pedophile and the Watchtower for having a lethal, filthy policy. If we are Jehovah's Witness's we have reason to be ashamed. Very ahamed of our religion whch has done more harm to Gods reputation than any other religion simply BECAUSE they carry His name!
Now, this elder, will have time to read all the Watchtower publications..., in prison!
I'm always sad when I read yet another molestation story.
I'm sad because I know what it will do to the victims and their families for the rest of their lives...lt is truly like living on a roller coaster.
The fact that one of his young victims had to come before him in a judicial investigation later in life shows you how utterly sick this religion is!! Just imagian what she must have felt answering personal questions from the creep that molested her as a child!!
Marked
But Judge David Stockdale QC told Rose: “You are now utterly disgraced – even though many members of that community still place a great deal of faith in you. The Jehovah’s Witnesses... upholds very high standards of moral behaviour – you deviated altogether from those standards.”
The family of Rose’s first accuser say they were encouraged to cover up their allegation. He was cleared of groping the then teenage girl in 1995 trial, but she would go on to be a witness in the latest court case. Her family say they were hounded out of the Jehovah’s Witnesses when they expressed concerns.
Her father told the M.E.N: “They held a meeting where they stood on a platform and said no-one should ever take a ‘brother’ to court. They dismissed our complaint as something that happened between teenagers.
“We were ostracised, and then told to get out of the congregation after the trial.”
That, to me, shows that the JW congregation did NOT "uphold high moral standards" at all ... they basically blame the victim for the bad press that they deserve.
How utterly shameful for any group to treat the victim and family of the vicitm like that.
Shame, shame, shame on you WatchTower and the slimy toads who do your bidding.
Twisting the bible to suit their own ends - I'm sure the purpose of that verse was NOT to cover up child abuse !!
Isn't it clear that they put their public image before any individual child's well-being and their protection from perverts.
I wish the article provided a source for the JW comment. We don't know who said it.
These are very bad facts. Evidently, the congregation still has not dealt with him. The judge alludes to it.
Read Cedars blog on the incompetence o f the Rose disfellowshipping. It was posted 22nd May 2014.
