Not on JW.ORG : San Francisco court orders Catholic workers to attend Jehovah's Witness meeting. Will Jehovah's Witnesses now be ordered to Catholic Churches?

by Balaamsass2 15 Replies latest social current

• 

  Balaamsass2

  Catholic Workers Ordered to Attend Jehovah’s Witness Meeting

  September 8, 2014 by Mary Maria Leave a Comment

  

  San Francisco, California – In an interesting case of religious rights in the workplace, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that employees of the San Gabriel/Pomona Regional Center must attend services from the Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah’s witnesses. The protestant church is not exactly known for its ecumenical cooperation or respect for the Catholic Church which it often decries as being a supreme object over the whole earth that rhymes with the word “lore”.

  At issue is a five year dispute brought on by Catholic employees who care for a disabled man at the facility. The man is a Jehovah’s Witness and would like to attend services for his faith. The trouble is that his disability requires physical assistance to and from the place of worship and constant monitoring. This means those workers providing aid to him would effectively have to sit through the meetings. The workers sternly objected to attending the services claiming that Catholic dogma forbids attending worship at other churches. To bolster their position, they cited Title 7 regarding the rights of workers which requires employers to make “reasonable accommodation” to the honest beliefs and practices of religious adherents.

  The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that “reasonable accommodation” does not mean the employer has to accommodate the religious beliefs of their employees. Presumably, in the case of the San Gabriel/Pomona Regional Center, an effort was made to find someone capable of assisting the disabled patient whose religious sensitivities would not be offended. This was not possible. In the end, the judges cited the fact that the disabled man also had the right to be treated. Also, the attorneys for the workers failed to make the case that standing by as mere observers at the church would be akin to being compelled to worship in a manner contrary to their religious beliefs
• 

  steve2

  There was another extensive thread on this some days ago. I recall sharing a few pearls of unforgettable wisdom in a post or two on the thread.
• 

  Balaamsass2

  Curious if the patients spiritual "brothers" were willing to assist during meetings...or if the elders decided he should just miss the meeting.
• 

  jgnat

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/283006/1/A-catholic-court-ordered-to-attend-jehovahs-witnesses-kingdomhall#.VBCfzk1OUfg

  Or the patient can "tie in" by phone.

  Or the orderlies can wait out in the lobby.

  Or the orderlies can participate in the comment section of the meeting, especially if any odious comments are made about "Christendom".
• 

  EndofMysteries

  I wish this story or some ex jws had contacted those in this case and provided them the numerous sources of JW doctrine and commands that forbid going into ANY church and the consequences. Giving that to the judge it would have shown how hypocritical the disabled man is for wanting catholics to be forced into his church when his own doctrine forbids the opposite.
• 

  AlphaMan

  This is total bullshit. The crybaby Jehovah Witnesses would be the first crying to the court about their rights being violated if their employer ask them to go to church with a patient. Of course the JW religion does not have the integrity to respect the conscience of the Catholic people and tell the judge to not force them to attend meetings at the KH. Where are the JW's when it comes to picking this man up and carring for him at their meetings? They are nowwhere as usual because they consider old people a burden to them if they need anykind of assistance at all or they don't fit the Corporate profile.
• 

  Balaamsass2

  The old JW is no doubt broke= no help from JW land.
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  I got no problem with being ordered to take him there, take him inside, pick him up afterward. But if he can't sit through up to 2 hours without some kind of assistance that couldn't be provided by his "brothers and sisters," it would be ridiculous to order someone to sit through that crap. But I don't know enough to really comment beyond that.

  If my job forced me to be a caregiver in a "church," I would be as disruptive as necessary. I would be in scrubs and I would say how I need to be in such a place with so much room and I would make the members accomodate me every frigging time I came there. No sitting in the back for my patient- "He can't adequately hear the talks and see the speaker's gestures and I don't want to be accused of violating some portion of my court order. Put us up front, and I will need an outlet for [something]."

  I know a JW would not sit through some other religious services to keep his job.
• 

  Band on the Run

  I believe this summary has some problems with it. Both sides have merit. The disabled man should receive accomodations so he can worship the church of his choice. When I active decades ago, the Witnesses were always knocking the RC. Much of what they said, I took at faith, only to subsequently learn that the Witnesses were not reporting the RC accurately. In my house, it was made worse by father's antiRC faith which I attribute to Bethel. I would not want RC people to hear what the Witnesses lie. An appeals court will probably decide.
• 

  BluesBrother

  My reading of the report gave the impression that the man needed "constant monitoring" so perhaps it is specialised and the congo could not do it.

  In fact they could, in good conscience, attend a Catholic Service in a similar situation. The WTS say that une may attend a church wedding or funeral if required to by family - just not participate in the hymns or prayers. There is always the Bible example of Nehemiah who took the king to his temple .