In the 70's and 80's, when a lot of this stuff was coming to light and the eldership was in its infancy, the congregation was indoctrinated to believe that the elder BODY, no longer the Congregation Servant, was in charge of their spiritual well-being. Therefore, in order to please the almighty, one needed to demonstrate faith and appreciation for this "new light" that was more in line with 1st century process. That being the case, everything from depression, attempted suicide, cheating spouses, business dealing gone awry, and, yes, child abuse issues, were entrusted to this group of men who were appointed by HOLY SPIRIT and approved with a little green check by the Governing Body (well, actually the little green check was from the Service Desk). To go outside of this judicial process, and yes, many references were made to the words of the Apostle Paul when he said:
"When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to the believers!" (1 Corinthians 6:1 -New Living Translation)
"Don't you realize that someday WE believers will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?" ( 1 Corinthians 6:2-English Standard Version)
Yes, these holy spirit appointed brothers were QUALIFIED to judge all matters. They were not INCOMPETENT. After all, the Bible said so. So, unfortunately, these men simply did what they were told. They were instructed to follow procedures that, in my opinion, highlighted the importance of the congregation's reputation over the welfare of the victim. The victim's family, if they were "full boat" witnesses, wanted to uphold this standard of righteousness and theocratic arrangement that they were taught to believe was the God SANCTIONED manner to address all issues. We see where that ended...don't we?
