Sunday July 14 Parade Magazine Cover Article

by blondie 11 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

• 

  blondie

  I can't find the article on line but here is:

  Andrew Vachss website

  http://www.vachss.com/

  Other articles in Parade by Mr Vachss:

  http://www.parade.com/current/coverstory/index.lasso

  Check and see if your Sunday paper carries this insert.

  "Sickness is a condition.

  Evil is a behavior.

  Evil is always a matter of choice. Evil is not thought; it is conduct. And that conduct is always volitional.

  And just as evil is always a choice, sickness is always the absence of choice. Sickness happens. Evil is inflicted.

  Until we perceive the difference clearly, we will continue to give aid and comfort to our most pernicious enemies."

  "Andrew Vacchs, a PARADE Contributing Editor, is a lawyer whose only clients are children. For more than three decades, he has observed the devastating effects of child abuse firsthand. "

  The article ends, "Changing the laws so that religious orders join the ranks of mandated reporters is the right thing to do. And the time is right now."

  How to find state lawmakers go to www.congregress.org and clin on "State Officials."
• 

  dungbeetle

  Several of the biggest troll-feeders on this board live in non-reporting states, I happen to know. You should be out there SCREAMING at your elected officials instead of feeding trolls on this board. YOU should be out thee SCREAMING for reform, emailing lawmakers, instead of feeding trolls on this board.

  But then, you would be accomplishing something WOULDN'T YOU...

  ((((((((((((((((( blondie )))))))))))))))
• 

  sf

  Here ya go:

  http://www.parade.com/current/coverstory/index.lasso
• 

  sf

  Ooops, guess we have to wait til it's archived.
• 

  sf

  Ah ah, here it is:

  http://www.vachss.com/av_dispatches/parade_071402.html

  The Difference Between "Sick" and "Evil" What We Must Do ... To Protect Our Children A CALL TO ACTION BY ANDREW VACHSS Andrew Vachss has written the cover feature for the July 14 issue of Parade magazine. It's an essay about the difference between "sick" and "evil," about the conduct of so-called "pedophile priests," how they're just part of a larger problem ... and what we can do about that problem. Read the article on July 14th. Parade magazine comes free in most Sunday newspapers (click here to find one near you, by Zip Code). You will also be able to read the articleand forward a copy to all your friendsfrom right here on The Zero, starting July 21st. If the article makes you angry, act on that anger. Write your state legislators; tell them you think priests, rabbis, preachers, imams, elders ... all those working in religious orders ... should be "mandated reporters"should be required by law to report reasonable suspicion of child abuse when it comes to their attention. The President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Wilton Gregory, recently acknowledged that the law gave those in religious orders "options" they sometimes exercised in immoral and dangerous ways: "We are the ones who chose not to report the criminal actions of priests to the authorities because the law did not require this." Bishop Wilton Gregory President, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (From Bishop Gregory's opening address at the United States Conference of Bishops, June 13, 2002, in Dallas, TX; and as reported by CNN.) Making mandated reporters of those working in religious orders would not interfere with any version of the "priest-penitent" privilege. When a child victim or their parent discloses abuse, they are not "confessing," they are crying for help. Neither "confidentiality" nor "religious freedom" would in any way be compromised by a statutory requirement of mandatory reporting. FIND YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS BY CLICKING HERE. Andrew Vachss has been writing for Parade since 1985. In response to endless requests, we have collected all his past Parade articles here.
• 

  blondie

  Are you talking to me about being a troll, dungbeetle???? I'm confused.

  Thanks sf.
• 

  crawdad2

  hi blondie,

  that's why i don't waste my time trying to fix the gov body and their organization... it's an evil organization, and trying to help them adjust their rules, only helps them learn how to cover their tracks better........... i see it happening right now......... all the good elders are going to get disfellowshipped.
• 

  blondie

  I don't think the focus of the article is to fix the GB, crawdad, but to require "every" religious organization to report known and suspected acts of child abuse. The GB does not recognize the authority of any individual JW or group within the JW organization including BOEs. Any BOE that would speak up would find out that the GB rules in the JW organization. But the secular government does have authority over the GB and the GB knows it. That is why they want to shift the legal responsibility to the BOEs.

  If the goal is to help abused children, children abused by any so-called religious individuals, this is one way to do it.
• 

  abbagail

  Thanks blondie for posting this info about the Vaachs article. I had forgotten about this guy, but he is fantastic, and a child-advocate through and through his heart and soul. I read some of his articles back around '94 or '95, and saw him being interviewed on TV. He has a book or two on the subject.

  I especially liked this quote: "Making mandated reporters of those working in religious orders would not interfere with any version of the "priest-penitent" privilege. When a child victim or their parent discloses abuse, they are not "confessing," they are crying for help."

  That is SO TRUE!!!! I mean any kid who was being abused, if he went out and told the man on the daily garbage truck what was happening, the kid would get more help and compassion from the garbage man than he would from elders who, before anything else, ask: Did anybody ELSE see it?

  Arrrrgggh!

  GRITS
• 

  blondie

  Thanks for your comments, GRITS. My goal has always been to help abused children which I have been doing to the best of my ability for almost 20 years now. Just when I think I have my own past dealt with, then I watch a show like Panorama and all my own bugaboos surface again. I still haven't watched Dateline. I think I can now.

  I have used Mr. Vacchs as a resource in my endeavors due to his legal background.

  In my case, this is not a religious issue nor do I think that JWs are the main source of this problem (as most here do not either). But we use the tools and knowledges we have and most here are familiar with the JW organization (as opposed to the Catholic Church).

  A real word to consider is DENIAL. This is a strong emotion that undercuts helping people whether it be in drug addiction, alcoholism, gambling addiction, etc. It is a tall and strong wall that is hard to get past. Can you go over, through, under, around?

  If I have "saved" only one child or helped an adult child find their way in the last 20 years (and I have), then it has all been worth it.

  Blondie