BILL BOWENS ATTACK ON RAY FRANZ:
I very seldom find time for checking the discussions going on at various debate sites, and wasnt aware of Bill Bowens statements about Ray Franz in his original post of Oct. 9, 2002 at 7:26 (now evidently altered), until a friend quite recently sent my a copy of it. I was not only surprised but was shocked at his statements. Bowen first claims that Ray has "founded" and is "the author" of the Societys "two eye Witness rule as well as the slander issue that prevents anyone from warning another of child abuse in the congregation." Then, because Ray chose not to join in with him in some media event on child abuse among the Witnesses, he turns against him, even insinuating that he "is covering up for something he does not wish to reveal."
I have checked what Ray wrote for the Organization book back in 1972 on the "two eye Witness rule". I find that he did not discuss child abuse or any other particular crime, but simply referred to the apostle Pauls words at 1 Timothy 5:19 as a principle to be applied in judicial matters, emphasizing the need to get all the facts from reliable witnesses. (The Organization book, 1972, page 164) By this, Ray did not author a new policy! Similar statements had been published several times in the past. Already Charles Taze Russell, in Vol. 6 of Studies in the Scriptures, pp. 293-294, gives similar, but more detailed comments on 1 Timothy 5:19. Other discussions of the text were published later, for example in the Watchtower of April 15, 1944, p. 154, and of April 1, 1957, 217.
Child abuse is despicable. This crime has been very much in the news here in Sweden recently because of the activities of pedophiliacs on the net. A number of them have been tracked down, exposed and prosecuted. It has become evident that this crime is much more common in the community than most people ever thought. That it does occur also among the Witnesses cannot be doubted. A couple of the Witnesses I am in contact with here in Sweden told me not very long ago that they knew of some cases of child molestation among Witnesses that had not been properly dealt with by the elders. To conceal a crime is also a crime. It is excellent that a number of those who have been molested, or are aware and have evidence of such cases, have begun to talk, whether the crime has been committed within their religious organization or elsewhere.
Because of the campaigns carried on in the media in some countries to publicize child molestation cases among Jehovahs Witnesses, some seem to have concluded that this crime is more common among Jehovahs Witnesses than elsewhere. I have discussed this with some former Witnesses here, including Rud Persson (Wolfgang Herbst), the co-author of the book, The Sign of the Last DaysWhen?. Our conclusion is that child molestation is no more common among the Witnesses than in the community at large.
Remarkably as it may seem, few of us ever heard about any cases of child abuse while we were Jehovahs Witnesses. Rud Persson, who grew up as a Witness and left the organization at the age of 44, got to know about one case during all those years. During my 26 years as a Witness, seven of which as an appointed elder, I never heard about child molestation among them at all! Certainly, there must have been some cases at some places, but they didnt come to my knowledge. During my time as an elder, we had to deal with a number of different problems, including various kinds of sexual wrongs, but the crime of child abuse never turned up. I got to know about one event, though, that came close to it. A close friend of mine (now dead) once told me that his wife, while she was a defenseless teenager, had been sexually utilized and almost raped by a circuit overseer. This event, my friend told me, had left deep emotional scars in his wife, which in turn severely impaired their sexual relationship.
Some former Witnesses here in Sweden are now planning to start a media campaign about child abuse among the Witnesses, similar to the one going on in the United States. Neither I nor Rud Persson have any wish to become involved in it. Why not? Have we done or do we know about something that we are "covering up", something we "do not wish to reveal"? No. The simple reason is that we have no evidence to present against anybody, nor do we have any evidence to show that child abuse is more common among the Witnesses than in other organizations or in the community at large. If we were to partake in an organized attempt to control this particular crime, and had the time, energy, and resources for it, we would find no reason to pick out the Watchtower organization in particular as the sole object of our activity. In this matter, we fully understand the position taken by Ray Franz, and undoubtedly thousands of other former Witnesses, because we have taken the same position.
Having said this, I dont want to be misunderstood. As stated above, I find it excellent that those who have been molested and those who have evidence on such cases and of the attempts by the Society to conceal the matter, are stepping forward to reveal what they know. This is, in fact, their responsibility.
Carl Olof Jonsson