Why is the GB so concerned with the well-being of the accused in matters of sexual abuse?

by paradisebeauty 13 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

• 

  paradisebeauty

  I'm reading some documents from the royal commission and I don't get it, why so much concern for the accused and his reputation??? I'm starting to think maybe some GB members have things like this in their past, because a normal human being would not take the side of a sexual predator over a child....
  UNITED STATES BRANCHE X E C U T I V E O F F I C E S
  to Watch Tower SocietyAUSTRALIAGSC/AS January 21, 1999 No. 176S
  
  It is understood that if the law requires elders to report cases of child abuse, they should complywith the law and do so. Of course, it would be better if the person confessing to having engagedin such activity would himself report it, but if he does not do so, the elders should do it.Where the law does not obligate the elders to report cases that come to their attention, there is noneed for them to do so, but if the matter becomes known to the authorities and they are requiredto disclose information they have in their possession, they will do so unless they can claim ecclesiasticalprivilege.....You asked whether the elders should tell the accused that they are obligated to make a reportwhere such is the case. Probably from a legal viewpoint there is no obligation to tell the accusedthat a report will be made, but we do think that from the moral viewpoint the accused should betold what the law requires and that we have an obligation to comply with it. Even if there is nolegal requirement that we make a report, it would be a kindness to the accused to let him knowthat should the matter later become known to the authorities, the law may require the elders toreveal what they know of the matter. (Romans 13:4; Matt. 22:21) You were given approval in aletter from the Service Committee dated GSC:AS July 24, 1998 to publish some information inyour edition of Our Kingdom Ministry concerning keeping certain matters confidential. We donot know whether this has been done yet, but it should prove helpful to the elders in these circumstances.
  
  
  
• 

  Vidiot

  paradisebeauty - "Why is the GB so concerned with the well-being of the accused in matters of sexual abuse?"

  Authoritarian leaders are often narcissistic, i.e. they care about themselves.

  Take it from there.
• 

  StarTrekAngel

  While I definitely agree with Vidiot, I think the point the RC was trying to make is the inequality being shown towards the victim. The point was that there is written direction on how to treat the accused with respect but there is no written direction on how to treat the victim. Had there been some more direction on how to treat the victim, then I believe the RC would have passed on this. The elder that was questioned about this attempted to explain that, regardless of a lack of written direction, he tried to explain that he felt that it could be assumed the victim would be given the same respect. Although we know that in practice it did not happen, the justice system does not rely on feeling and assumptions as much as it relies on evidence. Thats were Vidiot's comment fits in. The GB is probably too concerned with themselves to write about how to protect others.
• 

  StrongHaiku

  None of what they do should come as a complete surprise. The God of the Bible is very clear on the idea that it is "His Name/His Reputation" that is the most important thing over anything else (including human life). He states his pronouncements are "infallible". You then has an Organization that is absolutely convinced that they represent this God.

  By necessity, the GB is required to insure that they align with God's priorities (especially when it comes to reputation/name).

  From that premise you can make a number of hypothesis of what the GB may or may not do next and how they think - e.g. that whatever the GB does in response to these scandals, it will be to protect their/God's reputation/name over doing the correct moral, ethical, and legal decisions and actions.

  Therefore, there is no big leap to show how such an Organization consistently continues to put their/God's reputation/name, the need to seem infallible, and that they are the sole representative of God on earth over the needs of humanity.
• 

  paradisebeauty

  Strong Haiku

  I do not agree. God is concerned with us all, that is why He sent Jesus, to save us!
• 

  username

  I've just got off the phone with my mother. She related a story to me regarding a child abuser who was in her congregation, the child abuser had to appear in court and guess what? All the elders rallied around the abuser so the verdict was non proven!

  This seams to be a systematic problem across the board the guilty party gets all the support whilst the innocent victim is told to shut up and stop causing trouble! We have to be mindful that most abusers are usually sociopathic narcissists who very good at playing people. They are very adept at playing the victim convincingly and have a knack at being in the right place at the right time. In other words, say a victim decides to quite rightly retaliate, you can be damb sure the abuser will have others within earshot so that the victim then looks and sounds like the abuser! This then gives the impression the victim is a trouble maker. Not only that, even approaching the elders on someone's bad behaviour can have the victim be labeled as a trouble maker. For the innocent party it's a lose lose situation which leaves the innocent party questioning themselves :(
• 

  Illuminated

  I have a theory - there's obviously way more pedophiles we're aware of.

  The organization may be infested with them top down. If they get rid of all the pedophiles, who'll be left to continue on marrying and impregnating JW women, further passing down the cult from generation to generation?

  If they get rid of them, there won't be enough men to serve as elders, and other top positions of slavery.

  Another thought comes to mind - induce trauma into the members and you'll more easily be able to inflict the teachings in their mind and put them under mind control. The continuation of sexual abuse may very well be an intentional method of keeping the members under their spell.
• 

  StrongHaiku

  paradisebeauty - I do not agree. God is concerned with us all, that is why He sent Jesus, to save us!

  Not sure if you are being serious or not, but if you are, we have plenty of evidence that God is more concerned with this name than with human beings. If he exists, he may be concerned with people, but it is a lower priority compared to the vindication of his name. Otherwise, he would have probably developed a better loop-hole for salvation that did not necessitate the killing of a human being (e.g. Jesus).
• 

  diana netherton

  Anyone know of any of the GB's e-mails???? Ashley Madison comes to mind here. Just sayin'
• 

  brandnew

  If god existed, he would have turned every pedo into a pillar of salt right BEFORE he assaulted a child, knowing that god supposedly reads the heart of man. It all balony.