THEOCRACY HYPOCRISY Weekly # 1 -- The Pedophile Cover-Up
Merriam-Webster Dictionary's Definition of "Theocracy": Government of a state by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided
Merriam-Webster Dictionary's Definition of "Hypocrisy": A feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion
Matthew 7:1: "Don't judge, so that you won't be judged.
Matthew 7:2: For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you.
Matthew 7:3: Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but don't consider the beam that is in your own eye?
Matthew 7:4: Or how will you tell your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye;' and behold, the beam is in your own eye?
Matthew 7:5: You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye.
Romans 2:21: You therefore who teach another, don't you teach yourself? You who preach that a man shouldn't steal, do you steal?
Romans 2:22: You who say a man shouldn't commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
Romans 2:23: You who glory in the Law, through your disobedience of the Law do you dishonor God?
Romans 2:24: For "the Name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you," just as it is written.
The Watchtower, November 15th 2001 Issue, Page 23:
"Hypocrisy... will ultimately prove death-dealing to those who practice it. In the end, hypocrisy will be openly exposed. “There is nothing covered over that will not become uncovered,” said Jesus Christ, “and secret that will not become known.” (Matthew 10:26; Luke 12:2) Wise King Solomon declared: “The true God himself will bring every sort of work into the judgment in relation to every hidden thing, as to whether it is good or bad.”—Ecclesiastes 12:14."
Can Jehovah God or Jesus Christ lie?
Titus 1:2: ...God... can't lie...
1st Peter 2:22: [Jesus Christ] did not sin, "neither was deceit found in His mouth."
John 18:20: Jesus answered him, "I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues, and in the Temple, where the Jews always meet. I said nothing in secret.
This is the first of an ongoing Weekly Series of Threads I am going to post entitled "Theocracy Hypocrisy".
"Theocracy Hypocrisy" will feature the Watchtower Society's hypocritical quotes, for instance, this week will show the Watchtower condemning the Catholics for their pedophile cover-up, while at the same time, the Watchtower has been covering up pedophiles for decades.
These Threads will be relatively small (compared to some of my other Threads), because I want everyone to be able to read over them quickly, and I also encourage everyone to post their comments about these Threads.
Each week I will post the next "issue" of this Weekly Series (probably on the weekend).
I am also starting three other Weekly Threads, which are entitled "Congregation Contradictions", which will highlight a different Watchtower contradiction each week, and also "The Truth Will Set You Free", which will expose one of the Watchtower's false teachings about the Bible each week, and finally, "Exposing the False Teachers", which will expose false teachings about the Bible which are taught by other people and religions besides the Watchtower.
Now this Weekly Issue (# 1 -- The Pedophile Cover-Up) begins:
First, lets look at what the Watchtower Society has been telling its Members and the Media about its "Child Protection Policies":
Quote from the Statement that was Faxed from J.R. Brown to Betsan Powys (BBC Panorama Reporter) on May 9th 2002, and was Posted on the Official Watchtower Society Media Website at http://www.jw-media.org around the same time the BBC Panorama Program aired:
"No human organization is perfect. But we do believe that we have a strong, Bible-based policy on child abuse."
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NEW YORK TIMES Newspaper - Sunday, August 11th 2002 Edition:
Ousted Members Contend Jehovah's Witnesses' Abuse Policy Hides Offenses
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
J. R. Brown, director of the public information office at church headquarters, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, in Brooklyn, said the church had exemplary policies for handling sexual abuse, which were based on biblical standards and had been widely published in church magazines. "...if you take what our policy is for keeping our organization clean morally, it far outpaces anybody else's."
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Seattle Times Newspaper - September 6th 2002:
'Silentlambs' speak out about sex abuse
By Christine Clarridge, Seattle Times staff reporter
"...if you take what our policy is for keeping our organization clean morally, it far outpaces anybody else's," spokesman J.R. Brown said.____________________________________________________
Associated Press (AP) News Story - September 26th 2002:
Watchtower spokesman J.R. Brown defended Jehovah's Witnesses' policies.
"Clearly, with us having 95,000 congregations around the world and three to five to six elders in each, mistakes may have been made," he said. "But that does not mean that we don't have a strong and aggressive policy that shows we abhor child molestation."____________________________________________________
The Watchtower Society has condemned the Catholic Church for over 15 years because of their pedophile cover-up:
Below are Quotes from Watchtower Society Publications which condemn and criticize the Catholic Church (and other Churches) for covering up pedophiles:
The Watchtower, August 15th 1958 Issue, Page 511:
Dilemma of the Confessional
SUPPOSE you had a dear friend who was soon to be hanged for a murder he was innocent of, convicted upon perjured and circumstantial evidence. Then suppose the murderer came to you and confessed his guilt. Would you not immediately notify the police so that your innocent friend would not need to die? Of course you would! But if you were a Roman Catholic priest, and this man had confessed to you, you would have to stand helplessly by as your dear friend died for a murder he did not commit. Fantastic? Not according to Catholic theologians.
Thus the Catholic Herald, London, England, May 9, 1952, in its question column published the following: “Can the seal of confession be broken by a priest in the interests of justice, e.g., in such a grave matter as murder? No. Nothing whatever, except the consent of the penitent (which he can never be obliged to give), can release a priest from the seal. . . . even if the circumstances were such that the priest thought it the criminal’s duty to give himself up—even to save an innocent life—the priest himself could never make use of knowledge which does not belong to him at all, but only to God.”
Two actual incidents illustrate the foregoing: “Returns Bank Loot, Won’t Bare Thief. Priest’s Lips Sealed. . . . part of the money taken by a repentant bank robber has been returned by a Denver priest to whom he confessed, but authorities still don’t know his identity. The Roman Catholic priest, with a ‘sacred obligation’ to reveal nothing heard in the confessional, yesterday returned to authorities $6,850 in bills he said was part of $7,780 taken in a daylight robbery here Feb. 17. . . . The United States attorney said the priest promised to relay a message that partial return of the money would not absolve the robber of ‘criminal responsibility.’ ‘I hope now that he will decide to clear his conscience entirely by coming to the proper authorities,’ said [attorney] Kelley.”—Los Angeles Herald & Express, April 13, 1955.
The second incident was reported by The Inland Register, a Spokane, Washington, Roman Catholic weekly, August 14, 1953. It told of an item that appeared in the London Times regarding a priest to whom a certain convict, thinking he was dying, confessed as having committed the crime for which another man was serving a sentence. The convict recovered, but upon his death, a year later, the priest revealed his confession, causing the innocent man to be set free. It was pointed out that even death does not free a priest from his seal, and that if true, this was perhaps the first time in history in which a priest broke his seal and revealed what had been told him in a confession.
Look out: perhaps there may be some man that will carry you off as his prey through the philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary things of the world and not according to Christ.--Col. 2:8.
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AWAKE!, October 8th 1988 Issue, Page 28:
The point in telling others that some clergymen are immoral is the same point Jesus made in telling certain clergy of his time that they were “like whitewashed tombs that look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of . . . every kind of corruption. In the same way you appear to people from the outside like good honest men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:27, 28, Catholic “Jerusalem Bible”)
...Jehovah’s Witnesses’ elders are not completely immune from the influence of sexual sin. But the few who err are immediately removed from office for such. On the other hand, clerical misconduct in many churches often results only in “transfer” or “treatment” unless it becomes too scandalous. This was recently illustrated in a “New York Times” article of June 12, 1988, about several priests charged with child molestation, one of whom had “been in treatment for 10 years” while still serving in parishes.
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The Watchtower, December 15th 1988 Issue, Pages 21-22:
Babylon’s Harlotry Exposed
9. Revelation 14:8 shows that Babylon the Great is a fornicatrix. Her clergy have become notorious for their immoral ways. TV evangelizers have sheared their flocks of hundreds of millions of dollars, while at the same time they were committing blatant immorality. The Catholic priesthood is also much in question, as is indicated by the following report in The Beacon Journal of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 3, 1988: “Hundreds of children molested by Catholic priests in the United States during the past five years have suffered severe emotional trauma, say parents, psychologists, police officers and attorneys involved in the cases.” Sexual immorality has blackened the reputation of many of the clergy of Babylon the Great.
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AWAKE!, January 22nd 1989 Issue, Pages 9-11:
Christendom Walks in the Way of Canaan
The Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church is blunt in its disapproval of homosexuality, branding it a gross sin. But in practice the church conducts a cover-up for guilty priests and even makes it possible for them to continue their sexual perversions. Certainly, Pope John Paul II had warm words for homosexuals when he declared: They are in the heart of the church.
An independent Catholic newspaper, the National Catholic Reporter, of February 27, 1987, said that homosexual clergy estimated that 50 percent of the U.S. Catholic priesthood is homosexual. This figure is contested. One psychologist, basing his statement on 1,500 interviews, says that 20 percent of the 57,000 U.S. Catholic priests are homosexual, whereas more recent reports make other therapists think the true figure today may be closer to 40 percent.
Just over a year ago, newspapers across the country were flooded with reports of sexual assaults on children by Catholic priests. The following report from the San Jose, California, Mercury News, December 30, 1987, is typical: At a time of heightened national awareness of the problems of child abuse, the Catholic Church in the United States continues to ignore and cover up cases of priests who sexually molest children, according to court records, internal church documents, civil authorities and the victims themselves.
Church officials insist that a notorious 1985 Louisiana case in which a priest molested at least 35 boys has taught them to deal firmly with the problem. But a three-month Mercury News investigation reveals that in more than 25 dioceses across the country, church officials have failed to notify authorities, transferred molesting priests to other parishes, ignored parental complaints and disregarded the potential damage to child victims. . . . Millions of dollars in damages already have been paid to victims and their families, and one 1986 church report estimated that the church's liability could reach $1 billion over the next decade.
The notorious 1985 Louisiana case mentioned in the Mercury News report concerned a priest named Gilbert Gauthe. There has been a payment of $12 million to his victims. The homosexual activities of Gauthe were known for many years, but the diocese handled the problem by transferring him from parish to parish at least three times. In one instance parents testified that Gauthe sodomized their 7-year-old son on his first day as an altar boy and for a year afterward, until the priest was transferred.
The damage to child victims was also mentioned in that report. Sometimes the damage is final. One 12-year-old boy took his life, leaving a note saying that it wasn't worth living after having been made a virtual sex slave of a Franciscan brother. Another, molested by a priest, hanged himself after telling his brother, Contact Father S. and tell him I forgive him.
Most sexual assault cases involve boys, but many girls are also victimized. As reported by the Cleveland Plain Dealer of December 19, 1987, a 16-year-old girl and her parents filed a civil suit in 1986 against seven priests for sexual molestation. She had become pregnant, and the priests urged her to get an abortion. When she refused, they arranged to send her to the Philippines to cover up her pregnancy. The church is against homosexuality and abortion but apparently not when it involves their own priests.
The newspaper reports go on and on listing many specific cases of Catholic youths sodomized by Catholic priests, of millions of dollars being paid out to settle lawsuits, of many settlements made out of court, and of insurance companies that will no longer cover diocesan personnel against molestation charges.
Thomas Fox, editor of the National Catholic Reporter, says: There has been a national cover-up of the problem for years by the bishops. Eugene Kennedy, a former priest and now psychology professor at Loyola University, says: What you see in the courts is just the tip of the iceberg. Thomas Doyle, Dominican priest and canon lawyer, declares: The sexual molesting of little boys by priests is the single most serious problem weve had to face in centuries.
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AWAKE!, July 8th 1989 Issue, Page 25:
When a priest commits a crime, he is usually transferred to another parish, as has occurred in recent cases of priestly child molesters in the United States. The Biblical norm for unrepentant, unchanged, immoral persons is disfellowshipping, or excommunication. Only in that way can the Christian congregation remain free of willful evildoers.—1 Corinthians 5:11, 12.
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Live Forever in Paradise on Earth Book (1989), Pages 187-188:
If church members who gamble, get drunk or do other wrongs are permitted to remain in good standing within their church, what does this show? It is evidence that their religious organization is not approved by God.--1 Corinthians 5:11-13.
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The Watchtower, February 1st 1990 Issue, Page 25:
...Even now the Catholic Church in the United States is paying millions of dollars in damages to compensate for priests guilty of sexual abuse of children. Romans 1:24-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10.
20: Such wrongdoing cannot be ignored by God's servants but must be exposed for the benefit of others. The great crowd of other sheep must be protected from those who would try to lead them to break God's laws. And those sighing and groaning over all the detestable things that are being done need to be searched out and gathered to the protective guidance of the Great Shepherd, Jehovah God, and the fine shepherd, Christ Jesus. Ezekiel 9:4; John 10:11; Proverbs 18:10.
21: Therefore, God’s people will not hesitate to declare his vengeance against all of Satan’s world, including its man of lawlessness, the clergy of Christendom. They will proclaim with vigor the angelic message of Revelation 14:7: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of the judgment by him has arrived.” And they will include in this proclamation the urgent warning of Revelation 18:4 regarding false religion: “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and . . . receive part of her plagues.”
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AWAKE!, April 22nd 1990 Issue, Page 29:
Watching the World
IS THERE A CURE?
The murder of three young boys, two of them sexually abused, in the Western United States has fueled a growing debate over whether habitual child molesters can be cured or not. The man charged in the murders had repeatedly been sentenced to sexual counseling for committing crimes against children. Prior to being arrested for the three murders, he had completed eight months of counseling by a psychologist who himself had spent 13 years in prison as a drug smuggler and armed robber. “Anybody can hang a shingle and call themselves a therapist,” the head of the Association for the Behavioral Treatment of Sex Abusers complains in The New York Times. The Times notes that more and more health-care professionals are concluding that “some habitual child molesters are basically incurable and should be locked up for life.”
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AWAKE!, September 8th 1990 Issue, Page 29:
Watching the World
CLERGY MORALS
According to The Toronto Star, the Ottawa archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada was recently ordered by the courts to pay $150,000 for failing to act on a complaint against one of its priests. The priest was accused of sexually assaulting young boys. The victims’ families “felt driven to seek a civil remedy because, having gone to the church for help after the assaults, they were shut out by officials, including the archbishop,” noted one lawyer. According to the Star, another lawyer stated that Catholic Church officials, on discovery of child-abuse complaints, have historically kept the priests in the clergy. He said: “Instead of reporting them to the police or booting them out of there like most any other institution, they have, out of loyalty to their own, just moved them around secretly.”
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AWAKE!, November 8th 1990 Issue, Page 31:
'Our Shame Is Clear to the Whole World'
THE New York Times of July 20, 1990, carried a headline: Canadian Prelate Quits in Clerics Sex Scandal. What was the story? Yet another case of clergymen being accused of sexual abuse of boys. On this occasion the scandal was in the province of Newfoundland, Canada, and the clergy were Catholic. What made it different?
The Times reported: The Archbishop of Newfoundland has resigned after charges that the Roman Catholic Churchs hierarchy ignored or failed to deal effectively with three years of scandal involving allegations of sexual abuse against altar boys, orphaned youths and others by Roman Catholic priests and church laymen. First accused of gross indecency in 1979, one priest was recently sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to 36 charges!
Usually these cases are hushed up, and no significant disciplinary action is taken. Perhaps a priest is transferred to another parish or duty, where the depravity might start again. On this occasion the archbishop was moved to resign after stating: We are a sinful church. We are naked. Our anger, our pain, our anguish, our shame are clear to the whole world. Compare Revelation 17:15-18.
A judicial inquiry showed that accusations had been made over a period of 15 years, but the police and government officials failed to act decisively against the offenders. And even worse, the church hierarchy failed to act decisively. They were accused of being more concerned about the offending priests than about the victims. Yet, what does the Catholic Bible say about such immoral practices?
Regarding those who committed perversion, the New American Bible, St. Joseph Edition, states: God delivered them up in their lusts to unclean practices; they engaged in the mutual degradation of their bodies, . . . and the men gave up natural intercourse with women and burned with lust for one another. Men did shameful things with men . . . They know God's just decree that all who do such things deserve death; yet they not only do them but approve them in others. Romans 1:24-32.
What does the Catholic Bible say will happen to any such unrepentant ones? Can you not realize that the unholy will not fall heir to the kingdom of God? Do not deceive yourselves: no fornicators, . . . no sexual perverts . . . will inherit God's kingdom. Yet, for such individuals there is a Bible-based discipline: disfellowshipping from the Christian congregation, even as Paul stated: I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral persons . . . , not associating with anyone who bears the title brother if he is immoral . . . It is clear that you must not eat with such a man. . . . Expel the wicked man from your midst.1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 6:9, 10, NAB.
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AWAKE!, August 22nd 1991 Issue, Page 29:
Watching the World
Shielding Pedophile Priests?
Some dioceses still shield priests accused of pedophilia, ran a recent headline in the U.S. newspaper National Catholic Reporter. The newspaper interviewed Jeffrey Anderson, a lawyer who specializes in cases of sexual abuse. He estimates that since 1985, when priestly pedophilia came under increased public scrutiny, there have been over a thousand cases in which priests molested children. Anderson had some harsh words for the church's response to the ongoing crisis: It is a continuing saga of avoiding responsibility, he charges, decrying the church's focus on protecting the accused clerics. As a general rule, the institutional response of the church has been willfully inadequate both in tending to victims and dealing with risks.
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AWAKE!, May 8th 1992 Issue, Pages 26-27:
What if a Minister Is Not Repentant?
Many religions of Christendom have tolerated ministers who practice sin. Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia became papal vice-chancellor, the highest administrative office in the Catholic Curia. For his notorious immorality, he was rebuked by Pope Pius II. Yet, even though he had fathered four illegitimate children, in 1492 the college of cardinals elected him to the papal throne! He continued his scandalous career as Pope Alexander VI. The toleration of unrepentant, debauched ministers throughout Christendom’s history has undoubtedly contributed to the corruption that we see in her today. What, then, is to be done if a minister is not repentant?
A Christian minister who practices serious sin and fails to provide evidence of repentance should be expelled from the congregation. The apostle Paul wrote: “Quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man. . . . ‘Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.’”--1 Corinthians 5:11-13.
Firm action protects the reputation of the congregation and sets it apart from those who ‘publicly declare they know God but who disown him by their works.’ The way a religion handles the problem of a minister who sins will help you to recognize if that religion is truly Christian.--Titus 1:16; Matthew 7:15, 16.
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AWAKE!, August 8th 1992 Issue, Page 28:
Watching the World
The Clergy and Sexual Abuse
Australian National Television recently broadcast a documentary entitled “The Ultimate Betrayal.” The program claimed that 15 percent of clergymen in Australia had committed sexual offenses, ranging from the molestation of children to the rape of women parishioners. Within hours of the television program, various centers set up to handle complaints of sexual assault were inundated with telephone calls from alleged victims. Many callers said they had kept their experience secret for many years. One woman said that she was speaking about her ordeal as a child for the first time in 40 years! Another said that after her clergyman had sexually abused her as a child, he threatened her with hellfire punishment if she dared to tell anyone. Spokesmen for various church groups disagreed with the 15-percent figure but did admit that the sexual misconduct of clergymen was a serious problem.
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AWAKE!, April 8th 1993 Issue, Page 31:
Victims of Pedophile Priests Speak Out
DURING the past decade, some 400 Roman Catholic priests have been reported to church or civil authorities for sexual abuse of children, according to U.S. News & World Report. Recently, a national gathering of survivors of such abuse was held near Chicago, Illinois. Many spoke openly of how they had been victimized by pedophile priests.
But NCR (National Catholic Reporter) notes that speakers sounded another theme repeatedly throughout the conference: The first abuse is sexual; the second and more painful, is psychological. This second abuse occurs when the church refuses to listen to victims of abuse, fails to take their accusations seriously, and moves only to protect the offending priests. Fairly or unfairly, NCR reports, they portrayed Catholic clergy as belonging to an unhealthy and misguided group more bent on preserving privilege and power than in serving lay needs. Several speakers made ominous comparisons to the Reformation, which split the church wide open in the 16th century.
According to Richard Sipe, a former priest turned psychotherapist and expert on sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, all this institutional denial reveals a deep, desperate and knowing personal involvement in the problem. He added: The church knows and has known for a long time a great deal about the sexual activity of its priests. It has looked the other way, tolerated, covered up and simply lied about the broad spectrum of sexual activity of its priests.
Not surprisingly, then, many abuse survivors are suing the church. NCR quotes one attorney who specializes in such cases as saying that there are pedophile-priest cases in each of the church's 188 dioceses in the United States . He says that out-of-court settlements have run as high as $300,000 per case. U.S. News & World Report says that such suits have already cost the church $400,000,000, a figure that could surge to $1 billion by the year 2000. And the Canadian Press reported recently that some 2,000 survivors of childhood sexual abuse in 22 church-run orphanages and mental institutions in Quebec are suing six religious orders for $1.4 billion in damages.
Interestingly, though, the aforementioned U.S. attorney, who represents 150 victims of pedophile priests in 23 states, says that he has never yet had a client who was eager to go to court. Each one first tried to seek justice within the pastoral context of the church. NCR concludes: Survivors go to the courts, it appears, not as a first resort, but as a last resort.
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AWAKE!, October 8th 1993 Issue, Pages 5-6:
(This Article is available on the Official Watchtower Society Website at this Address: http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/1993/10/8a/article_01.htm )
Tragically, adult society often unwittingly collaborates with child abusers. How so? By refusing to be aware of this danger, by fostering a hush-hush attitude about it, by believing oft-repeated myths. Ignorance, misinformation, and silence give safe haven to abusers, not their victims.
For example, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops concluded recently that it was a "general conspiracy of silence" that allowed gross child abuse to persist among the Catholic clergy for decades. Time magazine, in reporting on the widespread plague of incest, also cited a "conspiracy of silence" as a factor that "only helps perpetuate the tragedy" in families.
However, Time noted that this conspiracy is crumbling at last. Why? In a word, education. It is as Asiaweek magazine put it: "All experts agree that the best defence against child abuse is public awareness." To defend their children, parents must understand the realities of the threat. Don't be left in the dark by misconceptions that protect child abusers and not children.
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AWAKE!, November 8th 1993 Issue, Page 29:
Watching the World
Trouble in the Churches
The problem of sexual abuse in the church is not going to go away, reports The Toronto Star. Sexual scandals among church leaders are widespread. They are not limited to television evangelists and the Catholic Church. Abuse also happens in the Salvation Army, in the United Church, in the Presbyterian Church, noted a Salvation Army officer. Anglican Primate Archbishop Michael Peers said that such abuse is a deep-rooted and dark problem in the church. According to the Star, Archbishop Peers admitted that in the past this church's response to charges of sexual abuse has been denial and control. Timothy Bently from the Toronto Centre for the Family reportedly stated that if the churches do not face up to what is essentially a spiritual crisis openly and honestly their authority to preach on sexual ethics will crumble.
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AWAKE!, January 8th 1994 Issue, Page 28:
Watching the World
Church Insurance Against Abuse Claims
The Australian Catholic Church has taken out a multimillion dollar insurance policy to protect itself against claims of sexual abuse by priests, reports The Sunday Telegraph of Sydney, New South Wales. We admit it goes on, said a Catholic bishop in Melbourne, Australia. He asserts that such extensive insurance coverage is normal for that kind of offence. According to a support group for the victims, sexual abuse by the clergy is more widespread than the church admits. A spokesman for the group said he believes the church's focus is more on protecting the clergy than helping the victims. He added that the message at the very core of the church's documents is, don't tell the truth.
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The Watchtower, August 15th 1994 Issue, Pages 11-12:
Contrast With Christendom’s Clergy
3. In stark contrast, news reports have time and again revealed many of the clergy in some lands to be pedophiles, immoral swindlers, and frauds. Their works of the flesh and their extravagant life-styles are manifest for all to see. One popular songwriter expressed it well in his song entitled “Would Jesus Wear a Rolex [a very expensive gold watch] on His Television Show?” He asks the question: “Would Jesus be political if He came back to Earth? Have His second home in Palm Springs [a wealthy California community] and try to hide His worth?” How appropriate are the words of James: “You have lived in luxury upon the earth and have gone in for sensual pleasure. You have fattened your hearts on the day of slaughter.”—James 5:5; Galatians 5:19-21.
4. The clergy’s hobnobbing with politicians and even participating in elections as political candidates show them up as modern-day scribes and Pharisees. At the same time, in countries such as the United States and Canada, religion’s coffers are being drained by the high costs of litigation and judgments against clergy, resulting from their licentious conduct with children and adults.—Matthew 23:1-3.
5. Correctly, Jesus could say to the clergy of his day: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you resemble whitewashed graves, which outwardly indeed appear beautiful but inside are full of dead men’s bones and of every sort of uncleanness. In that way you also, outwardly indeed, appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Thus, God has not given to Christendom’s clergy, whether Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, or nondenominational, the commission to preach the good news. They have not proved to be the foretold “faithful and discreet slave.”—Matthew 23:27, 28; 24:45-47.
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The Watchtower, December 1st 1994 Issue, Page 6:
Christendom’s Denial of God
The most shocking denial of God’s authority comes from Christendom’s clergy, who have substituted man-made traditions for pure Bible truths. (Compare Matthew 15:9.) Additionally, they have backed the bloodiest wars of the 20th century, thus rejecting the Biblical command to display genuine love.—John 13:35.
The clergy have also denied God by turning their backs on his moral standards—as evidenced, for example, by a steady stream of lawsuits against pedophile priests. The situation of Christendom resembles that of ancient Israel and Judah. “The land is filled with bloodshed and the city is full of crookedness,” the prophet Ezekiel was told, “for they have said, ‘Jehovah has left the land, and Jehovah is not seeing.’” (Ezekiel 9:9; compare Isaiah 29:15.) Little wonder that many have abandoned Christendom’s churches altogether! But must they abandon belief in God?
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AWAKE!, February 8th 1995 Issue, Page 17:
...a Christian cannot excuse immoral behavior by saying he was ‘born that way.’ Child molesters invoke the same pathetic excuse when they say their craving for children is “innate.” But can anyone deny that their sexual appetite is perverted?
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AWAKE!, April 8th 1996 Issue, Pages 6-8:
Why Is the Church Losing Influence?
Do Clergymen Practice What They Preach?
The enormous wealth of the Catholic Church has always been an embarrassment to priests who work in impoverished parishes. It was even more embarrassing when the Vatican Bank was implicated in what Time magazine called “the worst financial scandal in postwar Italy.” In 1987, warrants were issued by Italian magistrates for the arrest of an archbishop and two other Vatican bank officials. Because of the Vatican’s special sovereign status, however, the accused churchmen avoided arrest. The Vatican Bank insisted that no wrongdoing had been committed but failed to erase the impression that the church was not practicing what it preaches.—Compare Matthew 23:3.
Highly publicized sexual misconduct has done even more damage. In May 1992 an Irish bishop, well-known for his endorsement of celibacy, asked his diocese to “forgive him” and “pray for him.” He was forced to resign after it came to light that he was the father of a 17-year-old boy and had used church funds to pay for his education. A month earlier a Catholic priest appeared on German television with his “companion” and their two children. He said he wished to “open a dialogue” on the matter of the clandestine liaisons that so many priests maintain.
The scandals inevitably leave their mark. Historian Guerri, in his book Gli italiani sotto la Chiesa (The Italians Under the Church), asserts that “for centuries the Church has scandalized Italians.” One result, he says, is the “development of widespread anticlericalism, even among the faithful.” Indignant Catholics may feel tempted to ask their clergy the same questions the apostle Paul put to the Romans: “You preach against stealing, for example, but are you sure of your own honesty? You denounce the practice of adultery, but are you sure of your own purity?”—Romans 2:21, 22, Phillips.
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The Watchtower, April 15th 1996 Issue, Pages 14-15:
16. What did Jesus say about the Jewish clergy of his day? “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the seat of Moses [to teach the Torah, the Law]. Therefore all the things they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds, for they say but do not perform.” Yes, religious hypocrisy is nothing new.—Matthew 23:2, 3.
17. The fruitage of false religion condemns it. The rule given by Jesus is so applicable: “Every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit; a good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, neither can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. Every tree not producing fine fruit gets cut down and thrown into the fire. Really, then, by their fruits you will recognize those men.” —Matthew 7:17-20.
18. If the religions of Christendom were conscientiously to apply the Christian discipline of disfellowshipping, or excommunication, for all the lawless acts committed by those claiming to be its members, what would happen? What would happen to all the unrepentant liars, fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, swindlers, criminals, drug peddlers and addicts, and members of organized crime? Unquestionably, Christendom’s rotten fruitage makes it fit only for destruction by God.—1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 2 John 10, 11.
19. The general assembly for the Presbyterian Church in the United States admitted: “We are facing a crisis terrible in its proportions and implications. . . . Between 10 and 23 percent of clergy nationwide have engaged in sexualized behavior or sexual contact with parishioners, clients, employees, etc.” A U.S. businessman summed up the point quite well: “Religious institutions have failed to transmit their historic values, and in many cases, have become part of the problem.”
20. Jesus’ denunciation of religious hypocrisy holds true today as it did in his time: “You hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about you, when he said, ‘This people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from me. It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.’” (Matthew 15:7-9) Paul’s words to Titus also describe our modern situation: “They publicly declare they know God, but they disown him by their works, because they are detestable and disobedient and not approved for good work of any sort.”—Titus 1:16.
21. Jesus said that if a blind man guides a blind man, both fall into the pit. (Matthew 15:14) Do you want to come to an end with Babylon the Great? Or do you want to walk in straight paths with your eyes open and enjoy Jehovah’s blessing? The questions that now confront us are: Which religion, if any, produces godly fruitage? How can we identify the true worship acceptable to God?—Psalm 119:105.
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The Watchtower, July 1st 1996 Issue, Page 7:
How Does God View Christendom's Worship?
“The Church Leader Should Be Without Fault”
THIS expression is from Titus 1:7, according to Today’s English Version. The King James Version reads: “A bishop must be blameless.” The word “bishop” comes from a Greek word meaning “overseer.” Thus men who are appointed to take the lead in the true Christian congregation must live up to basic Bible standards. If they do not, they must be removed from their position of oversight, since they are no longer “examples to the flock.” (1 Peter 5:2, 3) How seriously is this requirement taken by Christendom’s churches?
In his book I Care About Your Marriage, Dr. Everett Worthington refers to a survey of 100 pastors in the state of Virginia, U.S.A. Over 40 percent admitted to having engaged in some form of passion-arousing conduct with someone who was not their marriage partner. A large number of them had committed adultery.
“Over the past decade,” observes Christianity Today, “the church has been repeatedly staggered by revelations of immoral conduct by some of its most respected leaders.” The article “Why Adulterous Pastors Should Not Be Restored” challenged the common practice in Christendom of quickly restoring church leaders to their former positions after they have been “convicted of sexual sin.”
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Lasting Peace Brochure (1996), Page6:
5. Additionally, are the religious leaders and their flocks known for their adherence to high moral standards? Has not the media repeatedly exposed and reported on cases of child molestation and other corrupt practices among the clergy of Christendom? Some of the clergy openly support homosexuality and premarital and extramarital sex.
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AWAKE!, April 8th 1997 Issue, Pages 13-14:
Sexual Exploitation of Children - A Worldwide Problem
Religion Involved
A delegate of the Roman Catholic Church at the Stockholm congress declared that exploitation of children is the most heinous of crimes and a result of profound distortion and the breakdowns of values. Yet, the Catholic Church has been severely affected by such practices among its own clergy.
In the August 16, 1993, issue of Newsweek, an article entitled Priests and Abuse reported on the worst clerical scandal in the modern history of the U.S. Catholic Church. It stated: While allegations have been lodged against an estimated 400 priests since 1982, some churchmen extrapolate that as many as 2,500 priests have molested children or teenagers. . . . More than money, the scandal has cost the church severe embarrassmentand some of its moral authority. Other religions throughout the world are in the same situation.
Ray Wyre, a sex-crime consultant from the United Kingdom , told the Stockholm congress about two boys who had been sadistically abused by a priest. One of the boys is now running an agency for victims of child abuse by priests, and the other is himself an abuser.
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AWAKE!, April 8th 1999 Issue, Pages 6-7:
Betrayed by Those They Trusted
Sexual abuse of children by clergymen is also causing outrage. News reports from all over the world reveal the extent of child abuse by clergymen, sometimes even in the name of God. For example, a convicted Anglican priest told his ten-year-old victim that “God was speaking through him [the clergyman], and anything he did or anything [the boy] did was loved by God and therefore right.”
In Australia a review of the book The Battle and the Backlash: The Child Sexual Abuse War commented on child abuse by clergymen and others in positions of trust. It said that the organizations involved appeared to be concerned with limiting the damage to their own image and protecting themselves rather than protecting vulnerable children.
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The Watchtower, July 15th 2001 Issue, Page 21:
Are You Truly Tolerant?
(Balance Is Needed)
Of course, we need to avoid being overly tolerant. For instance, terrible damage is done when religious authorities tolerate abusive priests who persistently molest boys and girls. Treating the children as occasions of sin, commented one reporter in Ireland , the church authorities merely moved on the offending priest (to another location).
Is just transferring such a man an example of proper tolerance? Hardly! Suppose a medical body allowed an irresponsible surgeon to continue operating, transferring him from one hospital to another, even though he was killing or maiming his patients. A mistaken sense of professional loyalty might produce such tolerance. But what about the victims whose lives were lost or adversely affected because of negligent or even criminal practices?
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The Watchtower, June 1st 2002 Issue, Page 25:
Certain incidents in particular shocked me.... Another time, the principal of the Baptist school attempted to abuse me sexually. I learned afterward that he was a homosexual and had abused others. I pondered these things, wondering to myself, 'Does God approve of religions whose members and even whose leaders are not held accountable for gross sins'.
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NOW, the Watchtower Society is trying to make a defense of their OWN pedophile cover-up by claiming that they are "No worse than any other religion"!
Statements made to the Media by Official Watchtower Society Spokesmen about the Jehovah's Witnesses pedophile problem being "no worse than any other religion":
Christianity Today, January 26th 2001:
Witness spokesman [J.R.] Brown says that the incidence of pedophilia is no worse in his religion than in others, but he admits that some elders have not reported suspicions of abuse.
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The Paducah Sun (Kentucky) Newspaper - January 28th 2001:
Jehovah's Witnesses' handling of child sexual abuse criticized
By C.D. Bradley [email protected]
Mario Moreno, associate general counsel at the church's New York headquarters, said when church policy is applied to child molesters, "as a parent, an attorney and an elder, I'm comfortable with our policy."
[J.R.] Brown said the church does not necessarily equate reporting the matter to law enforcement to protecting the child because "not all the time does government authority provide the protection the child needs. We don't say automatically that, but unfortunately too many reports show that's the case. You can be sure they're going to take what action is necessary to see that the child is protected."
"It's a matter of trying to balance confidentiality and protecting the child," Brown said.
Moreno said he believes that while some of the church's critics on this topic have legitimate concerns, most "have a problem with pride" and "want the organization to change for them. We go by what we believe the Bible says, and we don't change for anybody."
He also said he feels the church is "being picked on" and added that he would be willing to put the church's policy up against any other.
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To find out all about the huge, massive, worldwide pedophile cover-up inside the Jehovah's Witnesses Organization, please go to http://www.silentlambs.org or E-Mail [email protected]