Round two of the Australian Royal Commission into institutional child abuse has all the makings of a very damaging event for the Organization, if what is going to happen to the Catholic Church is any indication.
Australian Royal Commision round 2
by no-zombie 17 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
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darkspilver
A message from Archbishop Mark Coleridge ahead of the final Catholic Church hearing of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
By now the Royal Commission into the institutional abuse of the young is into it's 4th year and it's been a long and agonizing but very important journey for the church and for many others as well. On Monday the 6th February they will begin the final hearing into the Catholic Church and it will go for about three weeks and I myself it seems will appear a number of times through that final hearing.
In those weeks the Royal Commission will try to do two things. It will ask the question first of all - what has the Church learned from the experience of the Royal Commission? What have we done on the basis of what we've learned and what will we do in the future? And that's a very important question. Secondly the Royal Commission will ask what were the cultural factors that led to the abuse in the Church and to the mishandling of the abuse by Church leaders. And that too is a very important question because it's not enough to change procedures and protocols. That has to happen, but we have to shift the culture. And that's a much more difficult thing to do. So that's why that second question - what were the cultural factors - is again a very important one.
Through these three weeks there will be some grim moments and there will be some shocks, inevitably. But they will also be a chance to tell a better story of what has been done, and what is being done now, and what will be done in the future to ensure that the future is very much better than the past has been.
We say this is the final hearing into the Catholic Church but in fact there will be a story to be told beyond the final hearing. The Commission will present its report at the end of the year. And that will be important but it will also have a long tail. The journey will continue long after the final report has been published. So I invite all of you to join me on the journey through the three weeks of this final hearing but the journey that stretches before us beyond that so that together we can do everything possible to ensure a better future for the Church; a better future particularly for young people; and even more particularly for those who have survived abuse, that justice and healing may be done to them So, a better future for them but for the whole of society as well.
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no-zombie
What's also interesting is the fact that we are getting another 'zone visit' by a GB helper at around the same time. Whether it is for the Royal Commission or not, who knows. But i wouldn't be surprised if the Australian Bethel is put on the market after this 'visit', when we remember that it was after the last one, that all printing done there was stopped. We'll just have to wait and see.
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LevelThePlayingField
This is very good news hopefully for the victims. With so many archbishops being called in, it makes me think that maybe a GB member or two might, just might be called to testify in March, hey who knows.
But for sure, I hope the ARC grills them good. And nice compensation for each victim would be really nice.
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freddo
Having heard this (darkspilver's video of Archbishop Mark Coleridge) and the Salvation Army leader's video from some weeks back I now wonder what the Jehovah's Witnesses will put up in their video prior to their final hearing ...
Tumbleweeds ... ?
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LevelThePlayingField
Just watched the video of Archbishop. Wow. The GB would never admit things like this. He actually invited everyone to watch with him. It starts on Feb 6th.
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no-zombie
Unfortunately I would think that it's highly unlikely we'll see another Governing Body member in the stand here. Geoffrey Jackson was definite in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught out. They'll just let the local branch committee take the heat, for sure.
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Spoletta
I'm looking forward to the Org critcizing the Catholic church for admitting their guilt.
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Richard Oliver
It appears from the ARC website that the second case study is about the policy changes that the ARC has recommended and that if any have been implemented by Watchtower.
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ZAPPA-ESQUE
The BBC [TV] has just reported 06 Feb (18h12 UTC+2) from Aus. on the current happenings within the ARC related to the RCC and the other parties under the spotlight at present. The correspondent mentioned that the ARC intends to issue its Final Report by Dec.2017.