Silentlambs Update: Paul Berry and Sweden

by blondie 37 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

  • blondie
    blondie

    PAUL BERRY

    Today we received this comment/email of allegations regarding paul Berry, it
    appears Brother Berry may have a few problems, we were able to contact this
    person and it was interesting to find out that Berry was a major poster on the
    internet. He used the handle “Pablo” and was well known at the former forum
    witnesses.net and witnessonline.com. “Pablo” was a moderator at witnesses.net
    and well known to many JW’s across the USA. We wonder how many knew he was a
    convicted child molester.

    This person would be willing to verify this information with the Wilton body of
    elders all they need to do is contact silentlambs and we will be glad to provide
    them with additional information to see how willing they are to keep the
    congregation clean.

    It appears Brother Berry was removed as a ministerial servant when charges were
    first brought against him for not being “irreprehensible” and he was assured he
    would be reappointed as soon as his name was cleared. Yet how strange WT can go
    to court and help protect his rights as a convicted child molester? Though these
    allegations are unproven and it is doubtful that they will be pursued, would you
    want to talk to a brother like this on the internet? Is Berry still on the
    internet as “Pablo?” Perhaps a better question is how many “Pablos” are out
    there interacting with Jehovah’s Witnesses and using the internet to get away
    with conduct described below?

    Sobering questions for all to consider.

    Comments="To Bill:

    I have written before, but this information about Paul Berry is just making me
    sick! To see that the WT is defending him and saying that he is in good
    standing. I wonder what they would do if they knew that he was not coming
    forward and confessing his sins once again.

    I am disfellowshipped. I hate to admit this, but I know Paul Berry. He came to
    California to visit me. He did not tell anyone of his friends in New Hampshire.
    He and I engaged in loose conduct and ultimately fornication. Although not
    intercourse, shortly afterwards I read in the WT that what happened was
    considered fornication. When he planned another trip to see my while I was away
    in Arizona, he again said he was going to go even though I told him it was
    better not to. He insisted. I explained that engaging in porneia would be seen
    as "feet that run to badness" because he willfully was putting us in a situation
    without chaperones in a far away location. He came anyway. Porneia happened
    again. He made me so sick the way he treated people and me. The airport was
    the last I saw of him and he knew I was upset, angry and was probably ending our
    relationship.

    Of course, I did end it. But it was not without event and controlling behavior
    by him. By this time, I realized he was probably so verbally and emotionally
    abusive to his family and I was very sure that he was guilty of the rape of his
    children.

    He not only wanted to continue our relationship but he wanted me to come see him
    in October of 1999. I had long before purchased tickets. He was planning to
    whisk us off to Maine. I was adamant about not going and told him that what
    happened was not right and that we should go to the elders. He insisted that we
    planned on being married and that it was ok.

    So, if this information is useful to you, use it to say that he has a history of
    covering things up. And maybe he will confess if my name is brought up. Then
    maybe he will no longer be considered a JW in good standing.

    SWEDEN

    Sweden Massacre

    See the link on the front page of the website for pictures and background
    information.
    -----
    In an attempt to answer recent charges of child abuse coverups, Watchtower of
    Sweden reacted in a way that can only be described as shooting themselves in
    both feet. They circulated a letter to all congregations that basically singled
    out one person on the program and called him a liar. To add insult ot injury
    they then placed several thousand dollars in newspaper ads to print this same
    letter to media across Sweden.

    See a copy of advertizment on the website.


    This action resulted in a response from Anders, the young man that was slandered
    by this information. He simply put up an actual fact sheet of what the real
    facts were. You can read this fact sheet here, [go to website] as you can see
    this was pure evil against an abuse survivor directed by New York home office to
    punish this young man and his family. Anders mother called the Watchtower
    office in Sweden and asked from whom the information was obtained to make the
    allegations to media and the congregations, she was sent a written response.
    You can read an English translation here [go to website] as you can see the
    Watchtower put in writing that they took the word of the child moelster as a
    basis for their "fact sheet." This illustrates clearly what we have been saying
    since day one at silentlambs. Victims are silenced, called a liar or discredited
    and the child molester is protected and believed. Did the child molester have
    "two eye-witnesses?" Then why did Watchtower choose to take his word? It seems
    the "two eye-witness" principle only applies to raped children while child
    molesters are exempt. Can you see a problem with Watchtower policy?

    As a result of the actions of Watchtower the Swedish program
    "Mission/Investigate" decided to offer a followup to the program on 05/12/03.
    You can view the program here, [website] the program is in Swedish but you will
    notice at the end William H. Bowen is given the last word. His comment was made
    before the first program ever aired and ended up being a kind of prophecy for
    what happened to Anders in Sweden. The words were to the effect that no matter
    how accurate the information was presented it would be labeled as a product of
    Satan and those on the program would be discredited. It appears this is one
    prophecy that came true.

    silentlambs.org

  • Dansk
    Dansk
    Brother Berry

    Why's he still called "brother"? I can think of another word beginning with 'B' for this guy.

    Dansk

  • obiwan
    obiwan

    I'm wondering why there isn't a suit against the wt for defamation of character, clearly there is no basis for the ad that was circulated. After that fubar the wt should place several thousand dollars to the victim.

  • blondie
    blondie

    Dansk, Paul Berry is still in good standing in the congregation although he is in prison for raping his daughters. Evidently, the holy spirit has revealed to the elders that the girls were lying and that Mr. Berry is innocent.

    Blondie

  • obiwan
    obiwan

    It's time to kick some swedish meatballs!

  • Will Power
    Will Power

    Do they have a thing (mafia-like) where you give up your life & lie &/or kill, show ultimate loyalty for them - they do the same for you? Is berry protecting something / someone?

    just wonderin

    will

  • Dansk
    Dansk
    Do they have a thing (mafia-like) where you give up your life & lie &/or kill

    Mafia = Watchtower

  • Sunspot
    Sunspot

    [Paul Berry is still in good standing in the congregation although he is in prison for raping his daughters. Evidently, the holy spirit has revealed to the elders that the girls were lying and that Mr. Berry is innocent.]

    My GAWD!

    It gets thicker, deeper and smellier doesn't it........

    Annie..........handing out Barf bags

  • hawkaw
    hawkaw

    Translation of 2nd Swedish TV show from Silentlambs:

    After the Mission/Investigate report about the sexual abuse among Jehovah's Witnesses (which was aired 08.04.03) it first became silent, even though the reporter Janne Josefsson on several occations asked the leader of Jehovah's Witnesses for a commentary. Then came the answer – in the form of an advertisement which denied the accusations and claimed that the report was spreading lies. But it turned out that the whole advertisement builds entirely upon the story told by the abuser.

    A few weeks ago Mission/Investigate revealed that the congregations within Jehovah's Witnesses protect child abusers which have abused children in their own congregation. One of the victims which came forward was Anders who told how his congregation had dissuaded him from reporting the abuse to the police, and that he didn’t receive any support and the abuser was still an active Witness going from house to house Witnessing.

    Anders and his sister was the only ones who dared coming forward with their faces and names in the report, but there was also several other people who told similar stories from other congregations. In the report there is even a person in a congregation that admits to abusing a young girl.

    The leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses branch office in Sweden refused to be interviewed, unless they could formulate the questions that were going to be asked themselves, they also hid from the reporter. Instead the spokesman Bengt Hansson chose to respond to the report a few weeks later in the form of buying space in several newspapers, with money from their members. It was published in among others, Expressen, Göteborgsposten, Svenska Dagbladet and Kvällsposten. In this ad he claims that the report was misleading and unfair.

    The ad claims that Anders lied in the report, because "both of the involved were children (about 8 respectively 4 years) when the sexual abuse between them started… abd that they were still minors (14 and 10) when the abuse stopped in 1987."

    It also claimed that at the time during which the sexual acts had taken place none of the involved or their parents had been members of Jehovah's Witnesses. According to the ad Anders and his parents had also made a deal with the elders in the congregation not to report the abuse to the police or social authorities after the abuse was discovered.

    - I am astonished that no one from the Watchtower Society has contacted me or my parents before the ad was published, says a disappointed Anders to Mission/Investigate.

    Instead Anders received a letter from the branch office in Arboga, telling him that the facts in the ad build on information given by the person identified as the abuser in the report.

    - This is horrible. It isn’t true. The abuse did not stop when I was 10 years old and we were Jehovah's Witnesses when it happened. It isn’t true that we made a deal not to report anything to the police, says Anders

    Since the report was aired Anders and his family has received much support but also a lot of indignant reactions from members of Jehovah's Witnesses. Many of their friends have severed contact and they are being accused of running "satan’s errand". The congregation that Anders belong to has reacted with silence – a behaviour that further enhances the impression that Jehovah's Witnesses don’t support victims of sexual abuse but instead protect the perpetrator.

    Together with Janne Josefsson Anders decide to call the branch office in Arboga to ask the leaders why they chose to believe the abuser and not Anders. He gets Lars-Erik Eriksson on the phone, he refuse to answer Anders question and ask him to formulate his questions in a letter. When Janne Josefsson ask permission to ask some questions Lars-Erik Eriksson hang up the phone.

    One of the Newspapers which were asked to provide space for the ad but refused was Dagens Nyheter. The newspapers publisher and chief editor Jan Wifstrand chose this course after he himself was denied an ordinary interview with the Jehovah's Witness leaders.

    - If they don’t want to talk to us about what really is going on, they should not be able to buy ad space to do it, he adds.

    The advertisement published by Jehovah's Witnesses as an answer deals with only one of the examples of abuse and do not mention the other examples which were raised in the report.

    REPORTER: Jan Josefsson
    RESEARCH: Lars-Göran Svensson
    PHOTO: Rune Bergström
    EDITING: Åke Toresson

  • obiwan
    obiwan

    It also claimed that at the time during which the sexual acts had taken place none of the involved or their parents had been members of Jehovah's Witnesses. According to the ad Anders and his parents had also made a deal with the elders in the congregation not to report the abuse to the police or social authorities after the abuse was discovered.

    So it didn't happen, yet there's a cover up, oh brother.

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