CHILD MOLESTATION: How have they been able to hide it for so long?

by Zoos 29 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  Zoos

  I was in the organization until 2011.

  I N-E-V-E-R heard of this problem. Not even a whisper. No, child molestations in religious settings only happened in Satan's churches. I know the organization itself would never speak of it, but surely victims did. How did we not hear of it? Was I particularly naive and insulated? Was it not being reported by the news? How? Surely some of those cases were reported to police.

  How did the JW problem not come out at the same time as the Catholic scandal in the 90's... at the very least?
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  Zoos

  It occurs to me that the Watchtower cult is an insignificant American religious cult and just not on the mainstream media's radar. Also, has child molestation been ticked up on the list of important stories?
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  nowwhat?

  When the dateline story came out in the 90's I assumed it was apostates making a big deal out of a few isolated incidents.
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  ToesUp

  The internet! Back in the "old days" we didn't even know who the GB were or what they looked like. Once the internet came to be, the ball started rolling.
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  LV101

  Child molestation is part of the WT's history. I know of older woman (in 60s now) who was molested by an older loser JW in hall when she was only 8 or 10 in Minnesota. Why her mother would allow/trust a man to drive her home (her mother didn't attend that particular night) after the meeting is beyond me. It's not the only case I heard about.

  What a filthy organization always condemning every other religion to deflect their own horrors/reputation. They kept it quiet and concealed for years by attacking the poor victim.
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  hillfy333

  The Watchtower is an organization of in house secret keeping. I was always told when in, that the brothers on the judicial committee were under holy spirit direction. So when they say someone is unrepentant, this finding is in agreement with the judgement in heaven. Once the announcement is made, the decision is God approved and final, so no one was to question the decision. This also applied to those who were found repentant, regardless of what they may have done. If one started quietly questioning their findings, the elders would remind one their decision is final, and if one continued to spread one's own personal thoughts, it would be considered slander.

  If one persisted in gossiping, then disfellowshipping was on the cards. This is how the circle of silence was maintained.
  
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  jayjay78

  i had it hammered into me at an early age - not to bring reproach on jehovahs name. everything had to be dealt with internally ..if at all.

  brothers who had a business deal that went sour were encouraged to handle it away from the courts.

  anything to do with sex went straight to the elders and rarely any further.
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  The Fall Guy

  I finally came to the realisation that the multi-billion dollar corporation which is poses as the WTBTS, is an active and willing participant in this "system of things" - a system which it condemns as being Satan's.

  As such, its P.P.S. (paedophile protection scheme) has been covered over by paedophiles who are in the higher echelons of our societies. In the UK, such paedophiles are generally exposed after they've died.
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  eyeuse2badub

  jehober kept it secret for decades to protect his "name people" but that damned old satan blew it wide open. Another case of evil conquering good!

  just saying!
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  Vidiot

  As a result of a number of factors over the decades, Watchtower subculture and ideology evolved in a way that - intentionally or otherwise - created an environment where the abuse problem became pervasive, endemic, and institutionalized...

  ... to the point where the Watchtower hierarchy became even more preoccupied with keeping the rank-and-file from grasping the full scope of the problem than concealing it from secular authorities.

  In addition, very recent allegations suggest that a prominent Governing Body member was a known abuser, and actually in charge of the efforts to keep the problem quiet for decades until his death.