Posts by sparrowdown

the jehovahs witness church says it will comply with mandatory reporting obligations when they learn about sexual abuse crimes against children in their congregation.. a royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse has heard that the theocratic church records more than one child abuse allegation every month yet in 60 years has never reported them to police.. in the second week of a hearing into the churchs handling of abuse incidents, the head of the communitys service desk, rodney spinks, acknowledged they dealt with matters internally and did not encourage reporting to police.. the service desk under the auspices of the churchs legal entity, the watchtower bible and tract society australia, is the first point of contact for elders looking for advice on how to deal with child abuse reports.. spinks said the first issue addressed is the safety of the child, and elders are referred to watchtower publications on the matter.. they are also given generic advice based on a handbook that says they should never suggest not reporting the allegation to police.. spinks acknowledged they had not had a practice, against the wishes of the victim or otherwise, to directly report to police.. the commission chair, peter mcclellan, pointed out there were mandatory reporting obligations when a crime had been committed.. spinks said he had been made aware of this in these hearings and the church would accept and comply with mandatory reporting, regardless of our strongly held religious belief that individuals should have the right to decide what is done with that information.. he said when there were mandatory reporting requirements with some sort of uniformity across the country we will happily and willingly comply.. mcclellan pointed out that uniform laws were not yet in place and they would differ from state to state but they would impose a criminal sanction on a person who knows [about an abuse crime] and does not report.. spinks said he understood that.. mcclellan said the church needed to have a very good look maybe with the help of the churchs lawyers at what the law provides.. the commissioner also pointed out that what the jehovahs witnesses were doing was different to what other churches might be doing because you might be taking allegations and resolving, as you see it, the truth of the allegation by reason of your process.. the commission has heard that the jehovahs witness process is based on a biblical rule that the wrongdoing is only proven when there are two witnesses, and expect the abuse victim to confront the abuser..

sparrowdown

The thing is Rodney Spinks is not in a postion to speak for the GB or Aus Branch for that matter.

Any changes to WT practice and procedure or ammendments to the flockbook will come via HQ not Spinks.

39

Rodney Spinks' Performance

by maksutov in

it seems like there has not been as much discussion here about the rc testimony on day 6 (4th august) as there has been about previous days.

i was quite surprised by rodney spinks' testimony, which was a marked contrast to the bungling and inarticulate testimony of the elders that appeared before him.

spinks seemed reasonably co-operative, and a lot more willing to concede points than anyone else has been.

sparrowdown

This jerk doesn't have the authority to yay or nay any changes.

1

I am curently watching applwhite being ripped to shreds by rc

by poopie in

jw
friends

this is great.

sparrowdown

Shredded apple is great in coleslaw, btw.

38

Samuel Herd 3 min video - the most misogynistic words I ever heard from a "godly man"

by paradisebeauty in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=72&v=9vvqxf9uwu0.

sparrowdown

So why did they hire a female "expert" to speak on their behalf at the ARC?

According to them female expert is an oxymoron.

😉Or maybe a foxy moron!

23

Rodney Spinks Lies...

by iwasblind in

hi guys.

i actually have had dealings with rod and found him to be a very reasonable and "non-robotic" man in the past.. i know it should not surprise me, but i was disappointed to hear his lies and half-truths.. they know their stuff and are not easily led, but he tried to lead the royal commission to believe that 2 people could be involved in investigating a claim - which is wrong.. his lack of memory on what parts of the judicial process are biblical - hello - none are.

there are no scriptures that backup the use of 3 men, a body of elders, cutting people off from family and friends, restrictions, etc.. he also lied about the gb being involved in policy creation and changes.. his statement that in all cases, elders are told to inform parents that they can go to the authorities and get the full support of the congregation is not verifiable.

sparrowdown

You said it yourself "you found him to be very reasonable."

Maybe because you weren't asking him questions about how the WT handles child abuse.

These guys suffer from multiple personality disorder.

Or maybe that is "becoming all things to all people."

39

Rodney Spinks' Performance

by maksutov in

it seems like there has not been as much discussion here about the rc testimony on day 6 (4th august) as there has been about previous days.

i was quite surprised by rodney spinks' testimony, which was a marked contrast to the bungling and inarticulate testimony of the elders that appeared before him.

spinks seemed reasonably co-operative, and a lot more willing to concede points than anyone else has been.

sparrowdown

Yes, his repeatedly reminding the Commision that "we've already gone over this" was pompous to the extreme.

You could tell this whole being expected to answer questions thingy that these worldly birdfood people have set up

was completely getting on his tits.

17

Angus Stewart - Captions Please

by cofty in

angus stewart's facial expression says what he thinks about rodney spink's prevarication.... .

.

sparrowdown

Ha, ha I have put up my ARC force field. Your stinking WT lazer beams can't hurt me Sir!