Posts by AudeSapere

47

A few facts to ponder

by Nitty-Gritty in

i have been in correspondence recently with silentambs and a few interesting things have been highlighted.

some of you may know, that bill bowen has twice tried to get the fbi involved in investigating child molestation issues in the jws org.

this is what he said to me, i quote: we have reported to the fbi on two occasions and were rebuffed due to them not wishing to get involved with a religion.

AudeSapere

Nitty-Gritty wrote: "...Also, sorry to disappoint you, but most “worldly” people are not going to be “put off” by the JWs because of child molestation issues as they know this is prevalent in all society..."

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I agree with you on this point. Only the most naive person will believe they are completely immune to exposure to abusers and molesters.

The most off-putting part, however, is the absolute lack of compassion and the further victimization on the child by those in charge. Add to that the encouragement to *NOT* report the incident(s) to the police and you have a horrible psychological environment in a (church) community that is supposed to provide shelter and refuge on AT LEAST a spiritual/psychological/emotional level.

In other words, the way abuse reports are currently handled by the elders AFTER the report of abuse, heaps further abuse and then added isolation on the person who needs validation the most. This failure to respect and help 'heal' the victim in a *meaningful* way, is what is 'off-putting' to most rational people.

The 'handling' procedures and processes MUST change.

As with most traumatic events in people's lives, how the trauma is addressed AFTER the fact is often more impactful on an individual's future life and development than the actual trauma itself.

7

What would a JW do if their none JW neighbor molested their 9 year old daughter???

by James Mixon in

have anyone heard of a case where they (jw) turn the person over.

to the law???

?.

AudeSapere

Before we were witnesses, I was molested by a non-JW neighbor. (Decades later I found out the my younger brother was also molested by the same neighbor.)

I recall at the time that I *did* report the incident to my parent(s).

My parent(s)'s reaction at the time: He continued to be our babysitter.

When confronted in therapy 30 years after the incident, my parent(s)'s response: "Aude is just making it up. She's just looking for attention. And besides, I spoke with the guy's mother and she said he would never do anything like that."

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It may have just been a typical reaction/denial (or not) for the time period in which it occurred, but I'm not really sure. Some JWs prefer to stick their head in the sand and pretend everything is fine and they are great protectors and there is nothing they can do about anything anyway. Some non-JWs feel the same way.

Others act like grown-ups and take charge and responsibility for themselves and watch out for their children's best interest.

I would hope that modern-day (!!) JWs would not hesitate to action and would file a police report immediately whether the offender is JW or not.

I try to keep hoping that (all) people will due the right thing. Sadly, I am sometimes disappointed.

-Aude.

67

Branch Service Department Manual approves appointing Child molestors as Elders

by stuckinamovement in

http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/downloadfile.ashx?guid=7ba22716-556c-43c2-9fc6-76697afad440&type=exhibit&filename=wat.0001.004.0076&fileextension=pdf

AudeSapere

@BoC: God Bless the RC??

8

Invisibility - Not Just For Jesus, finds the Royal Commission.

by alfred newman in

so shocking!

the u.k. seems a bit on fire over the scandal there too.

people are upset about what the children have had done to them.

AudeSapere

@Alfred - There are many links at the end of your OP. Can you please tell me which link provides the text you posted? I would like to see where it came from.

Or... Is this letter from some other source??? Please advise.

Thank you in advance.

67

Branch Service Department Manual approves appointing Child molestors as Elders

by stuckinamovement in

http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/downloadfile.ashx?guid=7ba22716-556c-43c2-9fc6-76697afad440&type=exhibit&filename=wat.0001.004.0076&fileextension=pdf

AudeSapere

Dontcha love seeing the 'CONFIDENTIAL (RC)' watermark on each of the ten pages?

63

Nine Seconds that says it all. Have these elders any shame?

by Wasanelder Once in

what can i add?

this says it all.. elder on stand is mute till prompted.. .

i guess i could encourage you to watch to the end and a guest commentary, lol..

AudeSapere

It was a classic 2-minutes from the first 3 days of inquest. An uncomfortably long pause.

Somewhere here on JWD someone posted about 8 lines of text about what was probably going thru his mind. It would so incredibly funny if it wasn't so incredibly tragic.

Grateful to be out.

-AudeSapere. (meaning: Dare to Know; Dare to Have Wisdom/Understanding; Dare to Think for Yourself~!)

34

FMF Rant on Abuse and JW Apologists: The Single Root of the Whole Issue(s)

by freemindfade in

for the jw apologists, they debate certain factors to down play all the recent sex abuse information in the jehovah's witness organization.

and there is so much focus on "two witness rule" and "parents can report" the "elders aren't legal authorities" and many other smoke screen issues.

a lot of these issues and discussion are down stream from what i believe to be the root of the issue.

AudeSapere

(marking to read later)

19

WT Financial strategy to reduce liability - Create artificial debt!!!!!!

by Viva la Vida in

jw
friends

see this letter from the royal commission: .

letter from watchtower australia to governing body regarding transfer of funds between branches.

http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/downloadfile.ashx?guid=61967dc3-2203-4cca-8dc7-cd612c66645e&type=exhibit&filename=wat.0012.001.0023&fileextension=pdf.

AudeSapere

From the letter cited above: ... the principle of holding sufficient debt between branches to enable a claim to be made in the event that adverse circumstances endanger the property of the branch, is clearly made.

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Wow! How utterly calculating of the loving organization personally directed by Jehovah's Holy Spirit.

34

If Disfellowshipping pedophiles protects the congregation, what does it do for "Those Outside" they are expelled to?

by Wasanelder Once in

we all know the wt basis for disfellowshipping, (1 corinthians 5:9-13) 9 12 for what do i have to do with judging those outside?

do you not judge those inside, 13 while god judges those outside?

remove the wicked [man] from among yourselves.. if removing "the man" is a protection for the congregation and no police are called, what does it say about the witnesses view of the world?

AudeSapere

Hey, wasanelderonce...! in your OP you wrote:

They have no compunction about sending predators out in the world without warning them... Does this show contempt of the Witnesses towards their neighbor?

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I posted nearly the same thing last night :

AudeSapere16 hours ago... It's clear that for all their proselytizing, JW's have utter disdain for the non-JW population.

They had explicit and intricate knowledge of just how BAD these people were, yet felt no compunction to give notice to the authorities. The just set these guys free from the congregation and let them run rampant upon unsuspecting public.

27

Australia Evidence List is public and contains Elders Book

by Skidmarks in

there is so much information on the website of the hearing.

you can find the full transcripts of each day there as pdf.. but also the evidence list is very interresting.

it contains many confidential letters from congregations but also from the hq to branch offices.. the full list can be seen here: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/exhibits/636f01a5-50db-4b59-a35e-a24ae07fb0ad/case-study-29,-july-2015,-sydney.

AudeSapere

At this stage in each of our unique phases of spiritual development, it's kind of shocking (and saddening) to that we were blinded to the extreme control that we (willingly??) subjected ourselves to. And yet, many non-JW's also willingly subject themselves to all sorts of control from both religious and non-religious sources.

I don't think it is necessarily the government's job to police how much control an individual chooses to accept in their lives.

But I also think it *IS* government's and society's job to protect the innocent ones (children, for example) who are held captive without their consent. Thus the official subject of this hearing is: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The focus is on how the JW systems and processes deny rights and protection of CHILDREN within each and every congregation in Australia and around the world. The adults are really only involved to the extent that they interact with a child - ie: JC meetings; predator/abuser; parental consent/acquiesence; shepharding/lack of sheparding; protection (or lack of); compassion and support (or lack thereof).

I also believe that the evidence presented thus far in the commission's hearings clearly present the JW organization to *NOT* be the benevolent group that is charitable in their mission. The JW organization's main mission is Self-Preservation and Self-Promotion. There are no - ZERO - humanitarian programs in place to assist the community at large. There are barely any provisional programs in place to assist their own members. And certainly NONE to assist and support children.

Perhaps once the Royal Commission submits its findings, the charity commission will review the proceedings and open it's own investigation into the legitimacy of Watchtower's charitable/tax-exempt status???