Posts by brinjen

10

I'm so excited, i'm going to see Beyonce in concert.

by free2think in

so i'm going to see madam bootylicious herself in concert in a couple of hours and i just thought i'd share this with you lovely people and ask your opinion.

it has been said that she has become over exposed of late, as she seems to be everywhere.

i don't think so personally, i say good luck to her.

brinjen

Sounds like you had a great night, good to hear

23

Where did the WTS condemn the Catholics for pedophilia?

by AK - Jeff in

i did a search of the publications - perhaps i used the wrong words, though i thought i used the correct combinations.

i can find plenty of condemnation of catholic church, but nothing that specifically condemns the catholic church for the pedophilia issues within.

i was sure that they had done so over the years - but was i just reading my jw taught judgementalism into articles that weren't specific?.

brinjen

Hmmm, it's that last paragraph in particular...

Interestingly, though, the aforementioned U.S. attorney, who represents 150 victims of pedophile priests in 23 states, says that he has never yet had a client who was eager to go to court. Each one first tried to seek justice "within the pastoral context of the church." NCR concludes: "Survivors go to the courts, it appears, not as a first resort, but as a last resort."

I wonder do they still feel that way? Or have they received new light?

23

Where did the WTS condemn the Catholics for pedophilia?

by AK - Jeff in

i did a search of the publications - perhaps i used the wrong words, though i thought i used the correct combinations.

i can find plenty of condemnation of catholic church, but nothing that specifically condemns the catholic church for the pedophilia issues within.

i was sure that they had done so over the years - but was i just reading my jw taught judgementalism into articles that weren't specific?.

"DURING the past decade, some 400 Roman Catholic priests have been reported to church or civil authorities for sexual abuse of children," according to U.S.News&WorldReport. Recently, a national gathering of survivors of such abuse was held near Chicago, Illinois. Many spoke openly of how they had been victimized by pedophile priests.

But NCR (NationalCatholicReporter) notes that speakers sounded another theme repeatedly throughout the conference: "The first abuse is sexual; the second and more painful, is psychological." This second abuse occurs when the church refuses to listen to victims of abuse, fails to take their accusations seriously, and moves only to protect the offending priests. "Fairly or unfairly," NCR reports, "they portrayed Catholic clergy as belonging to an unhealthy and misguided group more bent on preserving privilege and power than in serving lay needs." Several speakers made ominous comparisons to the Reformation, which split the church wide open in the 16th century.

According to Richard Sipe, a former priest turned psychotherapist and expert on sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, all this institutional denial reveals "a deep, desperate and knowing personal involvement in the problem." He added: "The church knows and has known for a long time a great deal about the sexual activity of its priests. It has looked the other way, tolerated, covered up and simply lied about the broad spectrum of sexual activity of its priests."

Not surprisingly, then, many abuse survivors are suing the church. NCR quotes one attorney who specializes in such cases as saying that there are pedophile-priest cases in each of the church’s 188 dioceses in the United States. He says that out-of-court settlements have run as high as $300,000 per case. U.S.News&WorldReport says that such suits have already cost the church $400,000,000, a figure that could surge to $1 billion by the year 2000. And the Canadian Press reported recently that some 2,000 survivors of childhood sexual abuse in 22 church-run orphanages and mental institutions in Quebec are suing six religious orders for $1.4 billion in damages.

Interestingly, though, the aforementioned U.S. attorney, who represents 150 victims of pedophile priests in 23 states, says that he has never yet had a client who was eager to go to court. Each one first tried to seek justice "within the pastoral context of the church." NCR concludes: "Survivors go to the courts, it appears, not as a first resort, but as a last resort."

8th April 1993 Awake 'Victims Of Pedophile Priests Speak Out'

23

Where did the WTS condemn the Catholics for pedophilia?

by AK - Jeff in

i did a search of the publications - perhaps i used the wrong words, though i thought i used the correct combinations.

i can find plenty of condemnation of catholic church, but nothing that specifically condemns the catholic church for the pedophilia issues within.

i was sure that they had done so over the years - but was i just reading my jw taught judgementalism into articles that weren't specific?.

brinjen

The

RomanCatholicChurch

The Catholic Church is blunt in its disapproval of homosexuality, branding it a gross sin. But in practice the church conducts a cover-up for guilty priests and even makes it possible for them to continue their sexual perversions. Certainly, Pope John Paul II had warm words for homosexuals when he declared: "They are in the heart of the church."

An independent Catholic newspaper, the NationalCatholicReporter, of February 27, 1987, said that homosexual clergy estimated that 50 percent of the U.S. Catholic priesthood is homosexual. This figure is contested. One psychologist, basing his statement on 1,500 interviews, says that 20 percent of the 57,000 U.S. Catholic priests are homosexual, whereas more recent reports make "other therapists think the true figure today may be closer to 40 percent."

Just over a year ago, newspapers across the country were flooded with reports of sexual assaults on children by Catholic priests. The following report from the San Jose, California, MercuryNews, December 30, 1987, is typical:

"At a time of heightened national awareness of the problems of child abuse, the Catholic Church in the United States continues to ignore and cover up cases of priests who sexually molest children, according to court records, internal church documents, civil authorities and the victims themselves.

"Church officials insist that a notorious 1985 Louisiana case in which a priest molested at least 35 boys has taught them to deal firmly with the problem. But a three-month Mercury News investigation reveals that in more than 25 dioceses across the country, church officials have failed to notify authorities, transferred molesting priests to other parishes, ignored parental complaints and disregarded the potential damage to child victims. . . . Millions of dollars in damages already have been paid to victims and their families, and one 1986 church report estimated that the church’s liability could reach $1 billion over the next decade."

The "notorious 1985 Louisiana case" mentioned in the MercuryNews report concerned a priest named Gilbert Gauthe. There has been a "payment of $12 million to his victims." The homosexual activities of Gauthe were known for many years, but ‘the diocese handled the problem by transferring him from parish to parish at least three times.’ In one instance "parents testified that Gauthe sodomized their 7-year-old son on his first day as an altar boy and for a year afterward, until the priest was transferred."

The "damage to child victims" was also mentioned in that report. Sometimes the damage is final. One 12-year-old boy took his life, leaving a note saying that "it wasn’t worth living" after having been "made a virtual sex slave of a Franciscan brother." Another, molested by a priest, hanged himself after telling his brother, "Contact Father S.— and tell him I forgive him."

Most sexual assault cases involve boys, but many girls are also victimized. As reported by the Cleveland PlainDealer of December 19, 1987, a 16-year-old girl and her parents filed a civil suit in 1986 against seven priests for sexual molestation. She had become pregnant, and the priests urged her to get an abortion. When she refused, they arranged to send her to the Philippines to cover up her pregnancy. The church is against homosexuality and abortion but apparently not when it involves their own priests.

The newspaper reports go on and on listing many specific cases of Catholic youths sodomized by Catholic priests, of millions of dollars being paid out to settle lawsuits, of many settlements made out of court, and of insurance companies that "will no longer cover diocesan personnel against molestation charges."

Thomas Fox, editor of the NationalCatholicReporter, says: "There has been a national cover-up of the problem for years by the bishops." Eugene Kennedy, a former priest and now psychology professor at Loyola University, says: "What you see in the courts is just the tip of the iceberg." Thomas Doyle, Dominican priest and canon lawyer, declares: "The sexual molesting of little boys by priests is the single most serious problem we’ve had to face in centuries."

Awake 22nd January 1989 'Christendom Walks In The Way Of Canaan'

24

Help Needed on Problems with WTS

by WT=watchtrouble in

hi everyone, hope this finds you all well!

i am in the process of getting out, but could do with help.. i am wanting to know more of the doubts/concerns, cover ups/scandals and abuse etc.

i keep getting asked why i am no longer going but find it hard to have material to back up what i am saying.

brinjen

brinjen, not sure how to take your comment!! Yes I know that the top left hand corner takes me to the discussions!really trying to get assistance with proving with facts some of the errors and was hoping for website links that back things up. Things like how 607BCE is incorrec as an example.
Accept my apologies if I have taken you post the wrong way.

That's OK, reading it again it didn't come across the way I intended....

Some web links: http://www.jehovahswitnesstruth.com/ http://www.letusreason.org/JWdir.htm http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/2919/ Hope you give them hell!

24

Help Needed on Problems with WTS

by WT=watchtrouble in

hi everyone, hope this finds you all well!

i am in the process of getting out, but could do with help.. i am wanting to know more of the doubts/concerns, cover ups/scandals and abuse etc.

i keep getting asked why i am no longer going but find it hard to have material to back up what i am saying.

brinjen

Sorry to burst your bubble but you won't be exposing anything as they won't listen to you.

On the other hand, if you want do this for your self esteem by knowing you stood up to them, why not start by browsing this forum? Click on 'Jehovahs Witness Discussion Forum' near the top left hand corner of your screen. That will take you to the subjects page with plenty of relevant titles and more than enough information to stump any elder.

29

Some posters spend a sh*tload of time on here every day!

by yaddayadda in

jw
friends

brinjen

I'm no 11, guess I should have tried harder

24

Sorry if done before..10 Songs that best describe being a JW???

by ilovegravy in

jw
friends

this may have been done before, but i was wondering what songs best describe your life as a jw.. 1. road to nowhere.

talking heads.

2. road to hell.

brinjen

1. 'Til The End - The Living End

2. Paradise (Not For Me) - Madonna

3. Far Side Of Crazy - Wall Of Voodoo

4. Minority - Green Day

5. This Is Pressure - Eskimo Joe

6. The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani

7. Temptation Waits - Garbage

8. Your Redneck Past - Ben Folds Five

9. Waiting For That Day - George Michael

10. Land Of Confusion - Genesis

61

Zone talk by David Splane - Four figurative giants - Education etc

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

found this interesting talk on e-watchman's site.

it was given by david splane, a gb member.. the talk is really interesting as it gives a more focused look at the troubles the society is facing as it trys to cope with education, peer pressure etc.. .

http://e-jehovahs-witnesses.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=454.

brinjen

Than he discussed the disadvantages of university. People always think you need a certificate to find a job. He said that the situation currently is that too many people have a degree and some people even have to pretend you don't have a degree to find a job.
If you have a degree eg computer sciences and you start working at Bethel in the kitchen, what advantage will you have with a degree in computers, you won't use the knowledge. And if you need to stop working at Bethel after 15 years of service, than your degree is worth nothing, because the technology has evoluated.
So basic point is you definitely don't need a degree, you're better without it.
Than he also gave some examples of brothers/sisters who worked at Bethel and had to leave Bethel because they were expecting kids. They easily found a job with the things they learned at the theocratic school.

So the message here is give up any thoughts of having a life and just resign yourself to their service (translated to english).

51

how do you feel about mandatory military service?

by The Humper in

jw
friends

i was watching the democratic debate on tv today, well some of it, and this was one of the topics.

personally i think that it woldnt be a bad thing at all.

many countries do it and have no problems.

brinjen

I don't think the US government is a good role model of "work ethics" and "responsibility" nor would I want my children under that much control by the government no matter what type of spin they put on it.

Good point frankiespeakin, for the discipline angle how about something more noble such as helping with the rebuilt of New Orleans?