Posts by ScenicViewer

23

Canadian Newspaper Willing to Cover Watchtower Child Abuse Issue

by headisspinning in

i have been in touch with a canadian reporter for a major newspaper.

she is interested in covering the candace conti story but needs to make it relevant to canadians.

so, she has asked if there is a canadian victim of child abuse who would be willing to speak with her.

ScenicViewer

Many readers will know this, but several years ago The Fifth Estate, a Canadian investigative news magazine, did a report on the JW child molesting problem in Canada. It may be of interest to your reporter contact if she isn't already aware of it.

1) To view it you will have to select a media player. I use Windows Media Player, but other players will likely work too.

(Video quality is not so good, but audio quality and the overall reporting are excellent)

http://www.watchtowerdocuments.com/documents/2002_Fifth_Estate_Spiritual_Shepherds.wmv

-- OR --

2) On YouTube (No media player needed)

Part 1, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XIgz6mmfkU

Part 2, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cPTijd4NzY

Part 3, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS-UrESDzN8

3) A transcript of the report,

http://www.rickross.com/reference/jw/jw140.html

35

Was the Verdict of the Candace Conti lawsuit a Win-Win for the WTS?

by rip van winkle in

why did the wts not try to settle this lawsuit before going to trial as they had so many times previously?

was it presumptiousness on the part of the society's lawyers and gb?

had this been settled it would have hardly caused a whimper.. it got me to thinking that although the verdict of $28 million is unheard of, it may actually further the wts to make their claims that they are the only true religion.. reason being- if the monetary award is overturned then they will say it was jehovahs will.

ScenicViewer

If the WTS verdict is upheld then they will say it is Satan who is trying to destroy the Society and this is the proof we're so close to the end.

There are some issues that the Society could successfully spin that way. Neutrality issues for example, such as voting, military service, and flag saluting. These involve personal choices that mostly revolve around freedom of religion.

The Candace Conti case is different because it involves child molesting and policies that keep congrgation members from knowing who the molesters in their midst are, thus increasing the risk of children being victimized. It will be much more difficult to spin that into being "persecuted by Satan" than some of the other issues.

The tide of public opinion is currently running very high against molesters and those who cover up for them. As masterful as the Society is at spinning the facts, I think it is between a rock and a hard place on this one, and agree with james-woods; it's lose-lose for Watchtower.

9

Looking for Candice Conti Video Interview

by dontplaceliterature in

jw
friends

@ barbara anderson or anyone else who knows.... is there going to be a video interview sometime?

i thought i saw it mentioned on another thread, but haven't seen anything.

with all the other molestation scandles receiving video coverage lately, you would think this would also get a nod.

ScenicViewer

@ Dogpatch,

Keep in mind that Katherine (mother of Candace) and Candace are still technically Jehovah's Witnesses (the father never joined).

I thought I read somewhere that Candace was never baptised (I could easily be confused). Is she baptised? Does she attend meetings, or is she active in other ways?

Is Katherine baptised? Active?

Any information that you can share is appreciated.

23

Not Breaking News: Jehovah's Witnesses Watchtower Under Police Investigation

by Scott77 in

police inquiry over jehovah's witness magazine 'mentally diseased' articlehttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8791196/police-inquiry-over-jehovahs-witness-magazine-mentally-diseased-article.html.

telegraph.co.uk</form>sunday 24 june 2012. homenewsworldsportfinancecommentblogsculturetravellifefashiontechdatingoffersjobspoliticsobitseducationearthsciencedefencehealthscotlandroyalcelebritiesweirdhomenewsreligionpolice inquiry over jehovah's witness magazine 'mentally diseased' articlean official magazine for jehovah's witnesses that described those who leave the church as "mentally diseased" is at the centre of a police inquiry, it has emerged.the watchtower is the official magazine of jehovah's witnesses photo: alamy9:58am bst 27 sep 2011. detectives are investigating whether the article, published in julys edition of the watchtower, is in breach of britains religious hatred laws.. the article, published in the magazine which is distributed by jehovah's witnesses across the globe, reportedly warned followers to avoid "false teachers" which it condemned as being "mentally diseased".. "suppose that a doctor told you to avoid contact with someone who is infected with a contagious, deadly disease," part of the article stated.. "you would know what the doctor means, and you would strictly heed his warning.

well, apostates are 'mentally diseased', and they seek to infect others with their disloyal teachings.".

ScenicViewer

Rick Fenton, the Witness spokesman quoted in the article, said,

"Any one of Jehovah's Witnesses is free to express their feelings and to ask questions," he said. "If a person changes their mind about Bible-based teachings they once held dear, we recognise their right to leave."

He neglected to mention that if a person leaves because he has 'changed his mind' about Watchtower teaching the truth, that person is then viewed as as a 'mentally diseased apostate,' and shunned.

He's telling a half-truth, which is the same as a lie.

It's so easy to see through their (JW's) dishonesty when you've been away from it for a while.

20

Stabbing at my old kingdom hall yesterday

by irondork in

jw
friends

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20120622/news/306220009/woman-stabbed-outside-bible-study?odyssey=nav%7chead.

a man stabbed his wife outside her church thursday afternoon at kingdom hall on old spartanburg road, authorities said.. leonard edwards jr., 46, was being held thursday night in the greenville county detention center on charges of attempted murder and possession of a knife during commission of a violent crime, according to master deputy laura campbell of the sheriffs office and jail records.. the woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital, campbell said.

she said the woman was stabbed once in the back.. about 30 to 40 church members were present for the bible study, campbell said.. a man asked the woman to come out of the church, and she did, campbell said.. she then ran back into the church followed by a man armed with a knife, campbell said.. the man had knocked her to the ground and stabbed her, she said.. when deputies arrived, congregation members were holding a man in the sanctuary, campbell said.. .

ScenicViewer

Very glad to hear the woman was not seriously injured. Must have been terrifying for her.

Any idea what set the husband off?

97

I think the Society might drop its appeal over the Conti case

by cedars in

i've been giving some thought to the recent development in which the judge has ruled that the society is barred from completing any property transactions until the appeal is over, which could take up to two years or even more.. i've submitted an article to randy at freeminds in which i basically argue that it is no longer in the society's interests to appeal this case.

if i correctly understand the restrictions placed on the society by the judge, then the governing body has far more to lose by appealing than they could conceivably gain.. think about it.... by appealing, they buy themselves time in which to formulate a long-term strategy for dealing with the fallout of this case, but will be barred from liquidating $1 billion in property assets at a time of global economic uncertainty when their donations are dwindling.

there is also no guarantee that their appeal will be upheld.by dropping their appeal, they take a hit and pay $23.8 million but retain the freedom to see through their real estate projects; retain their financial flexibility to respond to dwindling donations, and get to pretend to their followers (as with the un scandal) that it never happened.of course, i am only saying that dropping the appeal would be the only intelligent option for the society, assuming they are aware of how legally precarious their child abuse policies are.

ScenicViewer

Diamondiiz,

Thanks for the input. I was not aware of that. I wonder if it was in Judge Rutherford's time. Sounds like something he might say.

Edit: Found one.

(W 9-1-1986, p28)
"A similar situation exists in the Christian congregation. Some individuals are used quite prominently, but others play rather inconspicuous roles as rank-and-file publishers of the Kingdom message."

I used the Watchtower CD. Found it pretty quickly, so there may be lots of other similar references. I guess I didn't read my Watchtower very well.

97

I think the Society might drop its appeal over the Conti case

by cedars in

i've been giving some thought to the recent development in which the judge has ruled that the society is barred from completing any property transactions until the appeal is over, which could take up to two years or even more.. i've submitted an article to randy at freeminds in which i basically argue that it is no longer in the society's interests to appeal this case.

if i correctly understand the restrictions placed on the society by the judge, then the governing body has far more to lose by appealing than they could conceivably gain.. think about it.... by appealing, they buy themselves time in which to formulate a long-term strategy for dealing with the fallout of this case, but will be barred from liquidating $1 billion in property assets at a time of global economic uncertainty when their donations are dwindling.

there is also no guarantee that their appeal will be upheld.by dropping their appeal, they take a hit and pay $23.8 million but retain the freedom to see through their real estate projects; retain their financial flexibility to respond to dwindling donations, and get to pretend to their followers (as with the un scandal) that it never happened.of course, i am only saying that dropping the appeal would be the only intelligent option for the society, assuming they are aware of how legally precarious their child abuse policies are.

ScenicViewer

I. Balaamsass said,

The Wtbts attorney has done such a great job.....Is he possibly a closet apostate ?

Well, attorney McCabe did use the term "rank and file" when describing Jonathan Kendrick's status in the congregation. (See Contra Costa Times article)

(I'm not actually saying that McCabe is working against Watchtower, that would be too much to hope for. It does seem odd that he would use such a term though. I have never heard one of Jehovah's Witnesses use language like that. Maybe he resorted to such language because it benefitted his case, which was to say Kendrick is really nobody of importance in the congregation. It wouldn't be odd to the jury to hear the 'rank and file' term.)

II. Not long ago Watchtower put up 60 Million Euros, held in escrow, while the France taxation case was being appealed to the European Court of Human Rights. If Watchtower can put up that kind of cash, it likely won't have any trouble scraping $24 Million together, to post in escrow, to free up it's billion dollars worth of real estate assets.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/218392/1/French-Branch-Wins-Tax-Money-back-from-European-Court

68

For Immediate Release JW-MEDIA.org post response to child sex abuse verdict

by BlindersOff1 in

http://www.jw-media.org/usa/20120620.htm .

just plain old corporate denial.

let the games begin.. .

ScenicViewer

strymeckirules noted,

"The jury rendered a multimillion-dollar damage award to a woman who claimed that she was molested as a child by a member of a local congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses." (From Watchtower's official Media web site.)

"they use the word "claimed" in such a way that it suggests she was lying and that this part of the case was not proven." (strymeckirules)

I too was struck by their use of the word 'claimed.' In reality there is no question that Candace Coti was molested by a Jehovah's Witness. The real issue in the trial was whether or not Watchtower contributed to the crime by it's policy of keeping the presence of known child molesters in a congregation secret from it's members, thereby putting them at risk.

By now saying 'a woman claimed she was molested...' the Society is using a bait-and-switch tactic to draw the attention of Jehovah's Witnesses and the public away from the real issues of the trial, and are making it look as if a lie is being perptrated against the Society and Jehovah's Witness members.

The ones really lying (cleverly) are the Governing Body and JW Media. Shameful!

3

Abuse case in the news @ The Netherlands

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

the child abuse case has reached the news in some newspapers @ the netherlands, europe..

ScenicViewer

Are these hard copy papers only, or are they posted online? Can you post a scan or a weblink?

Thanks for this information!

126

Candace Conti video on YouTube - let's send it viral!

by cedars in

i've uploaded a video that discusses the dramatic jury verdict regarding the abuse suffered by candace conti, of which you are all aware.

if you're not yet familiar with the story for any reason, please check out my blog article on the link below.... http://jwsurvey.org/general-information/the-watchtower-punished-society-loses-legal-battle-over-child-abuse-case.

john hoyle suggested i get a youtube video out fairly quickly so that we can spread the message more effectively online.

ScenicViewer

I just saw the video and like it alot. Despite a small technical point or two, the video is excellent because it gets to the points of what happened in Coti's case, what the Watchtower policies are that contributed to her molestation (keeping a known pedophile secret from the congregation, thus endangering other children), and does so in a non-sensational, docuentary-like fashion.

I honestly believe this video would get my attention if I was an active Witnesses.

The quality of the writing and narration are superb!