Saw this in the paper today:
The Jehovah's Witnesses Church in Australia is the latest religious
group to come to the attention of the Royal Commission into
Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
The child sex abuse royal commission will hold a public hearing into
controversial Christian group the Jehovah's Witnesses, next month.
The
inquiry, to be held in Sydney, will hear from people who were allegedly
sexually abused within the Jehovah's Witnesses Church in Australia.
It
will examine how the Jehovah's Witnesses Church and its company, the
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia, responded to claims
of child sexual abuse within the organisation.
A Victorian inquiry
into how churches handle child sex abuse claims has previously taken
submissions from former Jehovah's Witnesses who alleged instances of
paedophilia, sexual assault, blackmail and death threats.
The organisation has 64,000 active "disciples" in Australia but has also been described as a cult.
Jehovah's
Witnesses believe their church is the one true religion and all others
are wrong. They are among a number of religious groups which have been
examined by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child
Sexual Abuse including the Catholics, Anglicans, Australian Christian
Churches and the Salvation Army.
The Jehovah's Witnesses
Australian headquarters has been contacted for comment about the inquiry
which is scheduled to begin on July 27.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/nsw/jehovahs-witnesses-to-appear-before-sex-abuse-royal-commission-20150622-ghue73.html