Posts by InquiryMan

«The commission was due to conclude its hearings into the Jehovah's Witnesses on Wednesday but Justice McClellan said he will now call Geoffrey Jackson, a senior member of the church's governing body in New York who is currently in Australia, to appear next week. - See more at: http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2015/08/05/abuse-victims--face-cruel-choice---inquiry.html#sthash.ziVwn4S1.dpuf

Is this a valid scenario?

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The Guardian: JWs Church says it will comply with mandatory reporting of child abuse

by AndersonsInfo in

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/aug/04/jehovahs-witness-church-says-it-will-comply-with-mandatory-reporting-of-child-abuse.

august 4, 2015. australian associated press .

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..

InquiryMan

Happy to live in a country where JWs actually do report to police in matters of child abuse.

http://www.nrk.no/norge/slik-svarer-jehovas-vitner-nrk-1.10660487

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Interesting development

by InquiryMan in

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/08/04/jehovahs-witnesses-change-abuse-rules.

.

jws in australia agrees to change procedures in regards to reporting abuse..

InquiryMan

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/08/04/jehovahs-witnesses-change-abuse-rules

JWs in Australia agrees to change procedures in regards to reporting abuse.

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another abuse that most JW children go through is severe "spankings" at the hall..is that still going on?

by wwjdnwt in

i was born into the jw's religion.

was an active jw for over 30 years.

i remember when i was a child my mom would take me in the bathroom and switch me so hard with the nice little switch she got from the tree outside.

InquiryMan

Abandoned decades ago in Scandinavia.

We have laws that prevent it...

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News item in Sweden on Child abuse Royal commission Australia

by InquiryMan in

already on its first day of hearing, this case makes headlines on the other side of the globe.

swedish regional newspaper carries this coverage:.

http://www.vk.se/1496701/jehovas-vittnen-dolde-sexovergrepp.

InquiryMan

Major Swedish newspapers have also picked up the news, as well as Finnish news media and Danish newspapers:

http://ekstrabladet.dk/112/jehovas-vidner-i-australien-skjuler-sexovergreb-mod-boern/5662257

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Update on Royal Commission

by umbertoecho in

paedophiles repeatedly promoted to positions of authority in jehovahs witness church royal commission told.

1 hour ago july 27, 2015 12:45pm.

counsel assisting the royal commission, angus stewart sc has told the royal commission that church elders could now face criminal charges.

InquiryMan

I guess that 1000 cases during a period of 65 years cannot be turned into a fact that 1,42 per cent of JWs are pedophiles...

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The Report - BBC Radio 4 about Jehovah's Witnesses and Child Sexual Abuse can now be heard

by AndersonsInfo in

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0612hjs.

the report about child abuse and jehovah's witnesses is now live.. jehovah's witnesses handle child abuse cases.

jehovah's witnesses and child sexual abuse, the report - bbc radio 4 .

InquiryMan

I guess that is way an article entitles «The Naive Person Believes Everyt Word» was published in the October study version of the Watchtower... in a futile effort to prevent such news to be spread among the witnesses.

“The Naive Person Believes Every Word”

“Foolish is the man who never reads a newspaper; even more foolish is the man who believes what he reads just because it is in the newspaper.”

—August von Schlözer, German historian and publicist (1735-1809).

If a person could not trust everything that was written in a newspaper over 200 years ago, the same applies to much of what can be read on the Internet in the 21st century. A huge amount of information—true and false, useful and worthless, harmless and dangerous—is now available, thanks to modern technology. We must be very selective about what we consider worthy of our attention. Especially could those who are new to the Internet conclude that a report or a news item, however strange or sensational, is true simply because it is online or because a friend sent it via e-mail. For good reason, the Bible warns: “The naive person believes every word, but the shrewd one ponders each step.”—Proverbs 14:15.

How can we become “shrewd” and identify hoaxes, urban legends, swindles, and other misinformation that may appear on our computer screens? First, ask yourself: ‘Is the item from an official, reliable website or from a blog or an unknown source? Has it already been exposed on anti-hoax websites?’ *

[Footnote.] * Be aware that previously exposed hoaxes and urban legends resurface now and then, sometimes slightly altered to make them appear genuine. [End of Footnote.]

Then, use “good sense.” (Proverbs 7:7) If a news item seems unbelievable, it probably is. Furthermore, when the information discredits others, think about who would benefit from such news being spread and whether the source has ulterior motives in spreading it.

Compulsive Forwarders

Some—often in search of attention—are fixated on being the first to spread news and forward it to all their contacts without checking its authenticity or considering the consequences. (2 Samuel 13:28-33) However, if we are “shrewd,” we will think about the possible damage this could cause, perhaps to the reputation of a person or an organization.

It takes effort to verify news. That is why some decide simply to leave it up to the recipient to determine if it is credible. But how much time will it take for him to do that? Time is precious. (Ephesians 5:15, 16) Instead of thinking, “If in doubt, send it out,” it would be better to adopt the motto, “If in doubt, throw it out!”

Ask yourself: ‘Have I become a compulsive forwarder of e-mails? Have I ever had to write my contacts to apologize for having sent them information that turned out to be incorrect or an outright lie? Has anyone ever asked me to stop forwarding e-mails?’ Remember that whoever is on your e-mail contact list also has access to the Internet and is therefore able to look for things of interest without your help. They do not need to be inundated with funny stories, video clips, or slide shows. It is also unwise to forward recordings or transcripts of Bible talks. *

[Footnote.] * See Our Kingdom Ministry, April 2010, “Question Box.” [End of Footnote.]

Furthermore, forwarding research material, verses extracted for Bible study, or answers to use at congregation meetings would detract from the value of each individual’s personal preparation.

And what should you do if you find slanderous news about Jehovah’s organization on the Internet? Such material should be firmly rejected. Some feel that they must bring it to the attention of others to get their opinion, but all that does is propagate the malicious information. If we feel troubled about something we see on the Internet, we should ask Jehovah for wisdom and speak to mature brothers about it. (James 1:5, 6; Jude 22, 23) Jesus, who was the object of false accusations, warned his followers that enemies would persecute them and “lyingly say every sort of wicked thing against [them].” (Matthew 5:11; 11:19; John 10:19-21) We need to use “thinking ability” and “discernment” to identify “the man speaking perverse things” and those “whose entire course is devious.”—Proverbs 2:10-16.

Respect the Right of Others

We also have to be careful about news or experiences of a spiritual nature that we receive secondhand. Even if a report is true, it does not necessarily mean that it should be spread. There may be times when it would be neither right nor loving to distribute true accounts to others. (Matthew 7:12) For example, it is neither loving nor upbuilding to spread gossip, even though the information may be true. (2 Thessalonians 3:11; 1 Timothy 5:13) Some news may be of a confidential nature, and we should respect the right of others to divulge the information at the proper time through the appropriate channels. Spreading information ahead of time can do much harm.

Today it is possible to spread news—true or false, useful or worthless, harmless or dangerous—at an incredible speed. Anyone who sends an e-mail or a text to even one person has to realize that whether it was intended or not, the content could travel all over the world in a flash. May we therefore resist the urge to forward information quickly and indiscriminately. When we read sensational news items, remember that love is not unduly suspicious; nor is it naive or gullible. Above all, love refuses to believe malevolent insinuations about Jehovah’s organization or lies about our brothers that are circulated by people who are slaves to “the father of the lie,” Satan the Devil. (John 8:44; 1 Corinthians 13:7) Thinking ability and discernment will help us become “shrewd” and consider how to handle responsibly the increasing amount of information available to us on a daily basis. As the Bible says, “the naive will inherit foolishness, but the shrewd are crowned with knowledge.”—Proverbs 14:18.

Pictures on pages 30, 31: Should I forward a sensational e-mail to someone else?

Box on page 32

[Box.] Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Hit Send:

❑ Is this information from a reliable source?

❑ Is this information confidential?

❑ Will this information damage someone’s reputation?

❑ Has anyone ever asked me to stop forwarding e-mails? [End of Box.]

For further information, please visit our website at www.jw.org.

The End

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