Posts by EdenOne

127

PORTUGAL: Filed a petition to the parliament to erase the legal entity of the Jehovah's Witness

by EdenOne in

based on legal arguments that revolve around violations of several articles of the portuguese constitution, and of the law of religious freedom, a petition to the portuguese parliament has been set in motion to extinguish the legal entity that represents the jehovah's witness in portugal and remove this community from the national register of recognized religions protected by law.

the petition does not seek to ban the jehovah's witness as a whole in the country.

the petition denounces the institutional policy of shunning former members as a violation of basic human rights and psychological torture, and asks the portuguese legislators and judicial authorities to take action to stop this abuse, and suspend legal recognition to the branch office entity until the policies of shunning are changed.

EdenOne

smiddy3
I`m sorry if this question has been answered before Eden One ,have you also sought out other ex JW sites to get people to sign this petition ?

Yes, on reddit and also on the portuguese ex-JW forum. Some reddit users also shared the petition to other european reddits.

Portugal is a small country with 50.000 witnesses and a tradition of poor civic participation. If the petition was about soccer I would get 10.000 signatures, but human rights? Mehhh

Interestingly at the portuguese forum, we have received threats from Watchtower apologists, threatening us with death and calling us insignificant demon-controlled worms for challenging Jehovah’s organization. How loving these people are....

127

PORTUGAL: Filed a petition to the parliament to erase the legal entity of the Jehovah's Witness

by EdenOne in

based on legal arguments that revolve around violations of several articles of the portuguese constitution, and of the law of religious freedom, a petition to the portuguese parliament has been set in motion to extinguish the legal entity that represents the jehovah's witness in portugal and remove this community from the national register of recognized religions protected by law.

the petition does not seek to ban the jehovah's witness as a whole in the country.

the petition denounces the institutional policy of shunning former members as a violation of basic human rights and psychological torture, and asks the portuguese legislators and judicial authorities to take action to stop this abuse, and suspend legal recognition to the branch office entity until the policies of shunning are changed.

EdenOne

search
Are there are time periods involved?

The law of petition doesn’t specify any time interval for gathering signatures. Because the date of March 9th is very symbolic (40th aniversary of the adoption by Portugal of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), I am inclined to submit the petition on that date. But we’ll see how the collection of signatures goes. No pressure.

127

PORTUGAL: Filed a petition to the parliament to erase the legal entity of the Jehovah's Witness

by EdenOne in

based on legal arguments that revolve around violations of several articles of the portuguese constitution, and of the law of religious freedom, a petition to the portuguese parliament has been set in motion to extinguish the legal entity that represents the jehovah's witness in portugal and remove this community from the national register of recognized religions protected by law.

the petition does not seek to ban the jehovah's witness as a whole in the country.

the petition denounces the institutional policy of shunning former members as a violation of basic human rights and psychological torture, and asks the portuguese legislators and judicial authorities to take action to stop this abuse, and suspend legal recognition to the branch office entity until the policies of shunning are changed.

EdenOne

It's the case of the proverbial mouse standing against the elephant, JD.

127

PORTUGAL: Filed a petition to the parliament to erase the legal entity of the Jehovah's Witness

by EdenOne in

based on legal arguments that revolve around violations of several articles of the portuguese constitution, and of the law of religious freedom, a petition to the portuguese parliament has been set in motion to extinguish the legal entity that represents the jehovah's witness in portugal and remove this community from the national register of recognized religions protected by law.

the petition does not seek to ban the jehovah's witness as a whole in the country.

the petition denounces the institutional policy of shunning former members as a violation of basic human rights and psychological torture, and asks the portuguese legislators and judicial authorities to take action to stop this abuse, and suspend legal recognition to the branch office entity until the policies of shunning are changed.

EdenOne

I think it's an interesting civilizational discussion to have, to say the least.

I feel strongly that institutionalized shunning and discrimination cannot be allowed to a religious entity, especially when that is used as a form of punishment that extends beyond the boundaries of the membership to said institution, which is the case in question. And it causes real suffering and pain to real people, both in and out of the religious community.

I recognize the right to excommunicate someone, in the sense of ceasing communion or spiritual fellowship; also, it's not my business to decide how that is implemented, albeit I could argue for hours how the Bible and the history of the early christian church doesn't grant shunning as defined by the Governing Body. But what goes beyond that termination of spiritual fellowship, in the way we know JW's do, it's simply not acceptable in this 21st century. Change must come.

127

PORTUGAL: Filed a petition to the parliament to erase the legal entity of the Jehovah's Witness

by EdenOne in

based on legal arguments that revolve around violations of several articles of the portuguese constitution, and of the law of religious freedom, a petition to the portuguese parliament has been set in motion to extinguish the legal entity that represents the jehovah's witness in portugal and remove this community from the national register of recognized religions protected by law.

the petition does not seek to ban the jehovah's witness as a whole in the country.

the petition denounces the institutional policy of shunning former members as a violation of basic human rights and psychological torture, and asks the portuguese legislators and judicial authorities to take action to stop this abuse, and suspend legal recognition to the branch office entity until the policies of shunning are changed.

EdenOne

John Davies dixit :)

But, there's more:

"Article 21

Hearing of petitioners

1. The hearing of the petitioners during the examination and investigation shall be mandatory before the parliamentary committee or its delegation whenever the petition is signed by more than 1000 citizens.

2. The hearing may also be decided by the parliamentary committee on meritorious grounds, duly substantiated, having regard, in particular, to the scope of the interests concerned, their social, economic or cultural importance and the gravity of the situation which is the subject of the application."

This is also what we're aiming for.

325 signatures.

127

PORTUGAL: Filed a petition to the parliament to erase the legal entity of the Jehovah's Witness

by EdenOne in

based on legal arguments that revolve around violations of several articles of the portuguese constitution, and of the law of religious freedom, a petition to the portuguese parliament has been set in motion to extinguish the legal entity that represents the jehovah's witness in portugal and remove this community from the national register of recognized religions protected by law.

the petition does not seek to ban the jehovah's witness as a whole in the country.

the petition denounces the institutional policy of shunning former members as a violation of basic human rights and psychological torture, and asks the portuguese legislators and judicial authorities to take action to stop this abuse, and suspend legal recognition to the branch office entity until the policies of shunning are changed.

EdenOne

Out of curiosity, then what? - Morpheus

Then, with 1000 signatures, the petition can not be dismissed on the basis of inadmissibility and the petitioner must be given an audience at the parliament to present the case. The petition also gets published in the official "Diário da República" paper, where all the laws are also published.

296 signatures

127

PORTUGAL: Filed a petition to the parliament to erase the legal entity of the Jehovah's Witness

by EdenOne in

based on legal arguments that revolve around violations of several articles of the portuguese constitution, and of the law of religious freedom, a petition to the portuguese parliament has been set in motion to extinguish the legal entity that represents the jehovah's witness in portugal and remove this community from the national register of recognized religions protected by law.

the petition does not seek to ban the jehovah's witness as a whole in the country.

the petition denounces the institutional policy of shunning former members as a violation of basic human rights and psychological torture, and asks the portuguese legislators and judicial authorities to take action to stop this abuse, and suspend legal recognition to the branch office entity until the policies of shunning are changed.

EdenOne

Update: The petition has gathered 262 signatures in 8 days since it went online. 1/4 of the goal of 1.000 has been reached.

127

PORTUGAL: Filed a petition to the parliament to erase the legal entity of the Jehovah's Witness

by EdenOne in

based on legal arguments that revolve around violations of several articles of the portuguese constitution, and of the law of religious freedom, a petition to the portuguese parliament has been set in motion to extinguish the legal entity that represents the jehovah's witness in portugal and remove this community from the national register of recognized religions protected by law.

the petition does not seek to ban the jehovah's witness as a whole in the country.

the petition denounces the institutional policy of shunning former members as a violation of basic human rights and psychological torture, and asks the portuguese legislators and judicial authorities to take action to stop this abuse, and suspend legal recognition to the branch office entity until the policies of shunning are changed.

EdenOne

Diogenesister
Thank you Eden . I hope my drivers liscence will do as my passport has expired recently.

Remember: You should be a citizen of one of the countries of the E.U. in order that your vote counts.

And yes, I think your driver's license should do it.

127

PORTUGAL: Filed a petition to the parliament to erase the legal entity of the Jehovah's Witness

by EdenOne in

based on legal arguments that revolve around violations of several articles of the portuguese constitution, and of the law of religious freedom, a petition to the portuguese parliament has been set in motion to extinguish the legal entity that represents the jehovah's witness in portugal and remove this community from the national register of recognized religions protected by law.

the petition does not seek to ban the jehovah's witness as a whole in the country.

the petition denounces the institutional policy of shunning former members as a violation of basic human rights and psychological torture, and asks the portuguese legislators and judicial authorities to take action to stop this abuse, and suspend legal recognition to the branch office entity until the policies of shunning are changed.

EdenOne

Update: 200 signatures

127

PORTUGAL: Filed a petition to the parliament to erase the legal entity of the Jehovah's Witness

by EdenOne in

based on legal arguments that revolve around violations of several articles of the portuguese constitution, and of the law of religious freedom, a petition to the portuguese parliament has been set in motion to extinguish the legal entity that represents the jehovah's witness in portugal and remove this community from the national register of recognized religions protected by law.

the petition does not seek to ban the jehovah's witness as a whole in the country.

the petition denounces the institutional policy of shunning former members as a violation of basic human rights and psychological torture, and asks the portuguese legislators and judicial authorities to take action to stop this abuse, and suspend legal recognition to the branch office entity until the policies of shunning are changed.

EdenOne

Eden I couldn't get it to Google translate for me. If you just tell me what info they ask for in what order I can do it. - Diogenesister

They ask for (Field 1) Your name, (Field 2) An identity document number, (Field 3 - optional) Leave a comment.

The public won't be able to see the full name of the person. The petitioner won't be able to see the ID document number. After voting you will receive an email to reconfirm that you have voted. Remember, only votes from citizens from E.U. countries count, even if you are living outside the E.U.