Jehovah's Witnesses" (watchtower) New Child Abuse Letter

By Jarred Booth
News Hub
August 3, 2016

https://www.the-newshub.com/general/jehovahs-witnesses-watchtower-new-child-abuse-letter

The Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses has issued a letter to all bodies of elders, giving instructions on how to handle accusations of child sexual abuse among their members or individuals associated with the religion. Dated August 1, 2016, the letter replaces previous instructions given in October 2012.

The organization has been hit with a steady stream of lawsuits and investigations over the past several years, due to what is perceived as a poor record of handling child sexual abuse allegations. The most notable lawsuits are the Candace Conti and the Jose Lopez cases, both in California and both resulting in multi-million dollar payouts by Watchtower.

In 2015 the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse investigated the Jehovah's Witness religion, and currently the U.K. Charity Commission is working on conducting its own investigation.

The Australian Royal Commission called for sweeping changes in the way Watchtower responds to abuse allegations, including involving women in the decision-making process (I published an article in May regarding some of Watchtower's statements on women) and not being so strict with the "two witness rule" (this rule says that, in the absence of a confession by the abuser, or some definitive physical evidence, there must be a second witness to the abuse, or else no action is taken against the abuser). The Commission also called for elders to contact the relevant authorities regarding each accusation, something that can often be done anonymously.

But none of these suggestions were implemented in the new letter. Instead, it was more of the business-as-usual approach. Here are some of the statements:

"Legal Considerations: In some jurisdictions, individuals who learn of an allegation of child abuse may be obligated by law to report the allegation to the secular authorities. In all cases, the victim and her parents have the absolute right to report an allegation to the authorities."

At first glance, this may seem like a fair statement. Elders contact police where required by law, but leave it up to the parents when not required to. But the reality is much different. This is because the elders are given high regard and trust within the religion. When problems of this nature arise, particularly when both the abused and the abuser are part of the religion, congregation members are far more likely to inform the elders, and far less likely to contact police. Unless the elders actively encourage victims or their parents to notify authorities, the chances of them doing so are relatively low.

"These elders should carefully follow Scriptural procedures and the Bible-based direction outlined in this letter and in the Shepherding textbook, particularly chapter 5."

Chapter 5 of the elder's instruction manual, among other things, discusses the "two witness rule". In other words, those instructions don't change. But is the two witness rule really an unbendable 'Scriptural procedure' when it comes to allegations of abuse?

During the Australian Royal Commission investigation, a Bible text was brought to the attention of JW Governing Body member Geoffrey Jackson. That text was Deuteronomy 22:25-27: "If, however, the man happened to meet the engaged girl in the field and the man overpowered her and lay down with her, the man who lay down with her is to die by himself, and you must do nothing to the girl. The girl has not committed a sin deserving of death. This case is the same as when a man attacks his fellow man and murders him. For he happened to meet her in the field, and the engaged girl screamed, but there was no one to rescue her."

When I learned that Geoffrey Jackson was to appear before the Royal Commission on August 14, 2015, I emailed the Commission and suggested they draw attention to this text, on the basis that the Governing Body's interpretation of Scriptures is the primary issue when it comes to many of the policies put in place. These verses seem to indicate that punishment could be given even without a second witness.

Another Bible account I mentioned in the email, which was not discussed at the Commission, was First Kings 3:16-28. Here was the case of King Solomon, when issuing a ruling in which there was no second witness for either mother, used emotional reaction, with logic, as evidence to determine the real mother. This was the case even though Solomon apparently knew nothing about the women. So it can certainly be argued that elders, who would be much more familiar with both the accused and the accuser, can use their knowledge of the individuals, as well as the emotional distress of the victim, to determine the truth. So there is even Scriptural basis for the argument that the two witness rule need not be enforced in every situation.

"If wrongdoing is established and... the wrongdoer is repentant and is reproved, the reproof should be announced to the congregation.... If a person who has been disfellowshipped for child sexual abuse applies for reinstatement... If the decision is to reinstate..."

These statements are in line with the general policy of Watchtower: If a member does something that requires judicial action, they can remain a member if they repent. If the person is expelled, they can later apply for reinstatement as a Witness.

The problem is this: Watchtower needs to recognize that some crimes need to be taken much more seriously than others. But the religion has no "red line", so to speak, when it comes to repentance and reinstatement. Anyone, no matter how grave the action they committed, can eventually be brought back into the organization. So the solution is simple: NEVER EVER EVER allow child abusers to become or remain Witnesses, under any circumstances.

The reasons should be obvious. Both because Witnesses deal extensively with the public and because the Witness religion has a large number of children. This proposed policy is not un-Biblical. Deuteronomy 23:3-6 states: "No Am?mon·ite or Mo?ab·ite may come into the congregation of Jehovah. Even to the tenth generation, none of their descendants may ever come into the congregation of Jehovah, because they did not come to your aid with food and water when you were on the way going out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Ba?laam the son of Be?or from Pe?thor of Mes·o·po·ta?mi·a to curse you.... You must not work for their peace and their prosperity all your days to time indefinite." So based on this principle, Watchtower should have a list of actions that can permanently disqualify an individual from becoming a Witness, including child sexual abuse.

But as long as Watchtower refuses to make significant policy changes, their organization will continue to be a destination for paedophiles, because these know that they can get away with whatever they want, and the religion won't take any real action against them. Only in the minds of Jehovah's Witnesses is the removal of "privileges in the congregation" considered a sufficient punishment for raping a child.

The entire August 1, 2016 letter can be found on Reddit or by typing in "sendspace.com/file/" followed by "sqzgll"or by emailing watchtowerleak@gmail.com and requesting the file.