AUSTRALIA
news.com.au
A ROYAL commission has heard that Jehovah’s Witnesses rely on a biblical text, which also recommends the stoning of adulterous women, when it comes to judging child sex abusers in their midst.
BUT in the case of child abusers, the Book of Deuteronomy rule about needing two witnesses to a wrongdoing is applied, which in effect means it is highly unlikely the allegation against the abuser will be proved.
The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah and sets out rules and laws based on Moses’ teachings before the Israelites entered the Promised Land.
At the national hearing into how the theocratic church handles allegations of child sex abuse, Elder John de Rooy on Monday quoted Deuteronomy.
“No single witness may convict another for any error or any sin he may commit. On the testimony of two witnesses rules, or on the testimony of three witnesses the matter should be established.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.