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← The Unexpected Kindness of the World
Elders shamed under questioning by the Royal Commission →
Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower
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Posted on July 27, 2015
Angus Stewart, Senior Council, at the public hearing into allegations of child sexual abuse by Jehovah’s Witnesses
Angus Stewart, Senior Council, at the public hearing into allegations of child sexual abuse by Jehovah’s Witnesses
Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard shocking evidence that 1,006 alleged perpetrators of child sex abuse were identified by the organization in Australia going back to 1950, but none were reported to the authorities.
The Commission was launched in 2013 with a broad remit to investigate serial child abuse in institutions, including religious organizations such as the Witnesses and the Catholic Church.
At the opening hearing held today, Angus Stewart, the senior council assisting the commission, described the church as an “insular sect with rules designed to stem the reporting of sexual abuse.”
According to Stewart’s written opening submission, the figure of 1,006 perpetrators was derived directly from Watchtower documents summoned (subpoened) by the Commission…
During the investigation of this case study, Watchtower Australia produced some 5,000 documents pursuant to summonses issued by the Royal Commission on 4 and 28 February 2015. Those documents include 1,006 case files relating to allegations of child sexual abuse made against members of the Jehovah’s Witness Church in Australia since 1950 – each file for a different alleged perpetrator of child sexual abuse.
Stewart’s submission goes on to explain the astonishing findings from analyzing these case files…
Evidence will be put before the Royal Commission that of the 1,006 alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse identified by the Jehovah’s Witness Church since 1950, not one was reported by the Church to secular authorities. This suggests that it is the practice of the Jehovah’s Witness Church to retain information regarding child sexual abuse offences but not to report allegations of child sexual abuse to the police or other relevant authorities.
As part of the hearing two Witnesses, identified as BCB and BCG, are expected to give testimony that elders discouraged them from reporting their abuse. One of these victims is apparently “riddled with guilt for betraying the Jehovah’s Witness Church.”
The hearings are being streamed live to Australians, and doubtless will cause further humiliation for an organization already under siege for negligence regarding child molestation.
Governing Body member Stephen Lett recently insisted that claims of child abuse mishandling are nothing more than “apostate-driven lies and dishonesties,” but added to courtroom defeats in the United States and Britain, this latest news coming out of Australia suggests otherwise.
1,006 unreported alleged perpetrators since 1950 is an appalling statistic, and if used to extrapolate historic figures around the world, the number of concealed pedophiles could easily number into the tens of thousands.
It will be interesting to see what conclusions are drawn by the Commission, and how this will impact the fate of the organization, not just in Australia, but further afield. Certainly Tony Morris’ recent claim that the Governing Body are “proud” of their reputation concerning child abuse is becoming increasingly preposterous.
One child who suffers unnecessarily due to Watchtower’s negligence on the issue would be a child too many, and yet according to this public hearing, in just one country of many, the pain and trauma of sex abuse has been ignored and covered-up on an unimaginable scale.
new-cedars-signature3
Further reading…
◾ABC news report
◾New York Post report
◾Guardian report
◾Daily Telegraph report
◾BBC report
◾MSN report
◾Friendly Atheist article
◾Freethinker article
◾For an updated list of media reports, click here
◾Royal Commission website
◾Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh
◾JWsurvey articles on child abuse
Related videos…
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← The Unexpected Kindness of the World
Elders shamed under questioning by the Royal Commission →
102 Responses to Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower
Newer Comments →
Kat says:
July 27, 2015 at 9:03 am
Another newspaper report.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/paedophiles-repeatedly-promoted-to-positions-of-authority-in-jehovahs-witness-church-royal-commission-told/story-fni0cx12-1227458483269
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Mama Joy says:
July 27, 2015 at 10:34 am
Exactly! They are promoted because they are encouraged to do it behind the scenes. People don’t want to believe it, but they are a huge sex trafficker of children.
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WTS Archive says:
July 28, 2015 at 3:47 am
These reports are all over the world. In Poland every major news outlet reported on that, which is pretty big, because they didn’t report previously on Candace Conti’s case.
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David says:
July 27, 2015 at 9:13 am
I watched the video. So the elder abused many times a girl and he was just removed from his position. Nothing else. His reputation was intact and the congregation was not informed. I know people that have been disfellowshipped for far less for making a single mistake. These people have lived without association with loved ones and severely humiliated.
And this guys walks away with no discipline.
And also the watchtower knowing all these cases criticise the catholic church. There are no words to describe them.
I think this videos should be shared with the same zeal JWs share the catholic churchs child abuse videos and new reports.
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Mama Joy says:
July 27, 2015 at 10:36 am
They only made him step down his position of elder so the parents felt like something was done about it. If the parents were okay with it, nothing would have been done.
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Sarah says:
July 27, 2015 at 8:56 pm
My thought exactly. This guy associates freely and I get disfellowshipped, myself and children robbed of our families forever because I put up a Christmas tree. I can’t even handle the unfair, cruel way that they operate. And the way people just go right along with it. It makes me physically sick.
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Rowland Nelken says:
July 27, 2015 at 9:54 am
The Charity Commissioners in the UK have yet to deliver their report on the Watchtower’s continuing status as a charity. There are several legal cases pending in the US and UK against the Watchtower for protecting paedophiles.
Will the JWs ever come up with any other script than lies and denial? This, surely, will become increasingly untenable. Even the dutiful JWs who obey the edicts not to visit apostate websites cannot avoid hearing the news on national media.
Christendom’s sects have come and gone over the centuries. Of the many 19th century Methodist breakaways, for example, only the Salvation Army remains. JWdom, that little Adventist spinoff from the 1870s may soon become but a grubby little footnote in the 2000 year history of Christendom.
That day cannot come too soon.
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rob says:
July 27, 2015 at 10:24 am
From all that I see that is happening with this religion, it appears that its expiry date is very close or has already passed. Just need someone to pull it out of the back of the refrigerator and throw it away. It will not be missed by me.
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Miguel says:
July 29, 2015 at 6:18 am
I like your analogy. This religion needs to be discarded for good.
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Meredith J says:
July 29, 2015 at 2:11 pm
That’s right. Rotten to the core. Dissolved as it has just been based on lies.
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coverspiff says:
July 27, 2015 at 10:28 am
I’ve watched all three videos so far, and the sheer incompetence of the elders giving testimony is astonishing, especially the ex CO/DO who clearly has no idea what his own religions policy is and is corrected multiple times by the Judge as to what the elders handbook actually says.
This is astonishing watching, especially in the moments where the two elders are confronted by the flaws in the way the W/T handles these cases. You can see it dawn in their faces as that practices such as making an victim confront their abuser is a terrible thing to do, but also that they simply cannot say so out-loud for fear of criticising the Organisation. That first elder almost comes very close to admitting it in video 2 after the council skilfully uses questions to illuminate this point to him, but you can see him frantically and shamefacedly back out at the last moment from agreeing that the policy is terribly flawed.
Gifts in men.
Yeah.
Right.
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Mama Joy says:
July 27, 2015 at 10:31 am
It’s not that they cover up sex abusers, it’s that they have sex rings with children.
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Average Joe says:
July 27, 2015 at 12:58 pm
@Mama Joy
Your inflammatory comments are ridiculous and put a dirty mark on an otherwise sensible website discussion about this horrendous situation.
To insinuate that there are parents who WANT their children to be abused by others within the JWs begs belief as to the type of individual you are.
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Emma says:
July 27, 2015 at 10:35 am
I’m in Australia, I was sitting infront of my computer waiting for the live stream yesterday morning. It was a completely damning expose during this first day of hearings. Mr Jackson was one cool, cold and unfeeling pig.
He suffered degrees of amnesia at times as he tried to slither out of answering questions.
However, the questioners used the Shepherding book and quoted the societies procedures straight from it.
At one point the questioners asked him why it was said that….”It was/is important to make the accused feel as comfortable and at ease possible..” (paraphrased)
The questioner then asked Jackson why there was not one word about making the accuser/victim feel comfortable. He tried to skirt around the answer, but backed into a corner by his own religions “how to” book.
He was forced to concede that there was no mention of making the accuser feel uncomfortable…..and that it must have made the victim/accuser feel uncomfortable.
He was massively arrogant. His voice was (to me) sneering. I expected some good old fashioned Theocratic Warfare, but Jackson had no choice but to respond to the queries raised directly from their own book. Either way he was f&(#ed
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Average Joe says:
July 27, 2015 at 1:01 pm
@Emma
Could you provide the links to the video(s) of the court case please?
It would be good to have them as a reference and see these shady individuals for myself.
Thanks.
AJ
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Cedars says:
July 27, 2015 at 1:11 pm
Hi Average Joe – I’ve put a playlist of the video footage at the bottom of the article. :)
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Average Joe says:
July 27, 2015 at 2:02 pm
@Cedars
Doh! And here’s me like a twit scouring t’Internet for the video.
Thanks and duly seen.
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Jerry O Connor says:
July 27, 2015 at 11:04 am
Hello to all.
Lloyd, thank you for this article. Watchtower`s continuing refusal to protect children is a crime against humanity. Now is the time to do what must done to protect children in this heinous cult. It has to be a concentrated external campaign. Surely this latest horror story will reverberate around the world. This will cause a chasm of huge proportions in watchtower`s all ready crumbling edifice. This is the endgame long hoped for. Let us hope for the children`s sake that it is indeed the end of this abominable cult.
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Itfeelsgoodtobefree says:
July 27, 2015 at 12:16 pm
I really really hope this starts an inquiry into the entire JW cult and their harmful practices (worldwide). There is no way they are going to spin this one off as ‘yet another apostate-driven lie’ in the UK, the US, Australia etc. etc. , there is just no way! 1006 is a scary number, but what’s even scarier is how long the potential global list is, as someone else said in the comments, probably 10,000+ . Ugh… sickening!
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Conan71 says:
July 27, 2015 at 12:25 pm
This to me also illustrates the danger this organization poses to the public in general. Do you think these abusers just abused children within the organization ? No way! Neighbors kids were victims you can be sure . Love thy neighbor as yourself? Hardly …
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anonymousish1987 says:
July 27, 2015 at 5:25 pm
And they were basically protected. You don’t think habitual sexual abusers didn’t share this information with other sexual predators. I’m sure these pedophiles flock to Watchtower knowing they could abuse children and get away with it. Think of all the victims who’s statute of limitations has already passed. Think of all the potential suicides. There is blood dripping from the hands of Watchtower on every level. I’m disgusted.
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silentlamb1980 says:
July 27, 2015 at 3:08 pm
Hi “Itfeelsgoodtobefree”
1006 is a scary number for sure. I see you mentioned the global list possibly being 10,000+ Could I direct you for a moment to an older film from BBC which I was a part of. You can find it on JWStruggle’s channel called Suffer the Little Children. In 2002, the BBC did an expose on the JW’s cover ups of child abuse, the protection policy and even tried to interview Ted Jaracz former governing body member, whom by allegation by a very brave lady, was a sex offender also. Read more at silentlambs.org It is literally shocking how many, but worryingly more so, that a governing body member was a part of this, again allegedly. Both alleged perp and victim have passed on. The number of self confessed pedophiles within the JW ranks 15 years ago, was 23,720. That is self confessed ones, not ones that have been found out. So could you actually imagine the scale of the problem ? How many children have not been believed by their local elders and the appropriate action being taken ? Yep it’s sickening.
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Meredith J says:
July 27, 2015 at 3:49 pm
Yes, I remember that. That poor lady who was then about in her 40’s, passed away not long after that of cancer. She claimed Jaractz, who at the time was a governing body member, abused her and a boy. Unfortunately, she never got to see him prosecuted. She had suffered badly from being disfellowshipped and claimed that she had been homeless as a teenager for sometime. The story would break your heart. Jaractz was allegedly in charge of the list of pedophiles held by the Society. Very sad story.
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coverspiff says:
July 27, 2015 at 12:30 pm
Also, it was VERY interesting to note how both Elders reacted when it was put to them how inappropriate it was to have a vulnerable woman’s allegations of abuse investigated entirely by men. That’s a whole other can of worms just waiting to explode!
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Grace says:
July 27, 2015 at 3:10 pm
Watching yesterdays enquiry was absolutely riveting, I couldn’t take my eyes of it. I was amazed at how the Council for the Commission had done his homework. I missed the co’s questioning as I had to go to work & am looking forward to watching the recording.
The elder that was being questioned was so obviously out of his depth. He looked agitated at times like he wanted to just get up & leave. Witnesses don’t like being challenged & certainly not elders.
Now they have no one else to blame but themselves. Not apostates, not gays, not even the “evil satanic world”. This was priceless!!!
At the end of it, the “world” finds this shocking. Witnesses will make excuses. Who has the real empathy?
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1914 ha ha ha says:
July 27, 2015 at 3:51 pm
I cant wait to see what happens if they lose there chairty status here in the uk
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Al says:
July 27, 2015 at 5:09 pm
They will just say that it’s proof that the governments are turning on them and that the end is closer then ever.
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Ariel says:
July 27, 2015 at 5:11 pm
It’s hard to say. Perhaps they would change a few surface policies in order to meet any required stipulations; or, they could claim that,”TGT” has arrived and all members should immediately forfeit all of their belongings and wealth to the organization as they will no longer need it.
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disillusioned says:
July 29, 2015 at 7:11 pm
That would make me ask them why the GB needs it then if no one else does.
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Ted says:
July 27, 2015 at 5:03 pm
Abuse heaped upon abuse. First at the hands of the perpetrator,
then interrogated by elders in a secret court without anyone to
represent you, and made to confront your attacker.
It’s four against one ( 3 elders and the perp,) The primary purpose
is not justice, but to hush things up, damage limitation, to protect
the image of the venerated org.
To this end you’ll be guilted by statements about taking Christian
brothers before worldly courts, and bringing reproach on Jehovah.
The attacker will have the opportunity to brand you as a liar, or if
they admit their guilt will imply ( as has happened ) that you are
culpable also.
So either way, whether you keep quiet, or go to the police,
you’ll be made to feel like the sinner.
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Faithful Witness says:
July 27, 2015 at 6:12 pm
This is disgusting news, yet again!
Worldwide brotherhood, united against ”worldly” people, who would try to attack them with lies & false accusations… ??
JW’s appear to be more interested in vindicating Jehovah’s name, than they are in taking an honest look around them. This organization would never stand up to any examination of itself, its rules, or its doctrines.
Hoe many cases do we have to hear about, before someone actually cares enough to stop these men?
(I know, JW’s are not as interesting to pop culture, as a reality TV show about Katie Jenner… but these children are helpless victims! No one speaks up, but there are HOW MANY articles about the dress Jennifer Lopez wore for her birthday party??)
Why is news like this ignored by American media, in the very country that this organization continues to enjoy tax exempt status? It should be broadcast to the public, if only to warn them. Those soft-spoken, well-dressed people, who come knocking on your door on Saturday mornings, are actually representing an organization that lies to them about these crimes against children… the least among them.
I honestly can not understand why people are not reacting to these revelations about the organization they are serving. Wake up! Witness what is really happening around you!
(sorry, but i am furious & know that any mention of this to JW family, will only knock my relations with them right off the map again).
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Meredith J says:
July 27, 2015 at 9:08 pm
Me too.
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questionall451 says:
July 27, 2015 at 6:20 pm
They probably fight admitting it because it is so common among them that if they really did anything about it they would lose a huge number of their “spiritually qualified men”
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1914 ha ha ha says:
July 27, 2015 at 6:43 pm
How elders try to decieve, lie and make out there poxy scam of a so called relligion isnt falling to bits never fails to amaze me. I asked my father about low attendence at the dc , he said just under 10000 , the real# 9058. Elders will lie to there own kids!
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vivian says:
July 27, 2015 at 9:50 pm
Are they required by law to report alleged abuses in Australia?
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William Niles says:
July 27, 2015 at 10:10 pm
Hi Vivian–Yes, it is Australia Law for religious organizations to report Child Abuse to the Authorities. I really don’t know if there are any words that can even remotely describe just how bad the corruption as taken hold of within WT and the Men who represent them..it’s appalling and shocking beyond belief…it’s just unbelievable. They just don’t seem to have any common sense, at all. I feel so, so bad for these victims and what they’ve gone through…I just can’t come to grips with WT reasoning on concealing the identity of not only Child Molesters, but so many other policies that they currently have in place, like allowing appointed MS/Elders who confess to have committed a serious sin in the past and yet can keep serving in an appointed capacity without so much as lifting 1 single finger against him, or knowingly withholding vital information from a poor sister whose adulterous husband lies to her about the extent of his adultery….they won’t even allow her to sit in on his judicial committee and if they discover that he did lie about it, they’ll just say “we encourage you to talk with your husband”…but they will let the husband sit in on her judicial committee in the event that it’s the sister who commits the adultery. It’s shocking, appalling, disgusting, wicked, evil, we can go on and on. I’m so glad that this is all coming to light–the truth always eventually will come out and it’s obvious, like John Cedars said, that this is simply not Apostate lies. There are also more and more JWs who are seeing through it all too, whose really telling the truth v.s. whose really lying.
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Meredith J says:
July 28, 2015 at 6:23 pm
I just hope they open up their eyes. This may sound the beginning of the death knell for the Watchtower Corporation. I think that is what I will call it from now on. It’s not a society, a church or an organisation. It’s just a plain old corporation with all the hallmarks of one. The greedy and corrupt behavior and lies that are told and hiding the truth for their own benefit which must be to feather their own nest. I think it really shows whose side they are on.
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Colie Finn says:
July 27, 2015 at 11:11 pm
I think one of the worst parts of all of this was in The Guardian article, where it mentioned that the elders took into account how spiritual and how “seductive” the victim/accuser was, in evaluating the case. I think that has to be one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever read. We are talking about the sexual molestation of children. The insinuation is that if you didn’t keep up with your Bible reading, or your shorts were a little short, you played some role in being molested. I just did not believe it was possible even for this organization to hold a belief so horrible.
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SR says:
July 28, 2015 at 8:55 pm
I was watching one of the many Marilyn Monroe documentaries and it mentioned how she had been sexually abused. The comment was made back in those days (the 1930s) the victim was blamed for the abuse. My JW mom actually said that a 14 year old girl ‘seduced’ her uncle.
It seems that as society moves forward The Society stays stuck in time.
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Mc fan says:
July 27, 2015 at 11:31 pm
There has also been claims of an original governing body member named Leo Greenles who molested a 10 year old boy. Once the boy’s parents complained to the rest of the Governing Body, Greenles was asked to step down as a Governing body member and lived out the rest of his life as an elder at a congregation in New Orleans.
SICK! Isn’t it!
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coverspiff says:
July 28, 2015 at 12:38 am
This is one of the theories as to why the WT are fighting so hard not to release their list of files of reported offenders to the courts, even being prepared to pay millions in penalty judgements to avoid doing so as in the Gonzalo Campos case.
If the names of Leo Greenles and Theo Jaractz are in those files, and that becomes public knowledge, can you imagine what it would do to the rank and file? To find out that 2 of the GB were child abusers, and that the rest of the GB knowingly covered it up?
It would make the post 1975 membership slump look like a minor hiccup.
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William Niles says:
July 28, 2015 at 3:00 am
Hi Coverspiff–Theo Jaractz was accused of child molestation too?!? Now that is news to me…what’s the situation with that case? Who is he accused of abusing/molesting? Yes…it would send shockwaves throughout the JW community if that’s the reason why they don’t want to turn over the pedophile database…and you can bet your bottom dollar that probably has something to do with it.
I’m sitting here shaking my head in disbelief…there’s just seems to be no end to all of this…it’s just absolutely unbelievable.
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William Niles says:
July 28, 2015 at 2:54 am
Hey MC Fan–I had heard about that story, but I’m pretty vague on exact details, so I’m not one to comment on things when I don’t have all of the facts correct–that would be a bad way of spreading false information for sure, so I refuse to go there if you know what I mean. So, for the sake of myself, can anyone tell me exactly what happened with the Leo Greenles/child molestation case? To be completely honest with you, I had never even heard of a Governing Body member by that name until I heard of that report, and I was like “Leo who?”. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I heard that his victim later tried to apply for Bethel service and his application was rejected? Did he ever find out why exactly it was not accepted or did he just put “2 and 2″ together? What exactly happened in that whole situation? Again, I don’t like making comments on things when I don’t have all the facts straight–so what exactly happened in that case? Thanks for your help/insights.
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Meredith J says:
July 28, 2015 at 6:30 pm
I can’t tell you about him but I can tell you about Theodore Jaractz. He is dead now but he was a head honcho when I was in it. He was accused by a woman in 2002 who was probably in her forties, who claimed he sexually abused her and a boy, who she did not know as she was a child when all this happened. She was going to try and take him to court but she did not have enough evidence for the case. Unfortunately, the poor girl died of cancer in 2003 after revealing her story to Silentlambs which is a site set up in the early 2000’s for victims of child abuse in the JW’s. Anyway, that is that story.
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Kat says:
July 28, 2015 at 12:32 am
more headlines
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/jehovahs-witness-ministerial-servant-held-in-high-regard-by-congregation-while-assaulting-daughters/story-fni0cx12-1227460189924
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Mc fan says:
July 28, 2015 at 3:01 am
I wish all of these former JW members and current journalists would all come together and create a huge EXPOSE on JWs. Expose all of the lies, false prophesies, child abuse,child molestation,hypocrisy,adultery,fornication ,homosexuality,depression,suicides,shunning and the thousands off deaths due to the NO BLOOD policy. Put all of these articles,news footage and interviews into one long documentary so a big network like HBO or Showtime can broadcast it to the world, just like the Scientology documentary. Than everyone will be able to see The truth behind this destructive cult. Yes!
THIER SYSTEM IS CRUMBLING!!
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Mc fan says:
July 28, 2015 at 3:13 am
Hey Mr.Niles,
Just google Mark Palo,for more info.
That is the name of the boy who later came out and claimed that Greenles molested him when he was 10 years old.
You can also Google, RAPED AT BETHEL!!
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Vincent says:
July 28, 2015 at 3:44 am
Here is a link about former Governing Body Member Ted Jaracz. This was news to me as well. Yikes!http://www.silentlambs.org/personal_experiences/tedjaracz.cfm
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JJ says:
July 28, 2015 at 4:04 am
I can’t believe that I used to be ‘proud’ and to preach (wasting my time!) about being a Jehovah’s Witness and it was a den of pedophiles!!! It makes me sick!
I remember Ted Jaracz smugly saying that “we don’t go beyond the things written” whatever that means. I always hated the smug idiots who thought they were so clever. Well let’s see how smug and clever they feel now, after being dragged in front of courts where they belong!
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John Walsh says:
July 28, 2015 at 4:54 am
My Son a JW MS in Queensland and who works for me, had previously denied such a major problem within the organization. So today at work we were listening to radio and the subject of the report came up, so I asked if he had herd about that and he said he saw it on TV last night, but would not comment further.
So it would seem that the ‘Captured’ members are being informed and thus given some food for thought. I can only hope that this type of factual reality will trigger further analysis of the J-Dubs.
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bobow says:
July 28, 2015 at 5:33 am
It’s on CNN today, one of top stories.
So, it’s international, not to be forgotten so easy.
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Jakemon75 says:
July 28, 2015 at 6:43 am
I just approached the JW.org booth at the airport in Amarillo Texas. Generally I have my phone boldly putting them on the spot while asking questions that I know they’ll answer incorrectly and then use their answers against them in an effort to make them think a little.
Today I asked the what would happen if I “googled” Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Top stories were related to this.
I showed them to the 2 ladies (at least one of them had the unmistakable, arrogance of an Elder’s wife., and we all know what I’m talking about.)
She read the headline, made an ugly face like I did something wrong, thrust the phone back at me and said “nothing on the Internet can be trusted”.
Apparently the defense mechanism is pre-installed on this unit.
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Wanderer says:
July 28, 2015 at 1:37 pm
She said nothing on the Internet can be trusted while she was sitting at a booth promoting JW.org ???
The GB would have known this case was coming, probably why Mr. Morris just had his we protect children talk on JW.org.
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StrongHaiku says:
July 28, 2015 at 9:30 am
A number of posters have commented on the embarrassing and clumsy way the JW elders/representatives have presented themselves on these hearings. Totally agree. But I would argue that it would not matter which elder they picked, GB member, Jesus, or God himself, etc. to provide testimony.
When your position is indefensible it does not matter who presents it. They would all be reading out of the same playbook and would look absurd and immoral, as they should.
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Bart says:
July 28, 2015 at 9:59 am
Made the Post too. http://nypost.com/2015/07/27/jehovahs-witnesses-hid-over-1000-sex-abuse-cases/
As one still associated as a JW with JW friends and family, I’d love to post the article to my FB page. But guess what, you can’t without fear of recrimination or being dragged into the back room. You can only say GOOD things about JW.ORG, you know, since it’s God’s only chosen organization and all. Seriously….
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Queen Elsa says:
July 28, 2015 at 10:28 pm
I know, right?!! My sister isn’t baptized but we have a huge jw family… She wanted to post it…but didn’t. Funny, they toot their horn all the time about the good reports, but bury their heads in the sand when it’s negative…
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David R says:
July 29, 2015 at 7:53 am
Oh for sure, when its an even slightly positive news article it is reposted with claims of how “even the world can’t deny Jehovah’s Organization”.
I love that when you google Jehovah’s Witnesses the Sex Scandals are the first thing to come up right after their JW.borg and their wiki page. And all the news articles are related to their covering up of sexual abuse. I love this.
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Bart says:
July 28, 2015 at 10:09 am
When I was a kid, our family was friends with another family in the congregation. I think my parents may have studied with them and brought them into the truth, etc. Anyways, at some point his kids and wife accused him of some sort of molestation. The guy was convicted and went to jail. But according to my parents he was wrongfully accused. I wonder how they knew that but the court was convinced otherwise? My dad (an elder) stayed friends with this probable piece of crap in jail, writing letters and what have you. I think the creep even started Bible studies with his fellow inmates. As far as I know he wasn’t disfellowshipped either. I don’t know what became of him but for all I know he’s been released and went back to the congregation to continue like nothing ever happened. I’d like to ask my dad about it. Ask him how he could stay friends with a convicted child molester and yet he won’t even talk to his own daughter because she grew up and decided to peacefully leave the organization. FML.
Reply
minion says:
July 28, 2015 at 12:29 pm
Just Totally Freaking Awesome, of a long over due report from the Honorable Royal Commission courts.
I viewed the CNN.com video report, and they are reporting, Your elders could face criminal charges – due to Not reporting the sexual abuse – the crime to local police.
As noted earlier in Cedars report, the Royal Commission investigation will go on for two weeks.
Yesterday, when I googled “Jehovah’s Witnesses” Google now has this sub category “In The News”
and you had a report from 1). Newsweek Magz now know as ‘the daily beast’ weird name.
2). ABC online
3). CNN
And today reporting are:
4). ABC online
5). Think Progress
6). Sydney Morning Herald
7). NY Post
8). Australian Broadcasting Corp
9). CNN video – they report Your elders could face criminal charges
10. NPR
11). Skynews
12). The Guardian
And your seven men will cry out “All lies, all lies, don’t listen to these reports” these are apostates and should you read these reports You Will Be DF’d.
Someone needs to tell these seven men, all these 12 reports and counting Are Not JW’s – so they Are Not apostates.
They will employ – Mind Control Tactics – Fear Factor.
Google headliner sub category ‘In The News”, I quote Cedars, while talking to TPT3, “it must be Jehovah’s hand doing this”.
Only good can come out of this!!
Only good can come out of this!
Reply
Peter says:
July 28, 2015 at 5:01 pm
The thought has just occurred to me (and I don’t want to incite) that the reason the Watchtower is gathering so much money together is in preparation for a public apology and to compensate the victims of child abuse?
In my mind that’s exactly what a Christian should and would do.
Reply
Peter says:
July 28, 2015 at 5:31 pm
There is no doubt the the scriptures teach a two witness rule. However, considering christs words regarding the handling of a judicial matter it is quite obvious that the witness(s) are there to observe the accused attitude and response to an accusation from an actual eye witness thereby gaining two/three witnesses.
There is little doubt that the reason Watchtower applies Matthew 18 the way it does is to avoid litigation.
Reply
Peter says:
July 28, 2015 at 5:45 pm
I believe the crux of the argument, besides that of mandatory reporting, is the application of the two witness rule. How many children/families have had to sit and suffer in silence for years because of it?
Perhaps this is one area that deserves more scrutiny.
Reply
Excelsior! says:
July 29, 2015 at 8:36 am
Peter, I agree with you. The two witness rule is used to avoid litigation and try to preserve the squeaky clean image of the WTBTS.
That they choose to ignore Deuteronomy 22:25-27 and demand a little child face their abuser alone speaks volumes of their depravity. God only required one witness for a capital punishment. The WTBTS require at least 2, and even if 2 exist, they do nothing to protect children and stop the abuser!!
The two witness rule does not “trump” Romans 13. Paul is crystal clear; Christians are in subjection to the superior authorities.
If an atheist like me can identify a decent response to child abuse from the bible, why can’t so called “brothers of Christ” on the governing body do the same? The distressing fact is that they choose to misuse Deuteronomy 19:15 and Matthew 18 to do absolutely nothing to protect children from paedophiles, or assist victims. Disgusting!
Peace be with you, Excelsior!
Reply
Peter says:
July 29, 2015 at 11:33 am
Excelsior, I think that if JW’s were educated sufficiently regarding the two witness rule and its application, I think that more Jehovah witnesses would be prepared to listern and understand that the Watchtower is wrong and why.
Reply
minion says:
July 28, 2015 at 8:51 pm
This goes out to our sister from Amarillo,Tx manning her post – the trolley cart.
She said to one of our brothers, “you can’t believe everything you read on the internet”, – seriously?
Maybe she was implying JW.org.
Newsflash to our sister from Amarillo, Tx.
You now have 17 reputable major news outlets reporting on the Honorable Royal Commission Courts, this is No bull s#%t my sister, this is real, its happening and please take notice. This investigation will go on for two weeks. We pray the reporting will only escalate.
It’s 10:00 pm (CST), so far the 17 reputable major news outlets and counting, they are:
1). JWSurvey.org
2). Newsweek Magz also known as ‘the daily beast’
3). ABC online1
4). CNN
5). ABC online2
6). Think Progress
7). NY Post
8). Australian Broadcasting Corp
9). CNN video – they report Your elders could face criminal charges
10). NPR
11). Skynews
12). The Guardian
13). The Daily Telegraph
14). ABC.net.au
15). Smh.com
16). News.vice.com
17). BBC.com
My sister in Amarillo, Tx please update your expression,
” if its on the internet, it Must Be True”.
It’s time to release the locks of mind control from the brog.
To all current JWs, (this includes me) please have an intelligent response when ask on the subject matter – don’t act like the seven men in the WT – don’t be a fool.
It’s time to be Awaken!
Reply
Vincent says:
July 28, 2015 at 10:29 pm
“We must be oh so careful, lest we bring reproach upon Jehovah.”
Reply
Pickled brain says:
July 28, 2015 at 11:07 pm
WHY OH WHY aren’t MORE SISTERS WAKING UP & Seeing this 7 MAN Governing Body as EVIL for allowing 3 Elders(MEN) interrogate young Girls or Boys who are victims of CHILD ABUSE with the MALE ABUSER face to face in the same room asked Questions by UNTRAINED Elders who are Painters,Decorators,Window Cleaners, Electricians,Builders,Etc IT IS UTTER MADNESS & some of these ABUSERS are ELDERS& Ministerial Servants!! HOW OBSCENE to Say these MEN Are APPOINTED by Holy Spirit!!! DISGUSTING!!!
Reply
Stirring Awake says:
July 29, 2015 at 12:09 am
All court transcripts and Royal Commission transcript files can be found here: http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/case-study/636f01a5-50db-4b59-a35e-a24ae07fb0ad/case-study-29,-july-2015,-sydney
Reply
JW4-EVER says:
July 29, 2015 at 6:42 am
The money awarded to the plaintiffs over these cases, how are they extracted? How do they force the society to make payments? The multi-million dollar judgements are to be made at once or can they pay them over time? I know the society can appeal it but if the appeal fails how is the money collected?
Please only answer if you know the answer. If you have no idea or some minimal legal understanding on these proceedings, don’t waste time with silly answers.
Thanks,
Reply
Excelsior! says:
July 29, 2015 at 8:42 am
JW4-EVER,
Welcome back!
I hope this doesn’t count as a “silly answer”!
May I suggest that you telephone your Branch office and ask them? Logically, they should be able to answer your most pertinent question.
What a pity that you had no words of sympathy for the plaintiffs. They have suffered and yet you have no words for them?
Peace be with you, Excelsior!
Reply
Bad Penny says:
July 29, 2015 at 7:09 am
I remember years ago when the Catholic Church was first under scrutiny for hidden abuses. As a witness, I called on a Catholic man who refused to believe it – ‘Oh, no, not in our Church,’ he said.
I remember commenting to my door to door companion on how anyone could stay in a religion that did such things!
Now faced with the facts that the ‘squeaky clean’ Jehovah’s Witnesses have covered over the same disgusting practice – how could anyone condone such by continuing in the ‘faith’?
The words of Jesus to the Pharisees comes to mind in describing the GB and elders today, ‘you also, outwardly indeed, appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.’
I hope that the judgement comes true – as for those who are disgusting in their filth .. and all the liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur!
Surely, the writing is on the wall for JWdom.
They have been weighed in the balances and have been found deficient!
Reply
Bad Penny says:
July 29, 2015 at 7:24 am
I remember years ago when the Catholic Church was first under scrutiny for hidden abuses. As a witness, I called on a Catholic man who refused to believe it – ‘Oh, no, not in our Church,’ he said.
I remember commenting to my door to door companion on how anyone could stay in a religion that did such things!
Now faced with the facts that the ‘squeaky clean’ Jehovah’s Witnesses have covered over the same disgusting practice – how could anyone condone such by continuing in the ‘faith’?
The words of Jesus to the Pharisees comes to mind in describing the GB and elders today, ‘you also, outwardly indeed, appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.’
Surely, the writing is on the wall for JWdom.
They have been weighed in the balances and have been found deficient!
Reply
Bad Penny says:
July 29, 2015 at 7:25 am
Oops – twice for emphasis!
Reply
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← The Unexpected Kindness of the World
Elders shamed under questioning by the Royal Commission →
Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower
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Posted on July 27, 2015
Angus Stewart, Senior Council, at the public hearing into allegations of child sexual abuse by Jehovah’s Witnesses
Angus Stewart, Senior Council, at the public hearing into allegations of child sexual abuse by Jehovah’s Witnesses
Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard shocking evidence that 1,006 alleged perpetrators of child sex abuse were identified by the organization in Australia going back to 1950, but none were reported to the authorities.
The Commission was launched in 2013 with a broad remit to investigate serial child abuse in institutions, including religious organizations such as the Witnesses and the Catholic Church.
At the opening hearing held today, Angus Stewart, the senior council assisting the commission, described the church as an “insular sect with rules designed to stem the reporting of sexual abuse.”
According to Stewart’s written opening submission, the figure of 1,006 perpetrators was derived directly from Watchtower documents summoned (subpoened) by the Commission…
During the investigation of this case study, Watchtower Australia produced some 5,000 documents pursuant to summonses issued by the Royal Commission on 4 and 28 February 2015. Those documents include 1,006 case files relating to allegations of child sexual abuse made against members of the Jehovah’s Witness Church in Australia since 1950 – each file for a different alleged perpetrator of child sexual abuse.
Stewart’s submission goes on to explain the astonishing findings from analyzing these case files…
Evidence will be put before the Royal Commission that of the 1,006 alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse identified by the Jehovah’s Witness Church since 1950, not one was reported by the Church to secular authorities. This suggests that it is the practice of the Jehovah’s Witness Church to retain information regarding child sexual abuse offences but not to report allegations of child sexual abuse to the police or other relevant authorities.
As part of the hearing two Witnesses, identified as BCB and BCG, are expected to give testimony that elders discouraged them from reporting their abuse. One of these victims is apparently “riddled with guilt for betraying the Jehovah’s Witness Church.”
The hearings are being streamed live to Australians, and doubtless will cause further humiliation for an organization already under siege for negligence regarding child molestation.
Governing Body member Stephen Lett recently insisted that claims of child abuse mishandling are nothing more than “apostate-driven lies and dishonesties,” but added to courtroom defeats in the United States and Britain, this latest news coming out of Australia suggests otherwise.
1,006 unreported alleged perpetrators since 1950 is an appalling statistic, and if used to extrapolate historic figures around the world, the number of concealed pedophiles could easily number into the tens of thousands.
It will be interesting to see what conclusions are drawn by the Commission, and how this will impact the fate of the organization, not just in Australia, but further afield. Certainly Tony Morris’ recent claim that the Governing Body are “proud” of their reputation concerning child abuse is becoming increasingly preposterous.
One child who suffers unnecessarily due to Watchtower’s negligence on the issue would be a child too many, and yet according to this public hearing, in just one country of many, the pain and trauma of sex abuse has been ignored and covered-up on an unimaginable scale.
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Further reading…
◾ABC news report
◾New York Post report
◾Guardian report
◾Daily Telegraph report
◾BBC report
◾MSN report
◾Friendly Atheist article
◾Freethinker article
◾For an updated list of media reports, click here
◾Royal Commission website
◾Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh
◾JWsurvey articles on child abuse
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← The Unexpected Kindness of the World
Elders shamed under questioning by the Royal Commission →
102 Responses to Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower
← Older Comments
sirius says:
July 29, 2015 at 7:48 am
I can hear the excuses now, “don’t let a few bad apples destroy the bushel”. Reality is, these are more than likely the low lying fruits of JW teachings, if not what mechanism do they have in place to screen/prevent deviant sexual behavior? Does JW faith wipe the slate clean of troubled converts/reverts? Like any process needing control, reporting is one thing but action on the data? Is corrective action mostly burying it or shifting some of the perps vertical/horizontal away from the scene? Any trouble shooting analyzation would look to “upstream” first! For a small organization 1006 cases seems high per capita basis, just wondering if this count is only the tip of the iceberg showing?
IMHO
dogstar
Reply
Excelsior! says:
July 29, 2015 at 8:47 am
Dog Star,
The figure is not referring to cases, but to perpetrators. We do not know how many times these criminals abused, or how many victims they abused.
I really enjoy your comments and thank you for them.
Peace be with you, Excelsior!
Reply
Sosipater says:
July 29, 2015 at 10:28 am
German media reports:
http://www.morgenpost.de/vermischtes/article205512221/Zeugen-Jehovas-raeumen-Vertuschung-von-Missbrauch-ein.html
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/panorama/australien-zeugen-jehovas-vertuschten-ueber-jahrzehnte-sexuellen-missbrauch-1.2587889
Reply
Garrett says:
July 29, 2015 at 10:44 am
Can someone explain something for me?
How can the Australians successfully subpoena the records of the 1,006 child abusers in Australia but the justices in America have been unable to secure the list of 20,000 pedophiles worldwide. I don’t get it. If you as an organization go against a subpoena in America aren’t you criminally accountable ?
Secondly, why are the Watchtowers finances not a matter for public record if they are a non profit . I thought non profits and charities had to have publish open financial reports.
Is anyone a lawyer her that can explain these two questions … Cuz I’m lost on this stuff.
Thanks
G
Reply
Simon Kestral says:
July 30, 2015 at 12:15 am
California state courts don’t have jurisdiction over New York residents. And federal courts are limited to civil cases having matters of federal purview.
If the federal government investigates one church (WT), they will have to investigate them all (Catholic, Protestant, Baptist). In the USA there is little political willpower for such. It’s viewed as a local problem, to be handled locally.
The US Constitution enshrines the principle of separation of church and state, and most citizens strongly agree. So politicians avoid meddling in religion.
Reply
sirius says:
July 29, 2015 at 2:10 pm
@Garrett, this might shed a bit of light to the thrust of a Royal Commission is. Here’s a bit of c/p from a site noted below:
A Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia. A Royal Commission is similar in function to a Commission of Enquiry (or Inquiry) found in other countries such as Ireland, South Africa, and Hong Kong.
A Royal Commissioner has considerable powers*, generally greater even than those of a judge but restricted to the terms of reference of the Commission. The Commission is created by the Head of State (the Sovereign, or his/her representative in the form of a Governor-General or Governor) on the advice of the Government and formally appointed by Letters Patent. In practice—unlike lesser forms of inquiry—once a Commission has started the government cannot stop it. Consequently governments are usually very careful about framing the Terms of Reference and generally include in them a date by which the commission must finish.
Royal Commissions are called to look into matters of great importance and usually controversy. These can be matters such as government structure, the treatment of minorities, events of considerable public concern or economic questions.
*bolded
in part & credit to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Commission
IMHO
dogstar
Reply
Catalina says:
July 29, 2015 at 5:16 pm
I tried to tell my JW sister about this. She didn’t want to hear it. She asked, “What are you telling me that for after I told you I don’t want to hear about it?” “Why do you have to be so negative?” “You sound like a broken record.” “Why do you bring this up again when I’ve told you I don’t want to hear about it. (JWs only hear what they want to hear.)
Reply
JJ says:
July 29, 2015 at 6:18 pm
Oh yeah, Catalina, I get the exact same reactions from my mother and wife. I am “negative”, “a whiner” and I don’t want to “listen to anyone” (about rules or direction, I guess). They say that they “don’t want to hear it” but I ask them why they go door-to-door when those poor people beg them to stop?!? They are doing the exact same thing to strangers! They go and tell these people that their religions are wrong and engaged in disgusting practices. But they don’t want to hear about their own. A little hypocritical, eh?
My mother says that they stop when asked. I said, “you never stop and you never will!”
I think the JW’s are going to taste their own medicine from now on!!!
Reply
Queen Elsa says:
July 29, 2015 at 7:33 pm
Catalina, I’m accused of the same thing… :/
Reply
TruthSeeker says:
July 30, 2015 at 3:25 pm
Catalina, U are not alone. I am as well told by my wife she doesn’t want to hear it or talk about it and i thought she was a “lover of truth”.
Reply
Garrett says:
July 29, 2015 at 6:27 pm
Thanks Dogstar
That gives me a tad bit of insight to what a royal commission is. I.e. It is something understood and applied amongst the British commonwealth countries. However I still don’t understand how the American GB/WT society can be subpoenaed and not be forced to give up the 20,000 names.
And I’m still waiting for an explanation as to how the WT societies finances are not publicly accessible if they are a non profit.
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
Reply
Pickled brain says:
July 30, 2015 at 12:13 am
@Garrett. I wholeheartedly agree with your comments & Questions!! If anyone keys into Google ‘Church of England financial accounts ‘ there is a 66 page PDF detailing all investments, pensions , equities, donations,etc a very DETAILED ACCOUNTS where ALL the MONEY goes !!’& this is meant to be part of Satans system BUT The HOLY of HOLIES the 7 MEN Governing Body NEVER prints a Detailed Worldwide Accounts on how much Warwick,Patterson, Walkill,Chelmsford in UK costs or what all the buildings in Brooklyn sold for or the EXPENSES of the 7 GB Men & families Cost,etc!!
Or what STOCKS & SHARES the GB have invested in ??! WHO MENTIONED HEDGE FUNDS???
Reply
Warren says:
July 29, 2015 at 6:32 pm
At the Meeting last nite, which i left at half time, the opening prayer was very direct in talking about Satans attacks, i got an email from a elder who i had sent the news paper article to, as i know he has concealed stuff, he just said its bad for Jehovahs name, my wuestion to him is, whose fault is it then, we are lead to believe that we are run by a “God” directed organisation, he instructs them on what to do, so concealing pedo’s & not helping Victoms is Gods Fault, hang on i think i found another flaw, God is not diecting this organisation. go figure
Reply
Queen Elsa says:
July 29, 2015 at 8:58 pm
I hear that too! So who’s fault is it for ruining jehovahs name, the victims?! No, it’s the organization, elders and perps… It’s so backwards, I can’t even see straight anymore…
Reply
Vincent says:
July 29, 2015 at 8:56 pm
Download every Wt.letter and statements from the Royal Commission here:http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/exhibits/636f01a5-50db-4b59-a35e-a24ae07fb0ad/case-study-29,-july-2015,-sydney
Tons of info!
Reply
Pickled brain says:
July 30, 2015 at 12:18 am
@ Garrett . The 7 MEN GB has something in Common with MORMONS!! The Mormons haven’t printed Worldwide Financial Accounts since 1959!!’ Funny how JW.Org seems to have copied the Mormon website which started up way before JW.Org!!’
Reply
Jill Hileman says:
July 30, 2015 at 9:22 am
Thank you for the link!
Reply
Sven says:
July 30, 2015 at 12:16 am
Can Cedar please inform me why my comment, posted yesterday, does not appear? I don’t feel I violated any of the rules.
Reply
Hypocrisy Hater says:
July 30, 2015 at 4:06 am
I had a fairly lengthy comment that hasn’t appeared also…
Reply
Hypocrisy Hater says:
July 30, 2015 at 4:07 am
Never mind – it appeared just now :-)
Reply
David says:
July 30, 2015 at 1:43 am
I think this is the right time for all of us to hit the streets and fight for our rights. We could organise a campaign and distribute leaflets. The aim is not to criticise JW.org doctrines (after all if they want to be brainwashed is their choice) but for the right to leave a religion without repercussions and loosing family and loved ones. What we are seeing in Australian is the result of people putting their faces fighting for what is right.
Even other people from other cults will join and the governments will respond.
Instead of wasting time in front a PC we should solve the problem now. JW.org should be ashamed of their dark ages mentality and not us. We cannot convince them because for them exists only their way, only the black and white cultish mentality.
Our JW family members should be ashamed of listening to 7 ex window cleaners instead of their own blood.
Many people have lost dignity, mental health, social bonds for this fanatic individuals that think that they are God and have the right to step over people.
We have to stop it now, and we can do it if we want it.
Reply
M. says:
July 30, 2015 at 2:52 am
right!
Reply
Hypocrisy Hater says:
July 30, 2015 at 4:06 am
The Royal Commission into Child Abuse began in 2013. As the July 27th date was publically knowledge, I have very little doubt in my mind that the June and July broadcasts were nothing more than smokescreen attempts to play down the oncoming PR flak-storm of negativity that was about to hail down. Considering the general rule of thumb is to not report child abuse so as not to bring reproach on Jehovah’s name, I believe this approach has backfired on a multi-million dollar scale. The property selloffs within the current portfolio of assets will likely be put to use to compensate victims. No other need for a war chest of that size in “the last days” unless you have some huge settlement offers to make.
Some personal comments of mine based on the July broadcast, and in light of the recent Royal Commission –
AM III: “As a religious organization, we have taken a decisive stand against such behavior.”
MY RESPONSE: Except that stand will be secretive, hidden from view and swept under the rug (plus we’ll ensure notes from Judicial Meetings are destroyed so know one can retrace what action was taken).
AM III: “It is our fervent desire to protect children from any kind of abuse.”
MY RESPONSE: Well this one comes straight from the horses mouth –
w00 6/15 pp. 12-17 ‘Honor the Ones Given Authority Over You’
As Christians, we have “compelling reason” for respecting those exercising secular authority. The apostle Paul admonished Christians to “be in subjection to the superior authorities, for there is no authority except by God; the existing authorities stand placed in their relative positions by God.” (Romans 13:1, 2, 5; 1 Peter 2:13-15)
This “fervent desire” can’t be all that “fervent “if completely ignoring THE LAW that requires child abusers to be reported to “superior authorities” occurred over 1006 times.
AM III: “Many governmental, educational and religious organizations were somewhat naïve about the magnitude and the complexity or the situation. Others knew of the problem and covered it “
MY RESPONSE: This is the part that makes my blood boil over due to the hypocrisy of his words! Others knew of the problem and covered it up? 1006 cases were “covered up” and NOT reported to the secular authorities (double hypocrisy!). And that’s just the cases that have been documented and aren’t ‘missing’ from their files.
AM III: “It is clear that over the decades protecting children from abuse is a top priority for this organization. We are proud of reputation in this regard.”
MY RESPONSE: What IS clear is that it has NOT been a top priority. PSA’s and articles to a “naïve” world don’t just mean protection of children is a top priority. It’s just an attempt to make it appear that way.
Reply
David says:
July 30, 2015 at 4:29 am
Tony, Tony you make me laugh!
“It is our fervent desire to protect children from any kind of abuse.”
You let a kid grow in the religion, filling his young mind with the opinions of 7 men with bronze age ideas.
And when he becomes a young person and decides that he has the right to use his brain it is treated like a beast. And avoided for the rest of his life
And you say you protect the children, aha ahhah! This is destroying a child not protecting
Reply
Ted says:
July 30, 2015 at 6:19 am
The lobotomised elders, questioned at the royal commission
demonstrated the amount of control this so called religion
exercises over its members.
They were afraid and unable, and not allowed to make an
independent, humane decision, but had to contact the branch
office at every turn.
Many times they mentioned writing to the Aussie branch, but
not even, once, about how to help the distressed victim.
When cornered and asked to give a personal opinion about
the traumatising practice of making victims confront their
attacker, the elder was plainly uneasy and avoided the question.
He replied instead, this was the org, policy.
Another elder, when pressed to say whether the org, had an
obligation to compensate for psychological damage caused,
and subsequent medical bills. Was visibly agitated and refused
to answer the question.
When exposed by skill full attorneys, they were helpless, unable
to give an account for themselves. Like babies, entirely
dependent on their mother.
Reply
Meredith J says:
July 30, 2015 at 4:42 pm
How true Ted. How lame they look and they are being abandoned by their ‘mother’ like they were a hot potato. The governing body have shown no emotion or concern about any of this. Surely, these people should wake up and see what old selfish evil men are leading them?
Reply
pam hansen says:
July 30, 2015 at 4:13 pm
When I mentioned this to my Jw sister she said pedos are everywhere. The Jdubs didn’t brush it off so so when the exposure in the Catholic church was happening.. HYPOCRISY at its best!!!
All the stone throwing and hateful words they have spewed about the religions of Christendom are now coming back on them!!
Reply
Claire says:
July 31, 2015 at 3:15 pm
Another damning article from Australia re the horrendous treatment of child abuse victims.
Must say how impressed I am with the professionalism of The Royal Commission and also their preparedness. They have certainly done their homework.https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/law-crime/2015/08/01/royal-commission-examines-jehovah-witnesses-cover/14383512002194
Reply
Average Joe says:
July 31, 2015 at 3:20 pm
At least thanks to the Royal Commission making all the evidence documents available to the public, there is now a LEGITIMATE way for EVERYONE to get hold of the elder’s book:http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/downloadfile.ashx?guid=75759c53-1248-4710-a6a8-7beda7ae5411&type=exhibit&filename=WAT.0003.001.0001&fileextension=pdf
Not from an apostate site but from a government site. Also on this page:http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/exhibits/636f01a5-50db-4b59-a35e-a24ae07fb0ad/case-study-29,-july-2015,-sydney
Secret letter & guidelines (from USA to Oz) for “branch eyes only”.
Reply
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← Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower
Elders shamed under questioning by the Royal Commission
Posted on July 30, 2015
Jehovah's Witness elder Max Horley was among the elders who failed to impress when giving testimony before the Commission
Jehovah’s Witness elder Max Horley was among the elders who failed to impress when giving testimony before the Commission
The following article has been submitted by “CovertFade,” a non-disfellowshipped reader who credits this website with helping him wake up from Witness indoctrination a year ago, and who wishes to comment on developments in Australia…
As recorded this week in major news outlets all over the world, The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Australia has been presented with incontrovertible evidence that, due to the explicit policy and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1,006 alleged child molesters in Australia have not been reported to the police, with hundreds of these molesters allegedly being repeat offenders.
The evidence comes, not from “apostates” or “Satan’s media.” It comes from the brave and gut-wrenching testimony of abuse survivors, the jaw dropping and sometimes infuriating testimony of elders who dealt with their cases, and Watchtower’s own internal documents. And it is utterly damning, confirming everything that child protection activists and critics of the Watchtower organization have long claimed: Victims forced to confront their accusers in closed off, all-male tribunals. Elders not reporting cases of abuse to the police, even in the face of actual confessions from the abuser. Victims being told to be silent or be shunned.
Sounds awful doesn’t it? Both for the lives of the victims, and for the reputation of the organization that has so spectacularly failed them. But trust us, unless you’ve actually observed the hearings, you’ve not even seen the half of it. And observe you can.
In complete contrast to the closed off, star chamber style of court that Watchtower calls “justice,” the Royal Commission has published its sessions online for the whole world to see in the form of video recordings and transcripts.
The actual commission has looked at two case studies so far; examining the testimonies of two separate abuse survivors from inside Jehovah’s Witnesses (known to the commission as person BCB and person BCG), and the subsequent response of the Watchtower as an institution when it became aware of the allegations.
Both cases date from about twenty years ago. So far, the Commission has taken testimony from the two survivors, and from five elders involved in their cases. To give a blow-by-blow account of all of the suffering, failures and jaw-dropping incompetence displayed in the sessions would take an entire book, not an article. But nonetheless here are a few overall points that can be gained from observing the proceedings so far. (As I type this, day three of the two week hearing has ended, and the commission in taking a one day break before resuming on Friday 31st July.)
Above you can watch a YouTube playlist of video coverage from the Royal Commission
Watchtower’s strategy in dealing with the commission is crumbling. It’s hard to believe that the Elders appearing to testify will not have been coached by Watchtower’s Legal Desk. Indeed, one can see a distinct trend in the testimony each man gives, which speaks of a coordinated response.
Each man takes the stand and begins by trying to press a specific narrative: “We’re not saying everything was handled perfectly in the past: everyone was still new to the problem and didn’t fully understand how to proceed. But we’ve learned since then, and fixed the problems, and now it’s all fine, trust us, no really, and please pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”
Trouble for them is: the commission is blowing holes in that narrative wide enough to drive Jehu’s chariot through.
Firstly, it has now been demonstrated that even by the standards of the time (both cases being around 20 years old) the elders involved in the process demonstrated horrific incompetence and even active deceit. For example, elder Max Horley admits at one point to “not taking seriously” the wording of a letter he wrote to the branch about the sex abuse case he investigated, with that flawed letter later resulting in a significant and incorrect minimizing of the perceived seriousness of the abuse.
But it’s not just incompetence on the part of the elders that has been uncovered, because on day three, the commission caught elder Dino Ali apparently lying under oath.
Ali had claimed before the commission, and in his written statement, that when he and his fellow elders had investigated the allegations made by a young girl (known to the commission as BCG) against her father (allegedly a friend of Ali), the committee had been unable to disfellowship the father or take any action against him, even though they claimed to believe the allegations, because they had neither two witnesses to the crime, nor a confession from the father.
Ali regretfully but firmly stated that since it was a case of one person’s word against another, there was nothing the elders could do. He was asked during hearings to confirm if he’d have found the father guilty if he’d had two witness or a confession. Ali agreed that either one would have allowed him to do so.
Much to his obvious shock, the Commission then produced a set of aged, handwritten notes. They spent a great deal of time getting Ali to confirm that the notes were his, written during his investigation of the abuse. Ali, as recorded in the transcript and videos was clearly uncomfortable, and tried to dance around the issue, but was soon left with little choice in the matter but to accept that they were his, apparently obtained by the commission from the congregation file.
The Commission then proceeded to read Ali’s own account, from Ali’s own notes, of how not only the daughter BCG had accused the father of abuse, but BCG’s mother had also testified to Ali that the father had abused the two younger daughters, and the eldest of the four daughters had also stated to Ali that she had been abused.
Sounds bad? It gets worse.
Later in the notes, Ali in his own hand had recorded the father confessing to the abuse. The commission thus pointed out that, far from having only one witness and no confession, Dino Ali actually had three witnesses and a confession – enough evidence to find the father guilty.
Having been caught in either an act of gross negligence, outright deceit, or both, Ali spends most of the rest of his testimony trying and failing to convince the judge that three witnesses and a confession is not actually three witnesses and a confession.
Secondly, it quickly becomes apparent that while Watchtower may have changed some things they have not made changes where it really matters, and all the elders confirm this under oath.
The two witness rule. The practice of three men interrogating a survivor of sexual assault, sometimes in front of their attacker. The policy of not reporting to the police unless legally mandated to do so. These core problems are still alive and kicking in Watchtower. Thus, despite Watchtower’s attempt to spin a certain narrative to the Commission, the Commission has in just the first three days left that narrative in tatters.
And that leads us to the next point.
The failure is systemic to the Watchtower organization from the top down. These are not the actions of a few bad apples or incompetent men. Every single elder has confirmed (with the exception of Ali’s apparently deceitful behavior which, for the sake of fairness, was likely not directly sanctioned by Watchtower) that they were following direct printed policy regarding these matters. Indeed, these elders feel that they cannot deviate from the policy even if they disagree with it. The testimony below from Max Horly is typical of the repeated responses from the elders interviewed…
◾Justice Peter McClellan: Mr Horley, I understand how the church is organized, but what the process means is that the investigation, in a case such as this one, of a woman’s allegations is made entirely by men; correct?
◾Max Horley: I’m sorry, the —
◾Justice McClellan: The investigation within the church is conducted entirely by men?
◾Horley: That’s correct, yes.
◾Justice McClellan: Do you think that’s appropriate when the allegation comes from a woman, and maybe a young woman?
◾Horley: That’s – that’s the procedure that we have in place.
◾Justice McClellan: I know, but I’m asking you a different question.
◾Horley: Well, that sort of comes into my personal feelings. I think I would still have to be bound by what the branch directs me to do.
This is an oft repeated theme in the hearing. Elders follow orders, and they cannot question those orders, even if they disagree with them.
And disagree they do.
Most elders interviewed disagreed with the Watchtower policy when pressed. Out of the four elders specifically questioned about the key concerns of the commission, three of the elders (Max Horley, Doug Jackson, and Kevin Bowdich) eventually conceded in part or in whole that the process was flawed and needed to change. Below we have some such excerpts from the transcripts demonstrating this.
◾Mr Angus Stewart, Counsel for the Commission: The point is, do you accept that in the face of the person accused, it may be very difficult for a person who has suffered abuse to say everything that happened to them?
◾Max Horley: Absolutely, yes.
◾Stewart: And in front of other men as well, at least two elders; is that right?
◾Horley: That’s true, yes.
◾Stewart: So it’s not a process that is necessarily going to come out with the full story, is it?
◾Horley: Obviously not at the first meeting and, in this case that’s borne out, but – yep.
◾Justice McClellan: The problem, Mr Jackson, is really not addressed in that way, though, is it? The problem —
◾Doug Jackson: No
◾Justice McClellan: — is the whole structure of the arrangement with two male elders, a male accused and then a female, in an environment in which she could never feel comfortable, being asked to tell intimate details of a sexual nature – the structure doesn’t work, does it?
◾Jackson: Well, I agree, your Honor, I certainly do.
◾Mr Angus Stewart, Counsel for the Commission: It’s not a good process, is it?
◾Kevin Bowdich: It could be better.
Only one elder, Dino Ali, stubbornly insisted that the process was fine as it was, though his contradictory and sometimes bizarre responses to the commission indicate a man either being deliberately stubborn in refusing to admit the possibility his church may have flaws, a man terrified of publicly contradicting the Watchtower, or a man of such limited critical thinking skills that he cannot understand simple logic and reasoning.
Here is a typical example of the Judge trying to lead him to water, but of Mr Ali refusing to drink, when discussing the practice of bringing a sexual abuse survivor before a three-man committee.
◾Justice McClellan: And you still think that’s an appropriate process for a young woman who is bringing allegations of sexual assault by her father, do you?
◾Dino Ali: I believe it’s a step in understanding the process of what happened. It’s – I understand how difficult it was for her.
◾Justice McClellan: But what she is saying to you is, because of the way this process was conducted, she wasn’t able to tell you all that she could have told you about what happened to her. Do you understand that?
◾Ali: True, true. I understand that.
◾Justice McClellan: So the three of you weren’t actually receiving the whole story, because the process wouldn’t allow it. Do you understand that?
◾Ali: I understand that, too.
◾Justice McClellan: Well is that not suggesting to you there is a flaw in the process?
◾Ali: No.
So of the four elders interviewed, three agreed the process was flawed and thus proved that the Commission’s concerns were valid, and the fourth refused to admit the process was flawed even when the flaws were demonstrable.
Wait, I said four Elders. Wasn’t there a fifth guy?
Yes, there was. Elder Joseph Bello, but he didn’t spend long on the stand. Basically, he appeared to present rather nervous and shamefaced testimony confirming that, when abuse survivor BCB and her husband had been considering going to the Royal Commission with her story, he had made the statement: “But what would that accomplish other than dragging Jehovah’s name through the mud?”
This prompted the following exchange…
◾Mr Stewart for the Commission: I take it within your faith, Jehovah is considered as a loving God?
◾Joseph Bello: Definitely.
◾Stewart: Would Jehovah, then, not also then not be more concerned about the victim than his own name?
At this point, you’d think Mr Bello would take the olive branch being offered, but instead he gives the following insight into why the Watchtower would rather abusers go free than victims go public
◾Joseph Bello: Jehovah would be concerned about the victim, but Jehovah is concerned about his own name, too, that’s what the scriptures told us.
In other words… no.
Yikes.
Oh, and before he got off the stand, he also admitted that he had no real idea what the Commission was for or what it did, and that despite being summoned several weeks ago, he had done no research. When the astonished Judge told him that he must have been aware of the Commission’s work though the news, Mr Bello admitted to never following the news. The look on the face of Justice McClellan after this response spoke a thousand words.
This is just a small snippet of the opened can of worms that the elders interviewed thus far have strewn across the Commission floor. Not a single elder has carried themselves with any grace. They have all either collapsed into a deflated, shame-faced mess under questioning, or showed themselves to be unreasoning, deceitful fanatics.
With over a week of further testimony lying ahead, including the testimony of some high-ranking members of Watchtower Australia, it’s hard to see how the organization can possibly pull out of this legal and PR nosedive.
It would be hilarious, if it wasn’t so tragic.
If you decide to view the videos and read the transcripts, please be certain to take in the harrowing testimony of BCB and BCG. Please listen carefully as they relate how their lives were destroyed by men who should have protected and loved them.
Please listen as they relate how the elders and policies of the Watchtower organization acted to make an awful situation even worse. Please consider their courage, and their pain.
And please consider that these are just two of potentially thousands of victims around the world whom Watchtower has failed and will continue to fail until rule of law, financial penalty and public opinion force it to revise its bronze age approach to child abuse.
Covertfade
Further reading…
◾Updated list of media reports on the Royal Commission
◾Download page for exhibits from the Royal Commission
◾Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower
◾Jehovah’s Witness Report article
◾JWsurvey articles on child abuse
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← Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower
62 Responses to Elders shamed under questioning by the Royal Commission
← Older Comments
Koos says:
July 31, 2015 at 12:57 pm
Stephen Lett Captain of the Titanic
Reply
Sharon Ryan says:
July 31, 2015 at 1:08 pm
Wow. Unbelievable, yet all totally true. So glad I woke up & got out of the JW’s almost 6 years ago.
Reply
Peter says:
July 31, 2015 at 1:24 pm
I apologise for the multiple posts but I would just like to add one more comment and say to individual Jehovah’s witnesses, without condemnation or finger pointing etc, the governing body are ‘proud’ of how they’ve handled this young woman’s case and others like it but the real stinger is this. . .the Watchtower has been aware of this information for many years and they still say they are ‘proud’. They knew this was coming and have tried to deceive you. Listen to Tony Morris for yourselfs. . .who are the apostates and who really is the faithful and wise servant, a question posed by the master.
Reply
anonymous says:
July 31, 2015 at 1:55 pm
Does anybody know if this like a civil suit where the victims are suing for compensation for the pain and mental suffering they have gone through?
It is clear the elders don’t want to take responsibility and if they do take responsibility for the cover ups, then they could all be sued? So, if they say they were taking orders from the Society, then if it was proved that the Society prevented the victims from reporting the abuse to the authorities, then the Society would be the ones sued?
Like my husband keeps saying: The Society has never said that the victims cannot go to the police. No, the Society is smarter than to put it in writing that victims are not being barred from reporting the abuse to the police.
So, then why 1006 out of 1,006 cases of child sexual abuse that were reported to the elders, not even one of those men told the victims and their families to report the abuse to the authorities? If the abuse was in the family, then they would have to know that the man or father is not going to turn himself into the police and so the elders should have reported it to the police to protect the child in that home but they didn’t report it to the police.
Since the elders felt uncomfortable in relating their experiences in those situations where the child had to confront the abuser in front of a bunch of men, it would seem that most of those men went against their conscience. No, they weren’t following orders from the Society to tell those people that they couldn’t go to the police, but they discouraged it by telling them that the victims’ reporting it to the police would bring reproach on Jehovah’s name.
The Society is smart enough not to put it in writing that victims can not go to the police but the elders were dumb enough to go against their conscience and not report it and discouraged the victims not to report it. They were no different than those in WW2 following orders from Hitler. People follow orders from men dressed in suits, no matter how stupid the orders might be. It’s human nature. Now the chickens are coming home to roost and the elders are being left to take the blame. If the elders realize just how they have been thrown under the bus so save the Organization, maybe they will realize what a disgusting lowlife bunch of men they are following.
If the Society were real men, they’d stand up for those elders. After all, with 1006 out of 1006 cases of child sexual abuse not being reported to the police, it has to tell the authorities that the Society has to be giving those men orders, even if it’s not in writing.
If each of those 1,006 people each got one million dollars compensation, that could wipe out the Organization and just think, this is only one country. This abuse has been happening all over the world in the Organization for decades.
Reply
Peter says:
July 31, 2015 at 2:15 pm
A wonderful comment, logical, sensible and compassionate. The civil cases,I presume, would begin withthe conclusion of the trial and its findings.x
Reply
Peter says:
July 31, 2015 at 2:50 pm
I do believe this is the beginning of the end of the Watchtower, deservedly so. There are many lovely people who are Jehovah’s witnesses,we all have our favourites, I just hope they don’t get caught in the crossfire, nevertheless what will be is what will be.x
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peter says:
July 31, 2015 at 3:30 pm
let the foolish virgins grow together
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New videos are constantly being uploaded to the John Cedars YouTube channel.
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12 Responses to Videos
KtotheRAD "Konrad" says:
August 25, 2013 at 6:55 pm
With every word they reveal and “impart” far more than they ever intended…
Reply
george says:
August 27, 2013 at 4:45 am
Sorry Cedars, I can only access the first video on my I pad. There are a lot of over sized play icons and they won’t work.
Reply
Luke says:
October 27, 2013 at 5:27 pm
Continue the good work on this site that expose what Watchtower Organization really are — a fanatic end-time driven cult that only serve interests of its leaders. I left this
cult three years ago for good. My only regret is that I had not left the Watchtower Cult earlier! On Easter Sunday this year, I was baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit and received into Eastern Orthodox Church, apostolic Church that preserved the Faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
Cedar, you have my blessings of your work on this site that
will yet help millions of JWs to see the truth of so-called ‘Truth’.
Reply
Fred says:
November 2, 2013 at 12:09 pm
Forget taking your numbers from a 1974 yearbook if you question the amount of those killed, interned, etc get the numbers from the Holocaust museum. You forgot to mention the ‘JEWS’ were and its quoted several times in the Watchtower publications as it is related in the bible, “ONCE GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE” but they did not remain that because of their actions. Your quotes from WT publications are based on the latter that they fell out of favour in God’s eyes. They therefor were NOT written in an anti-Semitic nature. Many Jews have become JW’s over the years are they lesser beings because they were of Jewish blood?…ABSOLUTELY NOT! All races are equal so this video in my opinion is twisted in its presentation. Not to mention the ridiculous claim of Rutherford’s so called love letter to Adolf Hitler. No blinders on here, I have checked the facts. Sorry but this video paints an untruthful twist of events and statements about the WT as regards the comments on the Nazi’s and Jews.
Reply
Palma says:
February 28, 2014 at 3:48 am
Hi everybody! Hi cedars!
I found this article about a discovery in egypt that brings light to the origin of story of joseph in the bible.
What do you think?http://www.davidovits.info/the-lost-fresco-and-the-bible-my-new-book-in-french/
Reply
Idris says:
March 27, 2014 at 8:12 am
Thank you for this page, it has been a great help to me, as I seek the truth of the word of God, however I noticed in the video ‘Does the Bible speak of ‘Paradise Earth’ the speaker quotes Luke 21v43 twice, regarding Jesus word on the cross, there should be a correction note as the verse he mentions is in Luke 23 v 43.
Keep up the good work
Reply
Julia Orwell says:
July 17, 2014 at 3:47 am
Been to internationals before and this elaborate souvenir thing is entirely new. The last one I went to in 2009, the last ones they had, had nothing like this so it’s not a matter of you having not noticed it in the past, it’s a matter of it being a new phenomenon.
I theorize that the wt motives for this involve keeping the masses busy and therefore obedient. Jws would volunteer to do this because there are no other legitimate outlets for creative expression. Armageddon being near has nothing to do with it: it’s about keeping the sheeple busy and happy. Making stupid trinkets is also a team building activity as it involves jws working together, thus reinforcing the herd mentality jws have.
Reply
frankie fernandez says:
February 27, 2015 at 4:44 pm
dear friends I was baptized in 1974. Thank God I am no longer a member of the WT. Free at last and oh what a relief it is. A member of my former congregation who I considerd my best friend molested a minor. There was a big argument amognst the elders on the judicial committee. One elder who was a maverick, wanted to notify the police. But, instead they followed the instuctions of the society. They kept this crime against the child, hush hush. So as not to tarnish the name of Jehovah. But in reality it was a coverup to protect the wt’s reputation. Meanwhile this poor child that was raped has to carry the heavy burden of a victim for the rest of thier lives without compensation and without justice. While the abuser has remaind a member in good standing. The congregation he is attending now has not been notified that he is a sexual preditor.
Reply
Kirtley W. Burggraf says:
March 11, 2015 at 11:16 am
Tell me, since governing body members are elected (replacing someone who dies) at what point do do they become “divinely inspired” or “spirit guided”? Were they always thus in the lower ranks or does this just “happen” the moment that they are appointed? What’s Watchtower’s take on this?
Reply
Alone in MD says:
March 31, 2015 at 6:00 pm
Regards your video on the Memorial Service. I am one of those “non believers” married to a baptized witness. I go to just keep the peace but I’ve made it known that I consider this service one of the worst religious ceremonies that I have ever been to. “Anointed What”. Also it was announced at last years meeting that “this may be the last memorial service”. They are at it again. Thanks for the great videos.
Reply
frankie fernandez says:
May 10, 2015 at 9:50 pm
IF CHRIST WAS ENTHRONGED IN 1914, WHY ARE THE WITNESES STILL CELEBRATING THE MEMORIAL? CHRIST SAID THAT AFTER HIS ARRIVAL NO ONE WAS TO CELEBRATE THE MEMORIAL .ALSO HE SAID THAT THE DAY OF HIS PRESENSE, IT WILL BE LIKE LIGHTNING FROM ONE POINT OF THE EARTH TO ANOTHER. LIGHTNING TRAVELS AT THE SPEED OF 3500 MILES PER SECOUND. SO IT WILL TRAVEL AROUND THE GLOBE IN LESS THAN A MINUTE. HE ALSO SAID THAT ALL EYES WILL SEE HIM. NOT LIKE THE WTS THAT SAYS WE ARE IN HIS INVISIBLE PRESENSE.
Reply
pj wilcox says:
July 31, 2015 at 3:21 am
I watched the latest video of the inept elder being questioned by the commission. Who prepared this man for testimony? You all are aware of the dentist who shot Cecil the lion in Kenya? Well his life is over. He is in hiding. What he did ,did not break laws in Kenya and his is in a world of trouble with public sentiment. But this elder being questioned is far worse. He covered deeds that drove people to think of killing themselves. Should he not go into hiding? Is his life over? Has he know conscience? Emotion, caring? You know the answer. Bet ya, damage control is working overtime on this.
Reply
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Top Posts & Pages
Elders shamed under questioning by the Royal Commission
Elders shamed under questioning by the Royal Commission
Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower
Australian Royal Commission hears that 1,006 alleged child sex abusers were covered up by Watchtower
Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh
Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh
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30 Jul
Lloyd Evans @cedarsjwsurvey
A http://JWsurvey.org reader gives his take on elder testimony from the Royal Commission... http://wp.me/p1TWXJ-237
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29 Jul
Lloyd Evans @cedarsjwsurvey
Jehovah's Witness elders ignored child sex abuse rules of evidence, royal commission told http://www.smh.com.au/national/jehovahs-witness-elders-ignored-child-sex-abuse-rules-of-evidence-royal-commission-told-20150729-gimnwb.html … via @smh
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28 Jul
Lloyd Evans @cedarsjwsurvey
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Lloyd Evans @cedarsjwsurvey
Evidence that 1,006 alleged #childabuse perpetrators were covered up in Australia comes straight from #Watchtower http://wp.me/p1TWXJ-22H
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Ex-Believers Accuse Jehovah's Witness Leadership Of Covering Up Sexual Abuse http://www.inquisitr.com/2265651/ex-believers-accuse-jehovahs-witness-leadership-of-covering-up-sexual-abuse/ … via @theinquisitr
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