| Subject: Jehovah's witnesses kingdom halls: a paedophiles paradise! |
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X-JW
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Date Posted: 14:02:31 09/10/04 Fri
In reply to:
X-JW
's message, "Jehovah's witnesses: What a bunch of sick child abusers! Parents beware!!!" on 13:49:43 09/10/04 Fri
The Watch Tower Society have often reported on the inaction of churches, particularly the Catholic church, in handling cases of child sexual abuse among its members.
Interestingly, the Watch Tower Society has never published information about the activity of pedophiles in the organisation, and most witnesses assume that the congregations are free of sexual abusers and pedophiles.
Unfortunately nothing could be further from the truth.
The Watch Tower Society is coming under increasing pressure from the media, and internally from active witnesses around the world, to reform its handling of sexual abuse cases. Here are a few of instances from the media:
In February 1998 a lawsuit was filed in Huston (USA) by a young witness women against the Watch Tower Society. Her brother, also a witness, had sexually abused her in the mid 1980s. When she went to the elders in her congregation, her brother was counseled to stop the inappropriate activity, after he confessed to the abuse in a judicial meeting. The elders considered that to be the end of the matter, they did not pass on his confession to the police or local authorities, after being instructed not to by Watch Tower Society.
The brothers abuse would have stayed buried, just as the Watch Tower Society wanted it, had the sister not required help with depression. During counselling with a hospital worker she opened up about the abuse. Her brother was later convicted of sexual abuse and sentenced to prison.
During this trial, one of the elders who served on the judicial committee, testified under a grant of immunity that the Watch Tower Society had said it wanted the matter kept "in house".1
Handling Sexual Abuse and Pedophilia in the congregation
The Watch Tower Society official policy is that any case against a sex offender is not to be acted on unless there are two (adult) witnesses to any act of abuse. Furthermore, where it is not specifically required by law that church representatives inform the authorities of suspected abuse, the Watch Tower Society tells elders not to report it.
Particularly in the case of a pedophile, this is totally inapropriate. Elders have seen pedophiles moving from one congregation to another without hinderence, and have been told by the Watch Tower Society they must not warn the brothers and sisters of the congregations that a suspected, or even known, pedophile is moving in.
Here is another report from the press:
In Boulder, Colo., in December 1991, elders in a Jehovah's Witnesses congregation publicly reprimanded member Leland Elwyn Davies after finding that he had fondled several teen-age girls, according to a report filed by the Boulder County sheriff's office, which investigated after the mother of three victims had alerted police.
One victim, who spoke to police in January 1992, said she was "displeased that the behavior had not been reported by the elders to the authorities," according to the police report.
Police contacted an elder in the congregation who said he could not give out confidential information from the disciplinary process. Colorado does not mandate that clergy give out such information.
Police arrested Davies in July 1992 -- about six months after the church imposed discipline. He pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree sexual assault and was placed on probation, according to the criminal court clerk in Colorado's 20th Judicial District. Davies died in August 2000.
According to church lawyer Moreno, the system worked. Elders did their job, and victims and police did theirs, he said.
"What was the harm?" Moreno said. "The report got made. "You've got a teen, who has been molested, upset at the elders for not calling the police?" he said. "You can call the police. You're the one injured. "Who makes the laws? Not us. Don't blame us for the laws, please. Talk to the state legislators of Colorado."2
Did you sense how little Moreno, and the Watch Tower Society, were concerned for the victims? How could he possibly ask "What was the harm?" Imagine being told "you call the police, you're the one injured" when trying to explain to someone that you had been sexually abused or violated. How would you feel?
As to why the elders didn't report the crime, did you notice how Moreno diverted attention from the elders and the Watch Tower Society to the law makers - the "state legislators". "Don't blame us for the laws" he said, as if the law prevented the elders or the Society from contacting the police. The law in that state does not require that cases of abuse be reported by church officials - but they are still free to do so - wouldn't you?
Moreno's name has been in the press quite a lot, as we'll see...
In Keene, N.H., the guardian of a 15-year-old girl sued a Jehovah's Witnesses congregation in 1987, alleging that elders threatened the girl's parents with "religious excommunication and eternal damnation" if they sought police intervention or counseling for their daughter, who was sexually abused from 1975 to 1985.
The lawsuit was settled, and the girl's lawyer, Charles Donahue, said he could not comment on it. The abuser -- the girl's father -- was later sentenced to three to eight years in prison in 1986 after pleading guilty to two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, according to records in Cheshire County Superior Court.
Church lawyer Moreno said it would be "ridiculous" for any elder to make such a threat, and if one did, it would contradict church policy.
But former Jehovah's Witnesses elder J. Michael Terry, of Conway, Ark., said his experience didn't match the policy. He said that about three or four years ago, he steered the mother of an abuse victim to a therapist, who then reported the crime. "I got jumped on pretty bad" by two fellow elders, Terry said. "I did what my conscience told me to do," said Terry, who is no longer active in the church. "They said I should have done nothing but listen."
Arkansas law does not require clergy to report abuse to authorities but it does require social workers to. Terry is a social worker.
He said the incident soured his working relationship with elders, and about three years later he was stripped of his elder's position for being uncooperative.3
There have been some elders, like J Michael Terry, who have refused to hide the activities pedophiles and sex offenders in their congregations, another one was Bill Bowen.
An Elder resigns over the policy
December 2000, Bill Bowen resigned as an elder in the Draffenville congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States. He had served several years as the congregations Presiding Overseer. "I refuse to support a pedophile refuge mentality that is promoted among Body of Elders around the world." he said in his letter of resignation to the Society. You can read a copy of the letter here as Bill posted it on the internet messageboard H2O.
Bill's letter produced heated debate on a number of internet news groups and messageboards, some questioned his credibility, since he initially posted anonymously. However when the Paducah Sun newspaper printed the story of Bill's resignation, other witnesses started posting their experiences of sexual abuse on forums and newsgroups. Some of these were elders who shared Bill's view that the Society was more interested in their appearance -than in helping victims, or preventing further abuse.
Jim Whitney, 49, formerly a Witness elder, says he discovered meeting notes from other elders regarding abuse cases at a Kingdom Hall in California where he had been active. He said none of these cases were ever turned over to the police.
When he began attending another Kingdom Hall in Oregon, he discovered a similar pattern. "They shield the organization," he says. "They will do anything to protect Jehovah's Witnesses."
Other cases include:
In Maine, a teen-age boy was molested between 1989 and 1992 by a church member after church elders disciplined the offender secretly for molesting another boy.
Elders did not report the first case to authorities, and the law did not require them to. The second victim told a therapist, who notified authorities.
In New Hampshire, a former church member said elders failed to act when she told them her husband was physically abusing their children. The man received a 56-year prison sentence in October 2000 for sexual abuse that continued years after the woman went to elders.New Hampshire law required clergy to report suspicions of abuse.
In Texas, a prosecutor said church elders told a teen-age boy to stop molesting his younger sister in 1992 but failed to report it to police in apparent violation of state law. The boy later molested a second sister and in 1997 was sentenced to a 40-year prison term. Police were alerted when one victim reported the abuse to hospital staff following a suicide attempt.4
Paul Carden, executive director for the Centers for Apologetics Research in San Juan Capistrano, California, says this protective attitude is prevalent in the WTBTS. "There is a fortress mentality," Carden says. "The Watchtower Society is loath to admit wrongdoing of any sort. Because they portray themselves as being Jehovah's sole mouthpiece to mankind, they have sought to present themselves as being above question."
Whitney believes many child molesters make their way into Witness congregations. "It's a fertile ground," he says. "Pedophiles know that any confession they make is concealed. The Witnesses don't want to bring shame to their name."5
The WTS attempt to deny any problems exists went further than these media comments. According to a Bill Bowen, a film crew from the WTS interviewed his father who had also served as an elder. His father denied there was a problem with pedophiles in the congregation - well, wouldn't you if a film crew from the WTS turned up on your doorstep? Bill claimed that his father was not being honest in the interview.
"My mother called monday, a wt film crew came to their home and asked them to say they totally disagreed with everything I was doing. My father was asked to give his experience with pedophiles. He stated in his 38 years as an elder, he had only knew of two cases and the wt handled them both beautifully. What would you expect any witness to say with a wt camera stuck in their face. Even so I have difficulty understanding how any parent could do this to their family.
Would you like to know the truth?? My father has not served as an elder for 4 years, has not sat on a judicial committee for at least six years. As I sat and began to think back I could remember nine pedophiles he personally knew in congregations he served in, with over 60 children molested. But I have to ask again, what would a long time witness do with a wt camera shoved in their face? To tell the real truth would be suicide, spiritually speaking in wt world" said Bill in his message.6
What would the WTS want this video for? It was released to press as part of a media release from the WTS. "A WTS pr man Don More flew to Paducah to pass out a pr packet and a special pair of videos regarding the wt position. I know of at least three reporters who have been sent the information. Can you guess what the videos contained? You guessed it my father denouncing my position ".7
The response of the media to the video was perhaps not quite what the WTS hoped, said Bill "The comments ranged from simple amazement to absolute disgust that any organization would turn a father against a son".8
The impact of this policy on families
Do you have young children in the congregation? How do you feel about this policy of hiding pedophiles?
How can you trust any member of the congregation with your children when pedophiles have been found in the ranks of pioneers, ministerial servants and elders ?
NO, parents have a right to know if a pedophile is in the congregation - their crimes should be made known to all. The pedophile should never be able to comment at meetings, never be permitted on the platform to speak, and never be allowed to represent the congregation in the ministry.
Update July 2002, the accounts of abuse hit the media
On May 28 this year, NBC Dateline aired a documentary on this issue. It contained several interviews with Jehovah's Witnesses who had been molested by men in the congregation. We have written to Television New Zealand asking them when or if they will also aire this program, without response. However we have also purchased a copy of the transcript of the program. Copyright law prevents us from posting the whole transcript on our site, but here are a few examples.
Mr Bowen is the Bill Bowen you've been reading about, John Larson is the reporter from NBC Dateline..
Mr. BOWEN: It's a pedophile paradise within the organization. I believe that.
LARSON: What's the danger that you've been consumed by this to the point that--that you've blown it all out of proportion? I mean pedophile paradise? Come on.
Mr. BOWEN: I believe it with all my heart.
(Voiceover) There is a massive problem in the organization.
LARSON: (Voiceover) But Bill Bowen is just one man in one congregation in Kentucky. This woman, Barbara Anderson, worked for a decade inside Jehovah's Witness headquarters. When Anderson saw Bowen's messages on the Internet, she says she realized she had to tell him there was much more to the story, involving children in many of the 11,000 congregations across the country.
(Bowen; Barbara Anderson; letter on computer screen; Anderson)
Ms. BARBARA ANDERSON: I don't believe that they're safe within their church.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Anderson was a researcher at the Watchtower Society in the early 1990s when a senior official there asked her to look into the church's handling of sexual abuse cases. What she found, she says, sickened her: hundreds of molestation cases on record, all kept secret in church files--secret not only from the outside world, but from the members themselves, the families, the mothers and fathers and children who trust the church is looking out for them.
(Watchtower building; Anderson; filing cabinets)
Ms. ANDERSON: I believe that if they asked to see the congregation records, they will find that there are many envelopes with letters that discuss men--or women--in the congregation that were accused of molesting a child.
So the Society has known its had a major problem on its hands for well over a decade, yet how many average publishers seriously thought this could be a problem inside the congregation? The Society never let on.
What advise did they give to elders to handle these cases?
LARSON: (Voiceover) Bill Bowen says if you want to get an idea of how the church sweeps cases under the rug...
(Bowen talking on phone; traffic on bridges)
Headquarters #1: (On phone) Good afternoon, Watchtower.
LARSON: (Voiceover) ...just listen to part of a conversation Bowen recorded a little over a year ago with an official in the Jehovah's Witness legal department.
(New York City) Headquarters Receptionist: (On phone) Good afternoon, Legal Department.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Bowen calls seeking advice on how to handle a suspected molestation case involving a young girl and her father. Instead of being told to report it to the police, Bowen is told to confront the suspected abuser.
(New York City; Bowen talking on phone)
Headquarters #2: (On phone) You just ask him again, `Now is there anything to this?' If he says `No,' then I would walk away from it.
Mr. BOWEN: (On phone) Yep.
Headquarters #2: (On phone) Leave it for Jehovah. He'll bring it out.
Mr. BOWEN: (On phone) Yep.
Headquarters #2: (On phone) But don't get yourself in a jam.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Again, there was no insistence that this matter be brought to the authorities in the outside world. Bowen says he was so upset by the whole case he resigned as a church elder and vowed to help abuse victims.
Two things are interesting about this conversation with WatchTower Legal, the first is that they expect a pedophile to be honest, which is not naive it is negligent, and secondly they expressed concern for the elders not to get themselves in difficulty yet they showed no concern at all for the victim.
Of course the society claims that it handles these cases properly, and instructs elders how to do so. But what really happens?
LARSON: What remains unanswered, though, is why the church gets involved at all with investigating what are criminal matters. And just how often do they turn one of their own into authorities? We asked the church for some examples, proof that they're as tough as they say they are on members who abuse children. The church waited six months, but finally offered us two cases. And right away we noticed something. In both cases, the victims were Jehovah's Witnesses, but their alleged molesters were not. They were non-believers from outside the church.
(Voiceover) In fact, we could only find two cases where the church took an active role in turning in one of its own, including the case of this man, Clement Pandello.
LARSON: (Voiceover) Pandello, seen here in family videos...
(Excerpts from family videos)
Unidentified Girl: (From home video) ...in the middle.
LARSON: (Voiceover) ..confessed to church elders he'd molested his own granddaughter.
(Excerpts from family videos)
LARSON: (Voiceover) How did the church handle it? The parents of the young victim, Pandello's own son and daughter-in-law, also Jehovah's Witnesses, told DATELINE the church pressured to agree to a deal in which Pandello pled guilty to criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child. He was given only probation, no jail time. And what did the church elders tell Barbara and Carl Pandello?
(Excerpts from family videos; Carl and Barbara Pandello walking on beach; excerpts from family video)
Mr. CARL PANDELLO: We should just let it go, that it's not Jehovah's time to deal with it.
LARSON: (Voiceover) The church says that's not true, and the church apparently did disfellowship Clement Pandello two separate times. But each time they welcomed him back. So where is this convicted child molester today, a man who, according to court records, has admitted molesting girls all his life? DATELINE found him going door-to-door, a Jehovah's Witness in good standing, evangelizing to people who know nothing about his record. His own son, Carl, says the church should know better.
Mr. CARL PANDELLO: He's a sexual predator. When he goes door-to-door, he has a craving for young, juvenile girls, as he puts it. He's looking at that child, having those immoral thoughts in his mind while he's there.
The lesson from this is simple...the WatchTower Society and the congregation elders are unable to help the victims of child sexual abuse. This is a criminal matter and the victims need professional help, not platitudes from well-meaning but, largely incompetent, church elders.
In July 2002 the BBC program 'Panorama' also ran a story on this issue. They have made a transcript of the program available for download from their website here.
Highlights from this program include:
• an elder, telling the father of a child who had been abused, that his son was a liar, and the police officer who told the elder to back off, or risk of being arrested for witness intimidation
• an elder convicted and sent to prison for child sexual abuse, his fellow elders new about the accusations against him for over five years, but because he denied them he was allowed to remain an elder
• an interview with a member of the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses, who refuses to accept responsibility for the damage the policy he developed is still causing
• the revelation that the WatchTower society has a database of over 23,000 known pedophiles in its ranks, most of whom have never faced criminal charges.
This article is publicly available from the BBCs website here, please take a few moments to read it.
What about New Zealand?
Do you really think the situation would be different here? Consider this letter we received....
My husband comes from a family of seven, one girl and six brothers. He is now 45 and his parents became witnesses when he was 2 years old. 5 of the 6 boys were molested by a pedaphile in their church. They were all sent off on holiday with this man. My husband was sexually abused by him.
His parents covered up for this man and he was not punished by his church in Lowerhutt nor was he desciplined in any way.
I feel that they betrayed their childrens trust by not protecting them.
Our children are being made to pay for the sins of the past. It is difficult for him to express love or trust and he becomes violent and very abusive.
...for the Victims of these crimes the pain never ends. It is important for people to talk about these things, that way healing can occur.
If you know of any such abuse, please do the right thing, contact the proper authorities...the police, help survivors of abuse recover, and help prevent further abuse.
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