Jehovah’s Witnesses face child sexual-abuse investigation in Australia

[LiberalAndProud]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/jehovahs-witnesses-face-child-sex-abuse-investigation-in-australia/2015/08/14/d8a58eda-406e-11e5-9561-4b3dc93e3b9a_story.html

SYDNEY — The abuse was meticulously catalogued. From 1950 to 2014, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society amassed 5,000 files detailing sexual abuse of Australian children by 1,006 of its members, who believe that only they — the Jehovah’s Witnesses — proclaim the truth about God.

Young girls were assaulted by neighbors. Teenagers were raped by their fathers. Victims were forced to pray with their abusers.

When the children reached out for help, the church’s obsession with secrecy and hostility to outsiders kicked in. Victims, ordered to keep quiet, were forced to confront their abusers in person. All complaints — which averaged one a month for 65 years — were carefully recorded in sealed files, along with the church’s by-the-Bible responses.

In all, 127 church officials were demoted. No one was reported to the authorities. Child abuse was recorded and hidden away.

I have said it elsewhere, but say it again here for emphasis, when preservation of the institution becomes the paramount concern of a group, morality and decency are utterly and hopelessly destroyed. This infuriates me.

[LiberalAndProud]

1. Australia: Royal Commission on Child Abuse - July 27, 2015 - Part 1

[Warren Stupidity]

2. Is anyone shocked that yet another religious institution is abusing children?

[cleanhippie]

3. Not surprised at all.

[LiberalAndProud]

4. I'm watching the hearing on youtube.

To say there is some dissembling on the part of the church hierarchy would be understating the ugly truth. Real reality tv.