Jehovah's Witnesses Lose a Legal Battle in the Murrieta Molestation Case

Jehovah's Witness elders have refused to testify in the Murrieta Molestation case, on the basis of clergy confidentiality. Now a judge has ordered them to testify.

This case involves a judicial hearing. Judicial hearings aren't strictly confidential. Details are shared with the headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses and with appeals committees. They are very different from a private confession to a clergyman. This makes it difficult for Jehovah's Witnesses to apply the principle of clergy confidentiality to this kind of situation.

This news article discusses the details of this important development. This page at Silent Lambs provides general information about this case.

Secrets of Pedophilia Among Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses claim to take a very strict position against pedophiles in their religion. Unfortunately, their policies (many of them secret) have served to protect pedophiles from the police or prevent their members from finding out when there is a pedophile in their congregation. There are also loopholes that have allowed many known pedophiles to be appointed to positions of responsibility.

Lawsuits have resulted and the Jehovah's Witnesses have recently settled some of these out of court. The victims were required to sign gag orders. Barbara Anderson has helped to uncover some fascinating and very disturbing information about this multimillion dollar settlement. She has compiled a CD with about 5000 pages of court documents that can be purchased at her website. She has also made available a nearly 100 page summary of these documents that can be downloaded for free at these links: Watchtower Documents, Freeminds Site, Danny Haszard's Site.

If you are a Jehovah's Witness, I plead with you to find out the truth about this. Your religion teaches a concept of community responsibility. If you support an organisation, you bear some responsibility for its sins. Willful ignorance is not an excuse.

See also the Silent Lambs Website, this video and this discussion at JWD.