USA : bombshell lawsuits allege 'insidious child sex abuse epidemic' and
decades of whitewashing inside secretive confines of Jehovah's Witness church.
Petition : Launch an Investigation to Determine If Jehovah's Witnesses Have A
Right to Use Coercion Forms of Mental Torture To Force Its Members Not to Leave.
Authorized use official JW ORG mobile carts - Jehovah's Witnesses and Watch Tower
Society deny legal liability for accidents and places legal and financial burden on
individual 'publisher'.
Belgium : lawsuit of Jacques Lejeune against the Watchtower : June 30, 2014, the Court
of Appeal of Mons declares itself incompetent and referred the case to the Court of
Appeal of Brussels.
UK : 'I'm relieved that everybody now knows what he has done, what he is
capable of': Victim of paedophile Jehovah's Witness reveals how she spoke
out to protect other children.
Australia : government publishes on official web site the current Jehovah's
Witnesses "Handling of Child Abuse" confidential letter to all bodies of
elders (October 1, 2012).
Belgium : cassation lawsuit of Jacques Lejeune : the JW's lawyers(3 of them)
speeches for the defence will continue on May 19, 2014. Before that, the JW's
will make new submissions for March 15 and his lawyer will make his submissions for
April 15. The judgment of the Court of Appeal of Mons should be made next June. The
case may still be appealed to the ECHR.
France : serious lack of judgment from the State Concil : it allows Jehovah's
Witnesses to access certain Miviludes documents concerning them(MetroFrance).
Costa rica : Elder Michael Johnson Norris has a $250,000 warrant for several felonies
including child molestation and attempted oral copulation of a child.
USA : Candace Conti : the Watchtower Society is going to ask the Judge during their
next court outing (8th November 2012) to reduce the bond or free them of it all
together, because it can't pay!
New instructions to the body of elders concerning the handling of child abuse and
legal procedures. The Watchtower asks them to destroy the old instructions letters!
(Oct.1st).
UK : Sales rep who was branded 'gay' because he didn't like football
wins 44,000 payout following months of 'atrocious' bullying by
Jehovah's Witnesses coworkers.
USA : Jehovah's Witnesses ordered to pay more than $20 million to woman (Candace
Conti) who said she was sexually abused as a child. Oakland, California.
USA : Ohio woman thanks lawyer for saving her life 36 years ago by allowing her to
receive a blood transfusion despite the objections of her Jehovah's Witnesses
parents.
Starting from January 1, 2013, the public Watchtower and Awake will have only 16
pages. It will be announced on April 8th, after the WT study. Some articles will be
available only on-line at jw.org. The websites will be merged into one : www.jw.org
starting June 2012.
USA : Jehovah's Witness jumps to death In Brooklyn. Jehovah's Witnesses
commit suicide at a rate far exceeding (5-10 times greater) the general population.
The Federal Public Ministry at Ceara, Brazil, on July 14, 2011 filed a civil action
against the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses in the 8th Federal Court for
practicing religious discrimination against former members.
On July 15, 2011 the Superior Court of Quebec (Canada) ordered a blood transfusion,
before the surgery, to an eleven month old baby of Jehovah's Witnesses parents
who opposed it. Journal de Montréal. (Click, pdf format.)
France : Miviludes (interministerial mission for monitoring and combatting cultic
deviances) releases a new guide called : "La protection des mineurs contre les
dérives sectaires"(The protection of minors against cultic deviances).
Confirmation that Brother Splane has been named as Barry's successor in Writing.
Confirmation of all 6 Central American countries merging under the Mexican Branch. The
Bethel family staff has been reduced from 300 to 75.
Russia : The Russian Government is appealing the ECHR June 10, 2010 ruling to the
Grand Chamber.
Year trial starting mid-2011 of a Simplified English language WT edition for countries
where English is a 2nd language; if successful, benefits are extended to the
translation departments as well as to parents of young children.
Year trial (USA) shepherding program for DO (and wives), global afterwards.
4 Theocratic Schools. Starting Sept 1, 2011 each year Patterson will host 2 Branch
Committee classes and 2 Traveling Overseer classes. These will be the second courses
for the Brothers.
MTS name change to “Bible School for Single Brothers (BSSB).
New school: Bible School for Christian Couples.
Teasing : an adult child who lives outside of the household is DFd? While the term
Necessary family business is a term familiar with those in this circumstance; the GB
wants to stress there is no need to push this to the extreme! Basically to shorten
the example and to get to the heart of the matter.. there must be incentive for the
DFd person to want to return. Parents are encouraged to give a little but to leave
the DFd child desiring for more while promoting their actions as motivate by their
love for Jah. The end result is hope that the DFd child in wanting full access to
the abundant love of his parents willl also begin to see his losses in not having a
relationship with Jehovah and seek reinstatement.
Russia : a Jehovah's Witness member faces a year in prison over her refusal to
allow her son to receive a blood transfusion that might have prevented his death.
According to rumors, Bethel branch office in Austria, Ireland, Italy and Switzerland
are closing down in the near future. Most of the business will be taken care of from
the German Bethel.
Bill Bowen from Silentlambs.org has been received in France by the president of the
MIVILUDES (Mission Interministérielle de Lutte et de Vigilances contre les Dérives
Sectaires)(the interdepartmental mission of vigilance and fighting against cults).
All donations are sent to one account in the USA.(2008).
Since the May 1st 2007 Watchtower p.31, the period from year 33 to 1935 is no longer
valid to select saints. A 10-year-old Jehovah's Witness could presumably become
a saint.
According to rumors the position of the overseers will be abolished. It will be the
responsibility of the elders to visit the congregations.
The magazine Awake is reduced to one publication per month since January 2008.
The Watchtower: one publication distributed for the general public and one reserved to
Jehovah's Witnesses since January 2008.
The reduction of meeting time goes from 2 hours to 1:45 on the weekends. Starting
January 2009, the book study meeting will no longer happen but will be incorporated
in the service meeting (traditionally Tuesday evenings) all while respecting the
allotted time of 105 minutes.