Jehovah’s Witness’ bid to be excluded from abuse inquiry dismissed

Jehovah’s Witness’ bid to be excluded from abuse inquiry dismissed

Monday, October 30th, 2023

A legal bid by the Jehovah’s Witness church to get out of being part of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care has been dismissed by the High Court in Wellington.

After nearly three years of behind-the-scenes legal wrangling to avoid scrutiny from the Inquiry, the church applied for a judicial review in June.

At a hearing, held earlier this month it argued it was beyond the inquiry’s scope because it did not operate institutions that cared for children or vulnerable people and the inquiry had uncovered no evidence of abuse in that context.

Lawyers representing the Inquiry argued that Jehovah’s Witness elders – equivalent to ministers or pastors – exercised a level of control over the congregation that allowed them access to children. Read more

Related Posts:

Additional reading

News category: New Zealand, News Shorts.

Tags: High Court, Jehovah's Witness church, Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care

Analysis and Comment
- Fifth Gospel Living – book review
  
  Simple, sweet, sometimes heart-breaking, and always invigorating, Fifth Gospel Living is the latest publication from Fr John O’Connor and his Food for Faith ministry. It comprises stories of personal encounters with God. The 96 reflections are the result of a Read more
- Treaty of Waitangi should be considered as a covenant relationship
  
  A hīkoi opposing the Treaty Principles Bill has made its way to Wellington. Those who took part in the hīkoi, along with supporters around the country, both Māori and non-Māori, consider the Bill to be a betrayal of the commitments Read more
- There is reliable evidence social media harms young people – debates about it are a misdirection
  
  The Australian government is developing legislation that will ban children under 16 from social media. There has been a huge public debate about whether there is sufficient direct evidence of harm to introduce this regulation. The players in this debate Read more
- Christianity stands on threshold of new Reformation
  
  Keynote speaker Tomáš Halík (pictured) a leading Catholic intellectual and author from the Czech Republic, says Churches must transcend national, religious, cultural boundaries A new reformation for the 21st century must transcend “the current forms and boundaries of Christianity,” resist Read more

Search CathNews

Search for:
CathNews
is free

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:
Great Reads