DiscussMormonism.com

See link below for article.

http://www.seattleweekly.com/2007-05-30 ... church.php

I just got done reading the whole thing. Wow, what a sad, sad story.

The clincher, in my opinion, came at the very end and sums up the LDS church's philosophy on child abuse (and every other form of abuse) in a tidy little package. Referring to the Joe, the child victim, his mother Anne reports:

A few years ago, Anne received a letter from a Mormon bishop in California. The bishop wrote to tell her that Joe was reapplying to be a member of the church. Would the family forgive him?

"You don't want to know what I said," says Anne.

Rollo Tomasi wrote:See link below for article.

http://www.seattleweekly.com/2007-05-30 ... church.php

I don't know what to say. I think I need a room to scream in for 15 minutes.

Thanks Rollo! While this one hit-the-fan, i'm certain there are many that have not come into public view. I am personally aware of similar atrocities that have effected lives.

I'm also aware that LDSism has no franchise on such abuses. The thing most interesting, to me, in this case is the fact of Robert holding the church positions that he did, and the scars and dysfunctions that could not but have influenced 'his' counsel, and interactions with his associates in general...

Little wonder the Mormon church has been slow to reform. IF "revelation" really worked, wouldn't such abuses be "revealed" to "local-leaders"??? Quite likely there were "local-members" who could see, "something wrong here"!? But of course what can a mere member do in the Autocratic Mormon Institution? Roger

Dr. Shades wrote:I just got done reading the whole thing. Wow, what a sad, sad story.

I just read it too and you are right, it is a sad story. Hopefully, Bishops will respond more effectively in the future. I also hope they will lose that "risk management in containing damage to the Church" approach and concentrate on helping the victimized member, as related in the story.

Stuff like this makes me physically ill. I too hope the church is better about dealing with this problem than it has been. But it's hard to know, isn't it?

Dr. Shades wrote:I just got done reading the whole thing. Wow, what a sad, sad story.

The clincher, in my opinion, came at the very end and sums up the LDS church's philosophy on child abuse (and every other form of abuse) in a tidy little package. Referring to the Joe, the child victim, his mother Anne reports:

A few years ago, Anne received a letter from a Mormon bishop in California. The bishop wrote to tell her that Joe was reapplying to be a member of the church. Would the family forgive him?

"You don't want to know what I said," says Anne.

I don't get why that bishop wrote to her with such a request. Is Joe's rebaptism conditioned upon Anne's forgiveness? I believe in forgiveness and hope someday she is ready to do that, for her own sake and her son's, but for the bishop to ask her this is intrusive, to say the least, it seeks to put the church on higher moral ground than she is on, the church takes no responsibility for this horrible thing and then it throws the responsibility -- and blame -- back on her if she won't forgive. &*(& $#E%YU# #$#@

Lucretia MacEvil wrote:I don't get why that bishop wrote to her with such a request. Is Joe's rebaptism conditioned upon Anne's forgiveness? I believe in forgiveness and hope someday she is ready to do that, for her own sake and her son's, but for the bishop to ask her this is intrusive, to say the least, it seeks to put the church on higher moral ground than she is on, the church takes no responsibility for this horrible thing and then it throws the responsibility -- and blame -- back on her if she won't forgive. &*(& $#E%YU# #$#@

Uh, Lucretia? Anne was the mother. Joe was the son. Joe received the abuse, not Anne. Anne neither received nor gave any abuse at all.

So it's a lot worse than what you thought. The bishop wrote to the abuse-ee's mother to ask whether she'd forgive her son for being sexually abused when he was a child.

Dr. Shades wrote:

Lucretia MacEvil wrote:I don't get why that bishop wrote to her with such a request. Is Joe's rebaptism conditioned upon Anne's forgiveness? I believe in forgiveness and hope someday she is ready to do that, for her own sake and her son's, but for the bishop to ask her this is intrusive, to say the least, it seeks to put the church on higher moral ground than she is on, the church takes no responsibility for this horrible thing and then it throws the responsibility -- and blame -- back on her if she won't forgive. &*(& $#E%YU# #$#@

Uh, Lucretia? Anne was the mother. Joe was the son. Joe received the abuse, not Anne. Anne neither received nor gave any abuse at all.

So it's a lot worse than what you thought. The bishop wrote to the abuse-ee's mother to ask whether she'd forgive her son for being sexually abused when he was a child.

I bet Robert got a similar letter if the Church could find him.

Would his readmittance be contingent upon their capacity or willingness to forgive him?