"Shepherd the Flock of God" (ks10-E), elders' handbook, 2010 edition, “Chapter 12 (Handling Certain Judicial Matters), 'Child Abuse', pars. 18-21”
“Child abuse is a crime. Never suggest to anyone that they should not report an allegation of child abuse to the police or other authorities. If you are asked, make it clear that whether to report the matter to the authorities or not is a personal decision for each individual to make and that there are no congregation sanctions for either decision.”
Par. 19, pp. 131-132. Par. 18: 'You should immediately call the branch office for direction if you learn of an accusation of child abuse, regardless of the age of the victim now or at the time of the alleged abuse'. A margin note refers elders to the 1 October 2012 letter. This is the edition the Australian Royal Commission examined in 2015.
Scan of original (opens in new tab)
Provenance and verification note for "Shepherd the Flock of God" (ks10-E), elders' handbook, 2010 edition, Chapter 12 (Handling Certain Judicial Matters), 'Child Abuse', pars. 18-21
Confidence note. Downloaded the NZ-hosted scan (143 pages) and text-extracted chapter 12; quotation verbatim.
Scan provenance. New Zealand Abuse in Care Royal Commission evidence library. The scan carries Australian Royal Commission document IDs (WAT.0003.001.0001 ff.; Exhibit 29-0003 per Case Study 29 report endnote 106) and NZ IDs (MSC0500457).
Corroborated by. src-arc-2016-1000-cs29-report
Notes. Not published on wol.jw.org (elders-only publication). Quoted from the copy tendered in evidence to the Australian Royal Commission; no other copy is cited.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-ks-2010-0000-shepherd-flock-ch12