The Watchtower, “Let Us Abhor What Is Wicked”
“For the protection of our children, a man known to have been a child molester does not qualify for a responsible position in the congregation. Moreover, he cannot be a pioneer or serve in any other special, full-time service.”
The same article says: 'Depending on the law of the land where he lives, the molester may well have to serve a prison term or face other sanctions from the State. The congregation will not protect him from this.' It does not instruct elders to report; it also says a repentant abuser may 'share in the field service'. Courts later examined a 14 March 1997 letter to elders issued alongside this article (see Lopez and Padron).
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Provenance and verification note for The Watchtower, Let Us Abhor What Is Wicked
Confidence note. Opened wol.jw.org page (marker 'w97 1/1 pp. 26-29') and confirmed wording.
Corroborated by. src-cal-2016-0414-lopez-v-watchtower, src-cal-2017-1109-padron-v-watchtower, src-arc-2016-1000-cs29-report
Notes. Case Study 29 report p. 21 lists this article among the organisation's child-abuse policy documents.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-w-1997-0101-abhor-wicked