On My Mind

“So when does a sex offender get out of this?  I assume that gay, adulterous men, Ganaviem, etc should also not get Aliyas.  This is a bit too far….  Do we all beleive in Teshuva?”

Do even a little bit of research on the malady of child sexual abuse…it is a sickness that is almost never fully eradicated, like an addiction.  Just like an alcoholic, child molesters must be kept away from children.  It has nothing whatsoever to dowith teshuva, which is between man and god.

The key words in the policy are “convicted or admitted” child abuser.  Nowhere in the policy does it say how the shul is to discover and verify the identity of such persons.  If the shul relies solely on rumor or even unconfirmed news reports, it could leave itself liable to a civil suit for defamation should the accused person discover that he has been labled a “sex offender” by the shul.  Even with police confirmation, there is no guaranty that the shul will not get sued. Another neighborhood rabbi is being sued for defamation with regard to statements he made about alleged criminal acts by a member—without ever naming that person and having relied upon information from the police.  The allegations he spoke of had nothing to do with sex offenses against children, and were of a much less serious nature.  Moreover, its been alleged by the plaintiff that only 15 or so families knew the plaintiff’s identity.  Yet, he faces the prospect of defending a multi-million lawsuit.  This demonstrates that YISE should implement its policy with great caution, and other shuls should adopt it only with improvements.

So when does a sex offender get out of this?  I assume that gay, adulterous men, Ganaviem, etc should also not get Aliyas.  This is a bit too far….  Do we all beleive in Teshuva?

I am a member and never received anything like this.  When was this sent out?