Bobcat wrote: ↑8 months ago
Greetings ChetA and welcome to the forum.
Interesting thoughts in your post. Clergy privilege is usually something WT never mentions to the R&F. I think they also see it as one of the factors that help maintain their position/status among JWs, which probably explains why they defend it as they do. Any elder who breaks it (e.g. by reporting to the police) will get the ax. The fact that they continue to protect that privilege after handing appointments of elders over to COs, shows that that change had little to do with trying to be more scriptural. It appears to me more of an attempt at buffering themselves legally.
Bobcat
Years ago, an elder with whom I was friends, told me about Ecclesiastical Privilege, apparently having learned about it in one of their endless schools for elders. I learned the hard way, that not all elders respected the privacy of publishers and on more than one occasion, I have been told of confidential matters, even though I was not an elder. (Having seen some corrupt dealings by certain elders, I had no desire to become one and was the subject of great criticism because of this.)
Ecclesiastical Privilege, as Marina stated, comes down to a church/state authority issue. Church and State have been going back and forth on these matters for some time and it usually ends up as a bit of a deadlock. The State can’t force someone to speak, but they can withhold the favored treatment of the Church. If the State literally raids the churches, that will cause a lot of unrest among the populace, so they tend to limit their actions to sanctions, while at least some churches push the boundaries and act as if they are above the law. When the JWs started speaking of Ecclesiastical Privilege, they placed themselves solidly on the turf of the churches.
The game was bad enough in the past, but nowadays, with the child abuse issues that have arisen, churches possess information that the secular authorities find very interesting. Coupled with the downturn of authority held by the mainstream churches, the State is beginning to assert more power and because a lower percentage of the population attends church, the political clout of the churches is not what it used to be. What I find astounding is that the JWs have predicted this very thing for as long as I can remember, yet they chose to throw in with the churches on the matter of Ecclesiastical Privilege.
Stranger wrote: ↑8 months ago
Bobcat wrote: ↑8 months ago
Clergy privilege is usually something WT never mentions to the R&F.
How right you are Bobcat, it's always the other way around, the R&F mention it as coming from the holy spirit through the slave class channel. (JW broadcasting!

)
That makes it pretty convenient for WT clergy I would think. They have trained them well.
Stranger
The whole authority structure of the Organization is based upon circular logic. If I told you that I was the best banjo player in the world, and you asked how I could possibly know that, what would be my proof? If I said that because I
am the best banjo player in the world, this uniquely equips me to know who is best, then I’m calling upon my self proclaimed authority to back up my claim to possess authority.
Organization: “We’re the Faithful and Discreet Slave”.
Me: “Why should I listen to you on this matter?”
Organization: “Because we’re the Faithful and Discreet Slave.”
You can iterate the argument as many times you like, but it still reduces to the Organization telling its adherents that they have to listen to the Organization, because it is the Organization that you have to listen to. Such reasoning can be seen throughout history and is the sort of thing despots use. Like all bullies, eventually such a facade of authority crumbles and we see that there is nothing behind the claims. In the meantime, a lot of lives are being damaged.