Is the CPO a Vigilante Outfit?
BY: VISHNUGADA DASA
Jun 22, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, USA (SUN) — A Simple Suggestion on how ISKCON should handle child abuse.
A vigilante is a person who ignores due process of law and enacts their own form of justice in response to a perception of insufficient response, or who takes the law into their own hands (see Wikipedia).
Child abuse, like other crimes, is against the law in the United States and most countries of the world. Why does ISKCON direct the CPO to investigate, try, and punish child abuse when there are already systems set up to do so by state and local governments? Our contention is that ISKCON does not have the experience, skill, money, or other resources to do so. ISKCON’s business is to spread Krishna Consciousness, not to set-up makeshift courts to convict devotees.
What do other organizations do when their members are accused of breaking the law? They wait to act until a decision has been made by the court. If found guilty, the organization may then levy additional sanctions related to the convicted person’s involvement in the organization. I know of no other group that sets up it’s own court to try people who have broken the law.
Let's take a couple of examples. Certainly professional sports has lots of money. One might think they could easily set-up a court system for athletes who have gotten into scrapes with the law. But they don’t. They wait for a court decision before considering sanctions. Here’s a recent example. How about state bar associations that are populated with attorneys? Certainly they have the know-how to try lawyers who are accused of breaking the law. What do they do? They first wait for the legal system to rule. Once a lawyer is convicted, he or she might be disbarred. They never decide on the lawyer’s guilt or innocence themselves.
ISKCON having the CPO investigate and decide on whether a devotee accused of child abuse is guilty or innocent is unprecedented and a mistake. It is vigilante recklessness.
When we first discussed Vakresvara Pandit’s case with the GBC, they said CPO decisions were merely ecclesiastical matters. Church business, nothing else. This answer ignores the fact that child abuse is against the law. Someone who is found responsible for it is burdened with a mantle of shame for life. If a murder happened in ISKCON, would it be reasonable to call it an ecclesiastical matter? Shall ISKCON then set up a court to try the suspected murderer and say it just an ecclesiastical matter? No. Murder is a crime. The appropriate way for ISKCON to handle possible child abuse or any other crime is to let the legal authorities deal with the case.
On the other hand, if an NBA coach criticizes a referee during a broadcast, he might be fined by the NBA. It isn’t against the law to criticize a referee but is against NBA policy. That’s a basketball matter. If a lawyer doesn’t complete required continuing education credits, he might be fined because that’s lawyer business. ISKCON’s ecclesiastical matters are such things as how sannyasis’ bank accounts are reviewed, whether evolution is consistent with the Bhagavata philosophy, or making a decision about whether women may be awarded sannyasa. It is not against the law for a sannyasi to keep a secret bank account but it is my understanding it is against ISKCON’s policy.
So it is clear. Child abuse is not an ecclesiastical matter, it’s a legal matter. Possible cases should be addressed by the legal authorities first. ISKCON can decide on sanctions later.
We therefore propose to the GBC that the investigative and judicial functions of the CPO be stopped and carried out only by the legal authorities. Apparently, vigilante “justice” remains ISKCON’s preferred method.
Please let us know if you believe it would be better for ISKCON that suspected child abuse be investigated and tried by the legal authorities, not the CPO. You can do so by sending an email to vpjustice@live.com. If you specify in your message and with your permission, we will also add your name to a petition to be presented to the GBC that will make the same proposal. Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.
