12 Foundation Stones Course - TFI Online

Communal Living Pubs in this section will help you to explain our communal lifestyle.GP Communal Living Statement of FaithGP Communal Living Bible BasicsGP The Heritage & Home Life of Our Children StatementCM/FM Benefits of the Family ML #3172CM We Are One of a Kind ML #2770Care of Children in the FamilyGP Children in the Family StatementGP Christ-centred Bible-based Education StatementGP The Heritage & Home Life of our Children StatementGP The Advantages of Family Education StatementGP Results of Examinations Local pubDFO Rights of Children Charter Children in the FamilyRight from the earliest days of the Family, we have realized that children are gifts of God, givento us to lovingly and prayerfully care for, protect, nurture, and help them grow healthy, happy, andwith a knowledge of the Lord and His ways.For more on this general aspect of children, please see Issues section 6: Life Issues: 4, “Childrenand Parenting.” Protecting children in Family communitiesThe Family has gone to lengths to ensure that children in our communities are well cared forand protected from any form of abuse. “Rights of the Children” from the Charter makes thisclear. The fact that our children are well cared for is obvious to those who meet us, and has beenindependently verified in numerous studies. Accusations of abuseThe Family has faced serious accusations of child abuse. We do not tolerate abuse. In every casewhere we faced legal proceedings, the courts exonerated us. These are the basic facts which you arewelcome to repeat to your friends:In the early 1990s, more than 600 children of Family members (approximately one out of everyten children in the Family) were examined by court-appointed officials. 326 of these children weretaken into state custody following armed raids in Spain, Argentina, Australia, and France. Afterextensive physical, psychological, and educational testing, no evidence of abuse was found. Eachchild was returned to the care of his or her parents in The Family. (Details can be found in the“Family Vindicated” publication in the section below, “Persecution.”)As Christians, our code of life is to love God and others. “Loving others” certainly means notharming them. As parents, we love our children, want to do our best for them and protect them.As a movement, we attempt to organize ourselves in such a way that our members are well-caredfor and able to follow their God-given leadings. Putting that into simple terms: We do not condoneabuse or ill-treatment of children or of anyone, for that matter, and the Charter makes this veryclear.Having said that, we recognize mistakes have been made in our 30-year history. Maria explainsthis in ML #3016, “An Answer to Him that Asketh Us.” (Included in the “Persecution” sectionbelow.) We do not deny that some problems have ever happened, but we have worked vigorouslyto correct and rectify whatever may have happened in isolated cases in the past. We have putsafeguards in place to do all that is within our power to ensure our children are safe and notharmed. Many scholars with firsthand knowledge of our movement attest that our children are assafe, if not safer, than those in mainstream society.Chapter 2: Issues—The Family 67