Leo Greenlees
Governing Body member Leo K. Greenlees was forced to resign and
leave Bethel in late 1984. He entered the Toronto, Canada Bethel
in 1936, eventually becoming treasurer of the Canadian branch
and of the IBSA of Canada. In 1964 he went to Brooklyn Bethel,
and in 1965 was elected as a director of the Society's New York
corporation. As a director Greenlees automatically became a
"governing body" member when that body was formally instituted
in 1971. He often spoke at Gilead graduations, and was the
concluding speaker for the day at the Watchtower Centennial
business meeting at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania on October 6, 1984. A 1982 Watchtower mentions him
as being on the Teaching Committee of the Governing Body.
Greenlees' last mention in Watchtower publications is in the
December 1, 1984 Watchtower where he is said to have passed out
diplomas at the September Gilead graduation. In late 1984,
Greenlees was allegedly convicted by the rest of the Governing
Body of molesting a ten year old boy. The boy's parents had
complained to the Society and it took action. Greenlees was a
friend of the family and often visited them. After leaving
Bethel Greenlees served as a Special Pioneer and eventually an
elder in the "Downtown" congregation in New Orleans, Louisiana.
He died in the late 1980s. Interestingly, the boy who Greenlees
molested applied for Bethel service a few years later, around
1991, and was rejected. Watchtower leaders apparently feared
that other Bethelites would tell him the 'rumors' about
Greenlees, not knowing that he was Greenlees' victim, and cause
the young man to know that justice had not been done. He might
then have confirmed the rumors
Percy Chapman
Percy Chapman was another member of Bethel accused of being
homosexual. It was alleged that Chapman was a one-time lover of
GB member Leo Greenlees. In 1959, under hint of homosexual
scandal, Knorr went to Canada to replace Chapman, who was the
Canadian Branch overseer. Knorr demoted Chapman to janitor, but
let him remain at Toronto Bethel--on condition he marry.
According to Larry D., a Toronto former JW, "Percy ... was
totally anti-marriage and he made sure that none of the "Bethel
boys" even contemplated the subject ...." Larry described the
Bethel boys of the 1950s. "They were all young and handsome,
hand-picked by Percy Chapman; there was even an elite group
known as 'Percy's boys' who would accompany him to expensive
restaurants and bars ... at the time, Bethel was on Irwin Avenue
in the center of the gay district of Toronto. There was even a
Kingdom Hall above 'The Parkside,' one of Toronto's few gay bars
in the fifties and sixties." After Chapman's disgrace, Larry,
who personally knew Greenlees, wrote, "Poor Leo Greenlees,
Percy's close companion for three decades ... had to find
himself a new roommate. ... He was very open about his
homosexuality to those few good-looking young brothers .... He
would bring along another Bethel boy, Lorne Bridle, who was very
good looking and charming." Regardless of his dubious
relationship with Chapman, Greenlees became Treasurer of WTB&TS
and one of the Governing Body. According to Larry, "He managed
to escape the witch hunt at Brooklyn Bethel in the early
seventies when dozens of Bethel boys were disfellowshipped after
learning of their midnight trysts in the sauna in Brooklyn
Bethel."
Editors note: Although this may not be concrete proof, it is
with firm conviction that we print this article. Thanks to the
testimony of many people who worked at Bethel during this time,
we can be sure that this was common knowledge. Before you cast
aside this article, please remember what the Watchtower of
January 1st, 1986 said:
"Shocking as it is, even some who have been prominent in
Jehovah's organization have succumbed to immoral practices,
including homosexuality, wife swapping, and child molesting"
An interesting point to consider : In March 1969 sixty
homosexuals left the world headquarters called Bethel in
Brooklyn but then Watchtower President Nathan Knorr demanded
that this also be covered up.
Ewart Chitty
Governing Body member Ewart Chitty (born ca. 1898) resigned his position in
1979. He entered the London Bethel in 1921, began to work in "the office", and
by 1938 held some sort of official position, as two 1938 Watchtowers have him
reporting to J. F. Rutherford on the attendance of Bethel family members at the
"family" study. By 1942 Chitty was the secretary of the International Bible
Students Association (IBSA; the Society's British equivalent of the Watchtower
Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.). Somewhere along the line he was
appointed as secretary-treasurer of the IBSA, which position he held until his
appointment to the Governing Body in November 1974. After his 1979 resignation
from the GB, Chitty remained in Brooklyn working in Writing Correspondence, so
he was certainly in good standing. A 1981 Awake! article has Chitty making
comments about people having lost their love of neighbour and God. Apparently by
this time Chitty was drinking heavily, according to close acquaintances. Likely
this contributed to his being dismissed from Brooklyn and reassigned to the
London Bethel a few years later. There he worked at an assignment of little
responsibility, but was appointed an elder in a local congregation. Chitty died
about 1993. As to Chitty's alleged homosexuality, he certainly made some remarks
in his 1963 life story in The Watchtower that leaned in this direction. By then
he had roomed with the same man for 30 years . When in Brooklyn, Chitty seems to
have preferred younger men as roommates. The actual charge brought to the GB
against Chitty was made by a former roommate and involved some sort of
inappropriate conduct. The GB concluded that Chitty had homosexual tendencies,
whatever that means, and asked him to resign. Chitty could hardly do anything
but comply with the rest of the GB's wishes, since his only alternative would
have been to leave Bethel at age 81 and after being there for 58 years. It may
well be that the GB didn't view Chitty as guilty of homosexual activity, since
he remained a Bethel member in Brooklyn or London, but it may also be that they
made a deal: Chitty would remain quiet about where "the dead bodies" were buried
as long as the Society cared for him in his old age.
Source
|
|
