Yesterday afternoon, I received word from the management of Patheos that lawyers for Gospel for Asia demanded the removal of posts with audio of the May 14, 2015 staff meeting in Wills Point, TX. They also wanted the picture of David Carroll in priestly garb sprinkling water around the Wills Point building site taken down.
The following posts were targeted by GFA:
Gospel for Asia’s President K.P. Yohannan and Indian Courts Seem to Disagree about His Status with Indian Charities
Believers Church in India Gave Nearly 20 Million to Help Gospel for Asia’s New Office Complex
Gospel for Asia Leaders Tell Staff Cash Carrying is Legal but They Won’t Do It Anymore
What is This Gospel for Asia Priest Doing? (Image replaced with a link to the image – the image was freely available to GFA staff)
All but one of these posts contain audio from the May 14, 2015 staff meeting where GFA leaders (David Carroll, John Beers, Danny Punnoose and K.P. Yohannan) answered questions from staff about various staff concerns and problems. This meeting was supposed to put to rest many of these questions, but in the long run more questions and problems have come up. GFA leaders are willing to pay lawyers to threaten lawsuits but they are not willing to publicly address the concerns and allegations of former staff and former donors.
Patheos management and I decided remove their sail from the wind in that I have now linked to the audio hosted elsewhere. I see no reason for GFA to harass Patheos with frivolous demands when the use of these materials is fair use of material for the purpose of providing commentary on the practices of GFA. I was provided the audio by a former staff member at GFA. The staff meeting was attended by the entire staff of GFA and was supposed to provide answers to public controversies. Now, GFA does not want you to hear their answers. Despite GFA’s heavy handed effort at intimidation, readers can still get the facts by going to these posts and following the links to the audio.
This is an incredible and I think foolish move on the part of GFA leaders. They are now making a direct attempt to cover up their own statements. This information has been in the public ear for weeks. We can hear them making their claims in their own words. When the information is available like this, I cannot be accused of taking material out of context or providing false information. So now, they want to remove these facts from the public consciousness.
Since 100% of donations to GFA are supposed to go to the field, I wonder where the funds come from to pay lawyers to threaten legal action. Perhaps GFA leaders believe attorneys’ fees are where donor funds are most needed.
Gospel for Asia is a non-profit organization. As such, GFA has a responsibility to operate in the public interest. Covering up information which allows donors insight into the actual workings and claims of the organization is the not the action of an organization operating in the public interest. From a religious point of view, they are walking in darkness and want to keep the rest of us in darkness as well.
I do not intend to allow GFA’s threats and intimidation to silence the facts. There is more to come.