Leo Greenlees & Ewart Chitty — Governing Body Scandals Covered Up

The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses claims to be "appointed by holy spirit" and to serve as God's sole channel of communication on earth. Members of this body direct every aspect of the lives of millions of Witnesses worldwide, including the enforcement of strict moral codes. Homosexual conduct results in disfellowshipping. Child sexual abuse, the organization publicly insists, is "a detestable sin." When ordinary Jehovah's Witnesses are found guilty of such offenses by a judicial committee, they are publicly announced as "no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses," stripped of all congregational association, and shunned by every person they know — including their own families. But when two members of the Governing Body itself were implicated in precisely these offenses, neither was disfellowshipped, neither was publicly identified, and both were quietly allowed to maintain their standing as Jehovah's Witnesses. Their names are Leo K. Greenlees and Ewart C. Chitty. Their stories reveal a pattern of institutional hypocrisy at the highest levels of the organization.

Leo K. Greenlees (1911–1988)

Rise Through the Organization

Leo Kincaid Greenlees was born on June 6, 1911, in Glasgow, Scotland. He entered the Toronto, Canada Bethel in 1936 and steadily rose through the organizational hierarchy. He eventually became treasurer of the Canadian branch of the Watch Tower Society and of the International Bible Students Association (IBSA) of Canada.^[1]

In 1964, Greenlees was transferred to the Brooklyn Bethel headquarters in New York. The following year, in 1965, he was elected as a director of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. — one of the principal legal corporations used by the organization. When the Governing Body was formally reorganized in 1971 as a distinct body separate from the corporate boards, Greenlees automatically became a member by virtue of his position as a director.^[2]

For over a decade, Greenlees served at the highest level of the Jehovah's Witness hierarchy. He frequently spoke at Gilead missionary school graduations — a prestigious assignment reserved for the most trusted leaders. On October 6, 1984, he served as the concluding speaker at the Watchtower Centennial business meeting held at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — a high-profile event commemorating the organization's first hundred years.^[3]

Within weeks of that appearance, Greenlees was gone.

The Allegations and Forced Resignation

In late 1984, Governing Body member Leo K. Greenlees was forced to resign and leave Bethel headquarters. The circumstances were extraordinary: the remaining members of the Governing Body confronted Greenlees with allegations that he had molested a young boy. The child's parents had brought their complaint directly to the Society. The boy was reportedly around ten years old at the time of the abuse, and Greenlees had been a trusted friend of the family who visited them regularly.^[4]

The announcement to the Brooklyn Bethel family was characteristically terse. At a morning breakfast, Bethelites were informed: "This is to inform the Bethel family that Leo Greenlees is no longer a member of the Bethel family, and the matter is closed."^[5] No explanation was given. No reason was published. The millions of Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide who had heard Greenlees speak, who had read his articles, and who trusted him as one of the "faithful and discreet slave" — they were told nothing at all.

Mark Palo's Testimony

Years later, a man named Mark Palo came forward publicly to identify himself as one of Greenlees' victims. Palo testified that he was sexually molested by Leo Greenlees when he was a child. For years, Palo did not know the full name of his abuser. It was only when a friend sent him photographs of Greenlees and other Watchtower officials that he was able to positively identify the man who had assaulted him.^[6]

The effects were devastating. Palo reported that his therapist directly linked his molestation — and the environment of the Jehovah's Witness upbringing that enabled it — as the root cause of his psychological difficulties. The trauma led to alcohol dependency, which in turn created problems in his personal life and at the Kingdom Hall. When Palo eventually tried to tell his story, the response from congregation elders was not support but hostility. He was branded a liar. The elders then moved to disfellowship him on what Palo described as "trumped-up charges." He chose to disassociate rather than submit to what he saw as a corrupt process.^[7]

When Palo later applied for Bethel service — apparently unaware of his abuser's identity at that time — his application was rejected. According to Palo's account, Watchtower leadership feared that if Palo were admitted to Bethel, other Bethelites might tell him "rumors" about Greenlees.^[8]

Palo eventually achieved sobriety, enrolled in college where he made Phi Theta Kappa honor society, and went on to work at a substance abuse agency as a consumer advocate — rebuilding his life far from the organization that had failed him.^[9]

Never Disfellowshipped

The most significant detail of the Greenlees case is what did not happen. Despite the Governing Body itself concluding that the allegations against Greenlees were credible enough to force his immediate resignation, Leo K. Greenlees was never disfellowshipped. He was not even publicly reproved.

Instead, after leaving Brooklyn Bethel, Greenlees was reassigned as a Special Pioneer — a full-time ministerial appointment that carried a monthly stipend from the organization. He eventually settled in the "Downtown" congregation in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he served as an elder — a position of congregational authority that placed him in direct contact with families and children.^[10]

Leo K. Greenlees died on February 17, 1988, at the age of 76, with his standing as one of Jehovah's Witnesses fully intact.^[11]

The Missing Record

Every other Governing Body member's departure — whether through death, resignation, or removal — is documented somewhere in Watchtower publications. The Yearbook, The Watchtower, or other official publications contain at least a brief notice. Leo K. Greenlees is the sole exception. He is the only Governing Body member whose disappearance from the body is not documented anywhere in official Watchtower literature. No obituary was published. No mention of his departure was made. He appears to have been erased from the record.^[12]

The Watchtower Online Library (wol.jw.org) does contain a brief biographical index entry for Greenlees, noting his early Watchtower service. But the entry stops abruptly, with no mention of his Governing Body service, his departure, or his death.^[13]

Ewart C. Chitty (1898–1993)

A Lifetime at Bethel

Ewart Charles Chitty was born on February 11, 1898, in Brentford, Middlesex, England. He entered the London Bethel in 1921 at the age of 23 — just two years after Joseph Rutherford consolidated his control over the organization following Charles Taze Russell's death. Chitty would spend the rest of his life — over seven decades — in full-time Bethel service.^[14]

During World War II, Chitty was imprisoned for maintaining the Witnesses' position of strict wartime neutrality, a fact the organization later cited as evidence of his faithfulness.^[15]

By 1942, Chitty had risen to become the secretary of the International Bible Students Association (IBSA), the principal legal entity used by the Watchtower Society in Great Britain — the British equivalent of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. He held the position of secretary-treasurer of the IBSA for decades, overseeing the organization's legal and financial operations in Britain.^[16]

When the Governing Body was expanded in 1974 to include members beyond the corporate directors, Ewart Chitty was among those added. The 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses announced the enlargement of the Governing Body, listing Chitty among the new members.^[17]

The Allegations and Resignation

Chitty's tenure on the Governing Body lasted barely five years. In 1979, a former roommate brought allegations of homosexual conduct against Chitty to the attention of the Governing Body. After deliberating on the matter, the Governing Body concluded that Chitty had "homosexual tendencies" and asked him to resign.^[18]

The circumstances left Chitty with little choice. He was 81 years old. He had lived at Bethel for 58 years. He had no home, no savings, no independent income, and no life outside the organization. His only alternative to complying with the Governing Body's request would have been to leave Bethel entirely — an impossibility for a man of his age and circumstances. Several former Bethelites who maintained close relationships with Governing Body members later confirmed the essential details: Chitty was dismissed for homosexual conduct, and the arrangement appeared to have been a quiet deal — Chitty would resign without protest, and in exchange, the organization would continue to provide for him in his old age.^[19]

The Official Non-Explanation

The 1980 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, under the section "Theocratic Instrumentalities," contained the entirety of the official announcement: "In the past year Ewart C. Chitty resigned, so that at present there are 17 members of this body."^[20]

That single sentence — in an administrative report — was all that Jehovah's Witnesses were ever told. No explanation was offered and no context was provided.

Never Disfellowshipped

Like Greenlees, Chitty was never disfellowshipped. He was not publicly reproved. He remained in good standing as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. After his 1979 resignation from the Governing Body, Chitty continued living and working at Brooklyn Bethel, assigned to the Writing Correspondence department. His continued presence at headquarters confirmed that he had not been disciplined in any formal sense — a disfellowshipped person could not have remained at Bethel.^[21]

Ewart C. Chitty died on June 15, 1993, at the age of 95, having spent 72 years in full-time Bethel service.^[22]

Recommended Reading

Burning Down the House

by Bethany Leger ( @stoptheshunning)

Coping with toxic family dynamics, estrangement, and rebuilding your life. For anyone dealing with the fallout of leaving a high-control group.

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The Double Standard

What Happens to Ordinary Members

To understand the significance of the Greenlees and Chitty cases, it is necessary to understand what happens to ordinary Jehovah's Witnesses who commit the same offenses.

When a rank-and-file Witness is accused of child sexual abuse, the matter is handled by a judicial committee — a panel of three elders who conduct a private hearing. If the accused is found guilty (a determination that historically required the testimony of two witnesses under the organization's controversial two-witness rule), and if the committee determines the person is not sufficiently "repentant," disfellowshipping is mandated. The person's name is then announced from the platform at a Kingdom Hall meeting: "[Name] is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses." Every Witness who knows that person — friends, family, parents, children — is required to shun them completely. No phone calls. No text messages. No shared meals. No acknowledgment of their existence.^[23]

The same process applies to homosexual conduct. The Shepherd the Flock of God elders' manual — the secret handbook that governs judicial committees — lists "homosexual conduct" among the offenses requiring a judicial committee and potential disfellowshipping. The Watchtower has published extensively on the subject, describing homosexuality as a "detestable" sin and insisting that those who practice it cannot inherit God's Kingdom.^[24]

These are not theoretical policies. They are enforced. Every year, tens of thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses are disfellowshipped worldwide. Families are torn apart. Parents lose contact with children. Lifelong friendships are severed overnight. The psychological toll is immense, contributing to depression, anxiety, and in documented cases, suicide.^[25]

What Happened to Governing Body Members

Now compare the treatment of Greenlees and Chitty:

Leo Greenlees — accused of child molestation by the parents of his victim, with the Governing Body itself finding the allegations credible enough to demand his immediate resignation — was never disfellowshipped, never publicly reproved, and was permitted to serve as a Special Pioneer and elder in a local congregation, placing him in continued contact with families and children.

Ewart Chitty — determined by the Governing Body to have engaged in homosexual conduct — was never disfellowshipped, never publicly reproved, and was permitted to continue living and working at Bethel headquarters until his death at age 95.

An ordinary Witness in either situation would have faced a judicial committee, almost certain disfellowshipping, a public announcement, and total social ostracism. The Governing Body members received quiet resignations, continued material support, and organizational silence.

Implications for the "Spirit-Directed" Claim

The Watchtower organization claims that the appointment of Governing Body members is directed by holy spirit. A February 2017 Watchtower study article stated: "The Governing Body is neither inspired nor infallible. Therefore, it can err in doctrinal matters or in organizational direction." But the organization simultaneously insists that holy spirit guides the selection process and that members of the Governing Body are "appointed by Jehovah God and Jesus Christ."^[26]

The cases of Greenlees and Chitty pose an uncomfortable question: If holy spirit directed the appointment of these men to the highest leadership position in what claims to be God's sole earthly organization, why did that same spirit fail to prevent the appointment of a child molester and a man whose conduct the organization itself considers grounds for disfellowshipping? If the holy spirit can guide the appointment of elders in local congregations — as the Watchtower teaches — surely it should be able to screen the handful of men entrusted with directing the entire global organization.

The organization has never addressed this contradiction. It has never acknowledged the reasons for these men's departures. It has never explained why the policies it enforces so rigorously against ordinary members were not applied to its own leaders.

The Pattern of Concealment

The Greenlees and Chitty cases are not isolated incidents of institutional secrecy. They fit a broader pattern of the Watchtower organization protecting its leadership while demanding absolute transparency and accountability from its members.

When Raymond Franz left the Governing Body in 1980 over matters of conscience, the organization disfellowshipped him and published material that effectively identified him as an apostate — ensuring he would be shunned by every Witness worldwide. Franz's "offense" was eating a meal with his employer, who happened to be a disassociated Witness. For this, he lost everything.^[27]

The contrast is stark. A Governing Body member who questioned doctrine was publicly humiliated and permanently expelled. Governing Body members implicated in child molestation and homosexual conduct — the very offenses the organization treats with the harshest severity — were quietly retired with their dignity, their standing, and their material support intact.

The Watchtower has built its child sexual abuse defense on the claim that it takes such matters seriously and acts swiftly to protect children. In the Greenlees case, according to the accounts documented above, the victim was branded a liar, the accused was given a new assignment, and the millions of Witnesses who trusted their leaders were told nothing.

See Also

• The Governing Body — Structure, History & Power — The body both men served on
• Child Sexual Abuse Scandals — The organization's systemic failures in handling abuse
• Institutional Hypocrisy — Do as We Say, Not as We Do — The broader pattern of double standards
• Judicial Committees — The disciplinary process that was never applied to these men
• Disfellowshipping & Shunning — The punishment imposed on ordinary members but not on Governing Body members

References