By now the Vatican should be no stranger to crisis management. After all, the organization has faced issues with misconduct and molestation among their members for years, yet every time a new situation comes up they somehow manage to bungle the response. In a recent post on his ManagementHelp.org PR and media relations blog, Martin Keller told the Vatican exactly what they need to do to be more effective:
Does the Pope have an in-house public relations team, or is the Vatican getting expensive, or pro bono, outside counsel to handle the latest, growing scandal over the actions — and alleged cover up by pre-pope Ratzinger, then a Cardinal, and others — of one particularly notorious pedophile priest who was accused of molesting more than 200 deaf children in Wisconsin? Whatever the answer, those inflicting their advice on the Holy See, need to be shown the door. Yesterday. They have mismanaged this crisis by magnitudes of 10 or more.
Rather than accepting responsibility and making amends, the Vatican’s spokespeople have made every effort to redirect blame away from the wrongdoers within their organization. The principles of transparency and honesty are almost completely absent in their behavior and responses, and as a result the reputations of everyone involved are being dragged through the mud.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/