A call for humanity in crisis communications
The old formulas don’t work anymore; it’s time for a new, more authentic approach
Another day, another soulless official statement from an organization in hot water. Lather, rinse, repeat.
In this case, the organization is the Archdiocese of San Antonio. Think of an archdiocese as the regional office of the Catholic Church. The San Antonio archdiocese is the church’s regional headquarters for 19 counties in South Texas.
At the risk of sounding like the thousandth replay of a podcast, a Catholic priest in the San Antonio area was arrested in 2023 and accused of sexually assaulting an elderly parishioner. (Full disclosure: I am a practicing, lifelong Catholic.) The now defrocked former priest appeared in court recently in a procedural matter relating to his case, and reporting by the San Antonio Express-News included a statement the archdiocese had issued after the arrest back in 2023, as follows:
“The safety and well-being of all people are very important, and the church’s safe-environment policies seek to protect everyone, most especially children and vulnerable adults.”
The statement goes on to inform other sexual abuse victims how they can report the abuse.
Is it just me, or does that official statement sound:
Cold?
Robotic?
Totally devoid of empathy?
Like the primary point of it is to say as little as possible?
Like the church’s main interest is avoiding legal exposure?
All the above?
It sounds even worse in the context of the church’s reputation when it comes to sexual abuse. The San Antonio archdiocese might as well have said, “No comment,” or “Move along, nothing to see here.”
The Rules are Changing
Another full disclosure I am embarrassed to admit: I’ve helped companies in crisis craft statements very similar to the one I am criticizing here.
As a strategy and communications consultant for many years, I, too, have advised clients in trouble to issue equally hollow statements. In fact, the formula for such statements has been standard practice in the crisis communications world for decades. It’s become paint by numbers.
But the public is onto it and has been for years. They know now when they are being stonewalled by a statement that says almost nothing, exhibits no empathy or humanity, and is mainly about minimizing liability.
That’s why the rules must change. It’s past time for companies, non-profits, associations and public officials to get real and speak like real humans to other real humans. (I refuse to use the term “stakeholders,” another corporately cold way to refer to actual people.)
A Call for Authenticity
People are starved for authenticity — for a real human connection. It’s one thing for a company or a person to make a mistake, even a disastrous or tragic one. But following up the event with a smokescreen statement and deliberately not engaging beyond that statement only makes a bad situation worse. It’s public relations malpractice.
The statement from the archdiocese is a good case study in what I mean. As it was published (see above), it’s so sterile that we, the public, are left feeling like they really don’t want to talk about it and they probably have something to hide.
A More Human Way
What if, instead, the statement read like this?
“We are heartbroken. The thought of an elderly person being abused, sexually or otherwise, by someone they trust, is deeply upsetting. It’s a tragedy anytime a vulnerable person is victimized by someone that should have stood up of them. It’s absolutely inexcusable and the archdiocese will not stand for it.
We are both angry and sad, but we are also taking action. The archdiocese has removed (name of the accused) from the priesthood based on the credible information we have so far. We are cooperating fully with the authorities in their investigation because we want the swiftest justice possible for a member of our faith community who deserves our total support.
We will pursue all legal avenues, including termination, excommunication and criminal prosecution, against any priest or any other member of the archdiocese’s team when we have credible evidence of abuse.
We are also working with the victim, providing her with counseling, emotional and spiritual support. We pray for her recovery and we are grateful for her courage in confronting this situation head on. The archdiocese is here for her and anyone else who has been abused.”
This statement has some real emotion — some humanity. Who wouldn’t be upset, angry or sad about this situation? A company or organization doesn’t have to be a stoic, unfeeling block of iron.
This version also makes it clear that the victim is who matters. The church needs to support her, not circle the wagons around itself.
Cue the Lawyers
No doubt, lawyers will shudder at they would see as exposure in my version of this statement. But what is the cost to the archdiocese of the self-inflicted damage of a terrible response to a terrible situation?
Their statement and their overall approach to communications about this case will certainly be costly. Some Catholics will choose to skip a week or two of Mass, and won’t be there to drop a few dollars into the collection plate. Likewise for those who do attend but don’t open their wallets. Some will talk with both their Catholic and non-Catholic friends about yet another sexual abuse case followed by another icy official response that can make even lifetime Catholics question their commitment to the church they love. The damage will be real and long-lasting.
Similar unintended consequences would occur if the organization were a company. Look what happened to Bud Light beer when the brand took its customers for granted. People vote with their feet and their wallets. They’ll just go somewhere else when they see a brand they have supported behaving in ways they don’t like. It’s that simple.
Something as basic as an official statement can swing the pendulum far in either direction. The kind of blah-blah-blah statements I and many of my peers in the strategic communications world have crafted in response to crises won’t cut it anymore.
It’s time for us to push back on the lawyers, the CEOs and the board chairs and convince them that our words must be human, authentic, compassionate and even a bit emotional at times. Mistakes can be overcome and even forgiven. But a willful, intentional commitment to respond to a crisis with the most antiseptic language possible — not so much. We must do better.
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