Vatican's textbook case of how not to manage news

[Brickmaker]

I’ve searched in vain for anything in the US news or any thread here with regards to how the Irish bishops meeting with the pope is being seen in Ireland. Having spent the past hour on Irish news sites I can reveal that the answer is Not Very Well. Here’s a taster irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2010/0220/1224264879783.html

Yet, not for the first time, the Vatican offered up a textbook study of how not to manage news.

The basic problem was the unrealistic expectations raised by this encounter. Having summoned Irish bishops to Rome for an unprecedented meeting, it was only normal that expectations would be raised. The problem, for the Holy See, was that they then needed, but failed, to play down those expectations by explaining the true nature of the meeting.

A little explanation might have gone a long way to heading off some of the widespread negative Irish reaction to the meeting. For a start, it could have been explained beforehand that meetings between the pope and abuse survivors (which have a precedent) are never pre-announced, to avoid them becoming a media scrimmage-cum-photo-op.

OK so it’s hardly news that the Vatican got a failing grade for managing news but there are several Irish posters here who can usually be relied on to give us some insights into the Irish situation. So what’s the story here, was it the PR disaster it’s being made out to be?

 

[Rascalking]

I agree. It breaks my heart, but whoever is doing PR for the Church needs to go back to the basics!