Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Unfortunate
One has a right to defend oneself against error, but this letter to the public from a Roman Catholic Archbishop is unfortunate. Why? Because he was angry when he wrote it, and his wrath shouts through his words. It would have been better had he let a day or two or three pass before he published any thoughts on the explosive issue of child abuse in which he was accused of lax oversight. After that time, he should have taken a cold and objective look at the letter again. Rather than fighting back, he should have expressed sorrow for the situation then listed facts as he did in paragraph three. He then should have closed with another expression of concern and a commendation of all sides to God. Blaming the media and others for the situation was not only not useful to his case but prejudiced it. I don't know if the archbishop has PR counsel, but if he does, he either didn't listen to advice or he is ill-served by the practitioner with whom he works. Either way, he didn't restore his credibility and he comes off as a wounded personality lashing back rather than handling the situation in a statesmanlike manner. Sadly, he doesn't sound Christian.
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