Apology in Crisis Management

An apology plays a huge role in all major crises management cases, especially when the evidence is overwhelming and/or the guilt has been proven.

An apology is a first step toward an attempt to make things better. It's also a step in the healing process. It shows that an individual or a business is willing to take responsibilities for the wrongdoing. Dictionary.com describes an apology as "a written or spoken expression of one's regret, remorse, or sorrow for having insulted, failed, injured, or wronged another."

When it comes to the crisis of Archdiocese of Boston, the Cardinal Law did not act timely and appropriately. His audiences were the victims, their families, priests, all members of the Catholic church, all American public, legal system and the Vatican. The crisis was enormous and it was covered by all media, small and large.

The Cardinal Law tried to hide all facts from the public by moving one priest after another from parish to parish. His actions have affected many lives and have tarnished the image of the Catholic church. Ultimately, Law has apologized, admitted the wrongdoing and has taken some actions to address the issues but not in a timely manner. As the pressure was heating up, the Cardinal decided to step down.

If I was advising Law during the crisis, I would asked him to step down immediately due to the lack of trust that public had in his leadership. Because of his involvement in the cover up and denial, Law's timely resignation would have helped to rebuild the image of Archdiocese of Boston at faster rate.

Then, I would advise the newly appointed Cardinal to address the victims and public immediately.

The new Cardinal's message should include the following aspects in his first speech:

- The church will do everything in its power to assist in the investigation

- Admit the previous mistakes (of the church) and lessons learned

- Continuous progress updates to the public

- Introduce new policies, 0 tolerance for any inappropriate behavior

- Report names of all involved priests in molestation cases to local DA offices

- Ask all involved priests to permanently leave the Archdiocese

- Establish victim funds