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Catholic Church Urged to Rethink Communication in Abuse Cases
Confirmed
In Short: A new book by Paulina Guzik calls for the Catholic Church to prioritize clear and transparent communication in handling clergy sexual abuse crises.
A newly released book is urging the Catholic Church to rethink how it communicates during clergy sexual abuse crises, according to reports from Detroitcatholic.
Guzik, the book's author and international editor for OSV News, argues that while the Church has made progress in developing legal procedures and safeguarding policies, clear guidance on communication remains lacking.
From John Paul II to Francis, popes have helped transform the Church's law and culture, although slowly and often under external pressure,' Guzik said during a press presentation in Rome on September 10.
The book, titled 'Truth Heals: Clergy Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church's Response,' provides a practical framework for Church leaders, communicators, and journalists working to rebuild trust in the wake of abuse and institutional failure.
What's confirmed
- A newly released book is urging the Catholic Church to rethink how it communicates during clergy sexual abuse crises, according to reports from Detroitcatholic.
- Guzik, the book's author and international editor for OSV News, argues that while the Church has made progress in developing legal procedures and safeguarding policies, clear guidance on communication remains lacking.
- From John Paul II to Francis, popes have helped transform the Church's law and culture, although slowly and often under external pressure,' Guzik said during a press presentation in Rome on September 10.
- The book, titled 'Truth Heals: Clergy Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church's Response,' provides a practical framework for Church leaders, communicators, and journalists working to rebuild trust in the wake of abuse and institutional failure.
What's still developing
- Drawing on examples of both effective and failed communication from around the world, the book's author, who is international editor for OSV News and professor of media studies and communications at the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Kraków, Poland, said she wanted to fill the gap between existing safeguarding elements and one element that is visibly still pending ─ communications.
- "It's a book for decision-makers in the Church. To be able to hand it to the bishop of Rome as a starting point -- that made me tremendously happy," Guzik told OSV News.
- "The way I started this research was really simple -- I saw my own Church, in Poland, struggling with the answer to the abuse crisis -- at the time almost two decades after the iconic 2002 Spotlight investigation in the U.S.," Guzik told OSV News.
- Alazraki got a standing ovation from her fellow journalists in Sala Stampa, the Vatican press room, after she told the bishops to stop "playing the ostrich” and transparently communicate the abuse scandal.
- "This book should be required reading not only for bishops, priests and Catholic communications professionals, but for all committed to justice and healing for survivors of clergy sexual abuse," said Daniels.
- The book proposes 10 principles for crisis communications, including putting victims first, embracing transparency, listening carefully and engaging the media fairly.
- "Before apologies, compensation, or legal strategies, there must be listening," Guzik writes in her book.
- "The first duty of a Church that calls itself a mother is to hear those who were harmed, believe the seriousness of their suffering, and respond with compassion, justice, and sustained care." During the Sept.