The ‘trucking company’ losing parishioners by the truckload: learn from the 4 big cultural failings of the Catholic Church

By Darren Hill
BRW
August 27, 2014

http://www.brw.com.au/p/leadership/cultural_trucking_company_losing_2BHxXkZJMQDQV6SGhxH0GN

Former Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, speaks at a mass of thanksgiving for his service as Archbishop, at St Marys Cathedral, Sydney on March 27 2014.

I don’t know whether you shared the same response as I did when I read this article regarding recent responses by the Catholic Church at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse.

My initial reaction was one of slack-jawed disbelief. I was speechless. Then I got angry. I then did what most opinionated buggers like me do—I took to social media to exercise my righteous indignation. Bam.

Rather than simply rant to our friends and family on Facebook and the like, perhaps we should take a closer look into what essentially is a public display of leadership; or more specifically, what NOT to do as a leader of an organisation facing turmoil.

It is in fact, a case study of the reactions of a senior leader of arguably the most powerful organisation on the planet. And quite simply, George Pell demonstrated—in a very public fashion—exactly why the Catholic Church continues to lose relevance.

Half a century ago, 70 per cent of Catholics were attending mass, but that has now dropped and is approaching single figures. The recent lack of humanity shown by Pell in his comments via weblink in the Royal Commission has highlighted the lack of touch the management of this organisation displays towards its flock.

So, where did the Catholic Church lose its way, and in turn lose its flock? If a church’s success is determined by the numbers in its congregation—and I get that is only one measure of success but an important one—why did a market leader slump so badly? It’s most certainly because of four major cultural factors, and they affect any business or organisation.

LACK OF DIVERSITY

The internet has accelerated globalisation at a blinding rate. Barriers and boundaries are collapsing quicker than ever before. As a result, businesses have to embrace diversity to stay relevant in today’s market.

Your leadership should reflect this diversity at a minimum through the big three domains of age, gender or cultural diversity. The Catholic Church hierarchy, however, does only one of these three with a modicum of success. Certainly they have people from different cultures across the world—the last three popes have been from Germany, Poland and Italy; the problem is they, and their current head of state (from Argentina), are all elderly white males.

Poor attention towards diversity has led to the inevitable: a distinct lack of diversity of thought. The Catholic Church is operating in an increasingly competitive environment where churches can start up without the backing of a major body and be agile to support a congregation and its needs. Very little has changed in the approach of the Catholic Church in recent times, with a stronger than ever stance on contraception and marriage equality to name a couple of key issues.

DECLARATION OF THE UNACCEPTABLE

Throughout a never-ending succession of shocking revelations of abuse conducted by priests, the Catholic Church has remained understated in defence of these atrocities (at best) and disgustingly belligerent (at worst). The lack of acceptance-of-culpability in favour of appeasement and protection of their own staff rather than focusing on the impact on victims is staggering.

Good organisations rally to support their staff when they deserve it. That is without question. Great organisations, however, ruthlessly expel staff for unacceptable behaviour not representative of their values and ethos. That’s clear and present leadership.

Compare the Catholic Church’s response to the example set by Lieutenant General David Morrison, declaring in no uncertain terms the stance on acceptable versus unacceptable behaviour befitting the values of the Australian Army.

Here was the Army’s most senior leader accepting responsibility through positive action. The message was abundantly clear—regardless of present or past attitudes towards women in the military, this type of behaviour would not and will never be tolerated. The fact it went viral, earning 1.5 million Youtube views, tends to indicate the public wanted to hear a strong message from a strong leader. Army Chief Morrison has continued his effort well beyond the video, leading an impressive charge to right the culture that had lost touch with its responsibility to exercise care for its people—in this case, women.

Oh, how members of the Catholic Church would surely feel a greater sense of connection if its leaders took the same non-negotiable stance on what is seen as indefensible behaviour.

FORGETTING THE DNA OF YOUR BUSINESS

The cornerstone of all non-extremist religions on the planet is remarkably similar.

To show love and acceptance.

To help others.

To be the best human we can be, in spite of our obvious flaws.

To believe in something greater than ourselves.

Without doubt, the true tragedy we’re seeing in the Royal Commission is the terrible trauma endured by victims. It is incomprehensible to anyone other than those affected and their families. All we can do is show our humanity and be empathetic.

What is terribly disappointing is an institution with such a platform to care, demonstrating a complete lack of empathy to these victims in its leadership. Anthony Foster, a Victorian father of two of the victims of abuse, described Pell as showing a sociopathic lack of empathy. The recent analogous comments comparing the church to trucking companies shows just how deep this lack of empathy is.

The Catholic Church cites it tries to approach matters in accordance to their Christian faith, yet time and again, the public see behaviour that tends to protect the business of the church and its tradition first, rather than keep in line with what is truly at the heart of their belief system. People can be remarkably forgiving when they see congruence between intent and behaviour but they need to be given the chance.

RETICENCE WILL NOT DRIVE RELEVANCE

In years gone by, dogma may have been the primary reason people found themselves in certain church pews—you did it because that’s what had always been done. But the declining number of attendees suggests this is much less a driver. Quite simply, the leaders of the Catholic Church have lost sight of what their supporters demand.

It’s high time George Pell and the senior church leaders focus on diversity, draw a line in the sand for unacceptable behaviour and rediscover the heart of their organisation. The time for closed-shop, go-to-ground tactics is over. Come clean, accept the consequences and make good to those affected.

The only transport analogies George Pell should be using is the fact he is losing parishioners by the truckload. The organisation he is a senior leader within desperately needs an overhaul before they go the way of the horse and buggy.