PR and publicity can go only so far. At some point recipients of messages accept or ignore them. One can persuade but not compel. Consider this example. Railroad authorities have repeated ad nauseum a warning to respect gates at crossings and to never, never go around them when they are down. Yet, a driver did. Three people died in the car, a train derailed and passengers suffered minor injuries. We may never know what the driver was thinking but surely there must have been some cognition of the risk that was about to be taken. As a reporter decades ago, I covered a number of vehicle-train accidents. The railroad wasn’t at fault in any of them. Some people don’t listen. They don’t believe warnings apply to them. They will do what they want until tragedy overtakes them. Three people died needlessly and once again a railroad’s best efforts in PR and publicity were wasted.
Empty Words?
Survivors of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy are angry at the pope. They were expecting a specific plan of action to come from a conference of bishops at the Vatican. They didn’t get it. Rather, the pope delivered a speech that did not convince those who have been hurt so deeply. They are railing at the pontiff. “He’s the boss. Why won’t he do something?” Church commentators with an understanding of how the Vatican bureaucracy works say specific rules and regulations will come. It takes time. Survivors want to see cardinals and bishops sacked right now. Today. Immediately. One American cardinal has been cashiered and several bishops have resigned worldwide, but that is not nearly enough to quiet the protest. The hierarchy will remain under fire, and it may take decades for the Church to win back its reputation. Words alone are never enough: It takes doing.