[August 21, 2018] We all did it as kids. We broke something in our grandparent’s house and lied about it. For most of us, we were caught and punished. Covering up a bad behavior is always based on a lie and for this reason, it is often much worse than the original wrong-doing.
“The fact of the Watergate cover-up is not nearly as interesting as the step into making the cover-up. And when you understand the step, you understand that Richard Nixon lied.” – Bob Woodward, American investigative journalist
Infamous cover-ups (which all backfired) were the Dreyfus Affair, the Teapot Dome scandal, Watergate, Chernobyl, and Fleet Street phone-hacking.1 Throughout history, we are the witness, time and again, to people lying to avoid a scandal that would result if some illegal, immoral, or unethical deed became known.
The lie makes it worse since it a clear demonstration that the liar has no respect for the people in their organization. The liar can never be again trusted and at the heart of all human interaction is the fragile idea of trust. At the heart of a cover-up is deceit and deception; attributes that are an anathema to honesty, truth, and all those things we hold dear.
Another, more recent and powerful example, is the revelation that Catholic Priests in Pennsylvania sexually abused children in large numbers and senior officials within the church covered it up.2 This is not the first time the issue of Priests sexually abusing children and little was done to fix the failed system back in 2002.
Pope Francis said in an unprecedented letter to the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics on Monday that the church has not dealt properly with “crimes” against children and must prevent sexual abuses from being “covered up and perpetuated.”3 This was a good letter. But as we know, leaders must be clear. In this case, he should have given specifics about how the church would handle this terrible scandal that was perpetuated by a cover-up.
The lesson for all leaders is to never cover up a problem. All issues must be addressed openly and fairly. And this takes personal courage and strength to step forward knowing you are right and be willing to also take the consequences for exposing a wrong.
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It is no accident that most of the comments today are about the Catholic church and the shenanigans of a few priests. The fact it even happened is dreadful in many ways. Only immediate, clear, hard action is required. Nothing else will do. Talking to victims is a small gesture that if not followed by decisiveness will be the church’s decline.
Catholicism is at a turning point in history. The actions of a few senior leaders now will make a difference. It is rare that a turning point in history comes upon us. Good leaders must recognize those times; those times are fleeting. The Pope needs to take a stand NOW and say those priests and whoever in the church have abused children (or anyone) and it is proven, will be immediately excommunicated, their property seized (gains from the church), and their names made permanent on the walls of all churches.
Excellent point. But will he act?
This is what we are all waiting for. The Pope is the only one who can might things right by putting the church back on a moral footing.
Yes, Dale. I think you have it right. The time is now for the Pope to act decisively.
Now the Pope wants to meet victims abused by Priests. Would you trust him? I think his inaction in not being forthright and clear will hurt him and the church. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-ireland-abuse/pope-will-meet-sexual-abuse-victims-in-ireland-vatican-idUSKCN1L614Msts.
Good point Roger. I’ll wait and see if the Pope steps up.
We’re all waiting.
When people remain silent in the face of a wrong we call it cowardice. When people try to cover up a wrong we call it stupidity. Oh well, my opinion anyway. See Googles’ latest scandal they tried to coverup.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/08/did-google-violate-users-privacy-when-it-secretly-kept-location-data/
Lying is a fundamental fact of life at Google. Only making money counts. Everything else, like moral behavior, is out.
Why do we insist on always trying to cover up our wrongdoing? It’s built into our psychic. I’m not psych guy but it is something we all do at one level or another. Best to be completely open and honest. Otherwise, you will fall; the landing will not be nice.
Right is wrong and wrong is right. That is the new mantra today from Millenials. Oh well, still a good article.
Nice topic for a hard lesson. Yep, we all learned it as kids but most of us adults still fall into the same trap. It’s like trying to steal home base in baseball; rarely do we succeed is pulling it off.
Good analogy Bill. We seem to never learn that the cover-up is often worse than the crime.
The question in my mind is which scandal that was covered up is the worst? I don’t know but would think that those involving immoral conduct are the worst of the worst.
I beg to differ that the church scandal was made more horrific by the coverup. The pedophiles and practicing gays in the clergy is what is immoral and their acts were unethical in the extreme. The Catholic church needs to get this under control and I think bringing all this into the daylight will only then start them to redemption in the eyes of the public.
You are so right, Max. Thanks for your to-the-point analysis.
Good point.
Something about our PC world that is ignored. The pedophiles and working gays are bringing this down on the Catholic church. They should put something in place that screens them out. Or they will continue to have this problem and Catholicism will be irreparably damaged.
The Catholic Priest scandal is horrible on many levels. The cover up however is the worst part of it.
I like your article today. Cheers!
Another good post on a topic in the news lately and worthwhile to study for our professional development as leaders. I too, like many, have made this mistake but not as an adult. I learned not to cover up problems as a kid. Most adults don’t learn it to their consternation later in life.
The recent revelations that more Catholic Priests’ wrongdoing was covered up by senior officials in the church is disheartening. They are the ones who are sworn to protect us. Any priest proven to be involved in this crime should be excommunicated and shunned.
Good article today, Gen Satterfield. Thanks.
Boy, have I made this mistake enough in my lifetime. When I was little, I learned many valuable lessons. This was one of them.
Like the little kid who says his baseball didn’t break the neighbor’s window despite everyone seeing it happen. Most of us realize that it is much better to simply admit a mistake, learn from it, and move on.
I agree too.