Why is the Vatican Such A Public Relations Mess?

Amy Welborn brings up the same old questions I have brought up different times when the Vatican releases information that a 8th grader can predict will be controversial. See her post related to the excommunications (the lifting thereof) at Lefebvre, Part II

Her common sense ideas I think should be apparent. Though I do think the Vatican through Vatican radio and some Bishop's conferences did try to answer the predictable soundbites. But that was not all uniform especially in the USA press.

Where was the herald US Conference Bishops and their spokespeople. Why were they not on CNN, FOX , and other channels.

LET ME BE CLEAR I AGREE WITH WHAT THE HOLY FATHER IS DOING.

However this pattern of releasing major controversial and easily sensationalized by the media bombshells on a Friday or Saturday and letting the secular news media go to town for days without a organized response is becoming tiresome. Read her own link in full but what she is saying as I post below just seems like common sense:

Things are not as bad as they could be, nor as bad as they used to be. But the folks in the Vatican, despite their website, radio, television and YouTube channel, are still not grasping the RAPIDITY of communications in the modern world and how intense and deep the dispersal of information is and what power the means of communications beyond traditional venues like wire agencies and such have in pushing stories and determining storylines.
We’ve talked about this before in relation to other issues - other documents and decisions. The Vatican releases it, maybe has a press conference with a few experts, Father Lombardi is available…and that’s it.
The first thing that needs to happen is to involve people who can anticipate reactions. Any of us reading this blog are qualified for that job. It should be blindingly clear, with Williamson doing his thing recently, as well as his history, that that was going to be the story. It would be the story, not just because of Williamson, but because Benedict is a German and already bears the burden of the caricature of being a hard-nosed hater of all that is modern.
The second thing to do is have a more intense PR presence totally available in Rome.
The third is to bring in the national churches. This is tricky because quite often those national churches and their episcopal conferences are not thrilled about what the Vatican is doing, or at the very least have no interest in it. Too bad. At this point, I don’t understand why there is not (at least why there doesn’t appear to be) an organized network in which heads of communications in the various local Churches are informed ahead of time what is coming down, given talking points and guidance, and told to make themselves available. This story is huge right not, whether it deserves to be or not, and if things were working correctly, the communications people from episcopal conferences would contact media outlets themselves, and said…doing a story? Contact us. We’re ready to explain and discuss.

I think all this should be apparent.