The roles of the papacy are numerous: Holy Father, Bishop of Rome, Vatican Head of State, and successor to Peter.

Here’s another: Brand Steward of Catholicism.

Chances are good that ‘brand stewardship’ wasn’t discussed when the College of Cardinals selected Pope Benedict as successor to Pope John Paul in 2005, but the responsibility is a very real one.

Clearly the clergy abuse issue is first -- second and third -- a moral issue of incalculable consequence to the victims involved. But it inextricably is a business issue, as well, as legal resolutions involve financial restitution and, in some cases, the sale of some of the Church’s considerable real estate holdings to fund the settlements.

The scandal also represents a significant marketing challenge for a beleaguered brand. Let’s be clear: Catholicism – as is the case in Protestant denominations, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, etc… – is a ‘brand’ of religion, competing for ‘share of market’ as surely as Pepsi and Coke. With market share comes revenue, the funds to expand services, to enrich the causes the Church supports, to recruit new followers.

Truth is that the ‘brand equity’ of the Catholic Church – at least in America – has been stagnant for some time. The Gallop Organization has tracked church participation over the decades. Catholicism peaked in 1957-58 when 74% of Catholics indicated they attended mass weekly. The ‘brand loyalists,’ if you will, put Catholicism atop the brand standings back then.

By 2003, on the heels of the last major revelation of clergy abuse, that figure had slipped to 40%, about on par with the major Protestant faiths. It has remained thereabouts over the past seven years. Still, not bad for a brand some 2,000 years into its product lifecycle.

But how much more brand degradation will occur this time around? The current scandal is at once international in scope and galvanized domestically behind plaintiff attorney Jeff Anderson as never before. Earlier in the decade, Gallop attributed the scandal of that time to a 4-5% drop in devoted mass attendees. Would a similar dropoff – or worse – be a surprise given the slow, inconclusive response that the Pope, as brand steward, has offered?

Compare the Pope’s halting response to one issued recently by Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League, who was dealing with his organization’s own unseemly sexual escapade involving Super Bowl quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Goodell, ever brand-conscious, moved decisively against Roethlisberger, sidelining the quarterback for 40% of the 2010 regular season. Not an easy call, given that Mr. Roethlisberger is employed by one of Goodell’s bosses and represented by a player’s union with whom Goodell must reach a labor settlement in the coming months.

But Goodell is a brand steward who grasps the issue of brand equity better than most. Pope Benedict, conversely, has, until the past week, adopted a bunker mentality. Absent a clear plan to address clergy abuse, he has dabbled at the edges – a reference here, a meeting with victims there. His recent comments acknowledging what he termed “the sin inside the Church” infers a change from the heretofore reluctance to ‘own’ the issue. Could it be a prelude to serious action?

A few months ago, I received a letter from a law firm listing more than a dozen priests who had been accused of abuse in the Jesuit’s northwestern province where I attended high school. I was asked if I had reason to join the class action lawsuit. It has been a ruinous journey for the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, which serves a five-state region. In 2009, the province became the first religious order to file for bankruptcy as the damages surpassed 200 claims and $25 million in settlements.

On a human level, it is further devastating for the many devoted men who have given their lives to their vocation of service and education while fully respecting the rights of the young people they served. Throughout my life as an active Catholic, I have known many wonderful priests whose intellect and selfless action have profoundly influenced my life. Surely they deserved better – not only from their peers, but from their senior executives.

With enrollment in seminaries flat or falling in the U.S. and throughout Western Europe, Catholicism has declined as an employment brand every bit as much as the consumer brand, thanks, in part, to its moral crisis.

This is the price brands pay when they lose their ‘authenticity’ – when they stray from their foundational values. Catholic Social teaching is predicated on seven major pillars – two of which (Life and Dignity of the Human Person and Human Rights and Responsibilities) the Church has defaulted on in its failure to prevent or fervently prosecute the guilty among its clergy.

The gravity of today’s events demands extraordinary action and the Church has just such an option. It is time to convene an Ecumenical Council of the Church’s Bishops, the first in nearly a half-century. The express purpose would be to develop a clear, universal plan to ensure clergy abuse is properly investigated and, where evident, abusive priests are removed from all contact with children or defrocked.

An Ecumenical Council would ensure the issue is addressed near ground zero -- Pope to Bishops -- who then would follow on with the priests they oversee and the parishioners they serve. It is an intercession that will require the Pope and all his men to invite and listen to the best minds on the subject of clergy abuse – professionals equipped to counsel and guide a historically close-minded group of Church elders to a lasting remedy.

This suggestion comes with no guaranty – but with a prayer that Pope Benedict may be enlightened to commit more than words to rescue the brand equity of Catholicism before it erodes beyond recovery.