Rebranding the American Catholic Church from a Classical Rhetorical Perspective.

The article focuses on rebranding the American Catholic Church, whose institutional brand has been severely fractured by decades-long clergy sexual abuse scandals and their cover-ups. Using Isocrates' classical rhetorical theory of self-defense and self-representation from his work *Antidosis*, the paper proposes a four-phase rebranding model: setting clear objectives, articulating the brand's problems, designing and implementing a strategy grounded in the Church's identity and moral responsibility, and evaluating the process through stakeholder feedback. Key strategies include differentiating the Church from abusive clergy and complicit leaders, demonstrating goodwill toward victims and stakeholders through memorials and open dialogue, enforcing canonical sanctions against perpetrators, and engaging in public confession and reconciliation to restore trust. The model emphasizes aligning the Church's communicative acts with ethical choices to rebuild its moral authority and reposition itself as a caring, inclusive, and responsible religious institution.