Monday, December 23, 2013

Vatican Hires Large American Consultancy Firm to Advise on Media Operations



Vatican Hires Large American Consultancy Firm to Advise on Media Operations
by Dr. Susan Berry 20 Dec 2013
The Vatican has announced it will hire McKinsey & Co., a large U.S. media consultancy firm, to advise it on media operations, including a modernization of its communications operations.

According to Edward Pentin at National Catholic Register, the Vatican issued a statement Thursday morning indicating that following a bidding process, management consultants McKinsey & Co. would be hired “to provide advice contributing to the development – in close collaboration with the heads of the relevant departments – an integrated plan to make the organization of the means of communication of the Holy See more functional, efficient, and modern.”

The Register report indicates the Vatican has also chosen Netherlands-based auditors KPMG to study the Vatican’s internal accounting.

The decisions were made on Wednesday by the commission that was appointed by Pope Francis to study the Vatican’s overall finances, part of the pontiff’s effort to reform the Roman Curia. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Vatican did not disclose the value of the contracts.

The Vatican said the media consultancy effort seeks to “provide the commission with the information needed to make appropriate recommendations to the Holy Father.”

According to the Register:

For some years, officials have argued for a better communications system in the Vatican, especially after a string of perceived media gaffes and the Vatileaks scandal. Observers have criticised the curia for lacking a centralized office of communications, leading to unnecessary duplication in various Vatican media outlets. Other observers have also proposed having a coordinated network of media spokesmen in some or all of the dicasteries (Vatican departments), overseen by the Holy See's Press Office director.

McKinsey & Co. identifies itself as a “global management consulting firm,” and says it is the “trusted advisor to the world’s leading businesses, governments, and institutions.”

The company’s website states it “strives for world-shaping client impact” and is “committed to social impact and sustainability.”

In June, Catholic World News reported that Pope Francis had asked Thomas von Mitschke-Collande, a German manager consultant from McKinsey & Co., to suggest administrative changes at the Vatican. Mitschke-Collande was recommended to the pontiff after he advised the archdiocese of Berlin and the German bishops’ conference.

Mitschke-Collande, who is the author of Is The Catholic Church Self-Destructing?, has argued that despite a popular demand for spiritual direction, the Church is failing because its leaders have not responded to that demand.

The WSJ reports that McKinsey will work on integrating the Vatican’s numerous media outlets, including newspaper, television, and radio.

Meanwhile, auditors KPMG will “study and address” the economic and administrative activities of the Holy See. KPMG is expected to collaborate with Pope Francis’ commission as it takes “whatever steps are necessary to align the accounting procedures of all agencies of the Holy See with international standards.”

Other Vatican outsourcing has included regulatory compliance firm Promontory Financial Group, which has installed two dozen people at the beleaguered Vatican Bank to review accounts and ensure procedures conform to international norms to combat money-laundering and terror financing. Promontory also advises APSA, the financial institution that administers Vatican real estate.

In addition, consulting firm Ernst and Young has been hired by the Vatican City State, which controls the Vatican Museums, to assess its finances.

In June of 2012, Reuters reported that Pope Benedict had hired American journalist Greg Burke of Fox News, a member of the conservative Catholic group Opus Dei, to help improve its media relations in the wake of the Vatileaks scandal.

Burke assumed the post of “senior communications adviser” to the Vatican Secretariat of State – similar to that of White House communication advisers – a role that revolutionized the Vatican’s communications structure.

Vatican
Raymond L. Burke is the top judge for the Vatican, and a cardinal for the Roman Catholic Church.

Note: Vatican Bank is the bank for the Vatican.
Carl A. Anderson is a board member for the Vatican Bank, the supreme knight for the Knights of Columbus, a trustee at the Catholic University of America, and was an advisory board member for the Wheelchair Foundation.
Mikhail Gorbachev is an advisory board member for the Wheelchair Foundation, and was general secretary for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
William E. Lori is the supreme chaplain for the Knights of Columbus, and was a trustee at the Catholic University of America.
Francis E. George is a trustee at the Catholic University of America, a cardinal for the Roman Catholic Church, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory A-Z (Past Research)
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Mellody L. Hobson is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a trustee at the Sundance Institute, and William W. Bradley is her mentor.
Geoffrey K. Sands is a trustee at the Sundance Institute, and the chief media partner at McKinsey & Company.
William W. Bradley is Mellody L. Hobson’s mentor, a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), and was an outside adviser for McKinsey & Company.
Roger W. Ferguson Jr. was a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), and a partner at McKinsey & Company.
R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP, and is the president for the Barack Obama administration.
Diana Farrell was the deputy assistant to the president on economic policy for the Barack Obama administration, and is a director at McKinsey & Company.
Nancy Killefer was the nominee for chief performance officer for the Barack Obama administration, and is a senior director for McKinsey & Company.
David G. Knott is a director at McKinsey & Company, and was a senior partner at Booz & Company.
Booz & Company is a spinoff company for the Booz Allen Hamilton.
Booz Allen Hamilton is a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).
Edward Snowden leaked information about the National Security Agency (NSA), and an employee at Booz Allen Hamilton.
Robert S. Osborne is the EVP & general counsel for Booz Allen Hamilton, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Newton N. Minow is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Susan E. Rice was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), a management consultant for McKinsey & Company, and is the White House national security adviser for the Barack Obama administration.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Sundance Institute, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), the Brookings Institution (think tank), the Aspen Institute (think tank), the Committee for Economic Development, the International Rescue Committee, the Millennium Promise, and the Hudson Institute (think tank).
George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Catholic Relief Services.
Kenneth F. Hackett was the president for the Catholic Relief Services, and is the U.S. ambassador for the Holy See.
Lael Brainard was the VP & director for the Brookings Institution (think tank), a consultant for McKinsey & Company, William J. Clinton’s deputy national economic adviser, and is the under secretary for international affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury for the Barack Obama administration.
William J. Clinton’s deputy national economic adviser was Lael Brainard, and is Chelsea V. Clinton’s father.
Chelsea V. Clinton is William J. Clinton’s daughter, and was an employee at McKinsey & Company.
Dominic Barton is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a global managing director for McKinsey & Company.
D. Ronald Daniel was an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and is a director at McKinsey & Company.
Martin N. Baily is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a principal at McKinsey & Company.
Sheryl K. Sandberg was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a management consultant for McKinsey & Company.
James M. Manyika is a partner at McKinsey & Company, and a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
James S. Crown is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Lester Crown was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
W. James McNerney Jr. is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and the chairman & president & CEO for the Boeing Company.
Barbara G. Fast was a VP at the Boeing Company, and a VP for the CGI Group Inc.
CGI Group Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.
Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.
Donna S. Morea was the EVP for the CGI Group Inc., and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.
Leonard T. Mendonca is a co-chairman for the Committee for Economic Development, and a director at McKinsey & Company.
Donald C. Waite III was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and is a director emeritus at McKinsey & Company.
F. William Barnett is an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, and was a director at McKinsey & Company.
Rajat K. Gupta was a director at the Millennium Promise, and a senior partner at McKinsey & Company.
Bill Matassoni is a trustee at the Hudson Institute (think tank), and was a partner at McKinsey & Company.
Anthony W. Miller was a partner at McKinsey & Company, and a director at Silver Lake.
Silver Lake Kraftwerk Fund is a fund for Silver Lake, and a partner with Soros Fund Management.
George Soros is the founder of Soros Fund Management, the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, and was a benefactor at the Human Rights Watch.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Human Rights Watch.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and the Catholic Relief Services.
Kenneth F. Hackett was the president for the Catholic Relief Services, and is the U.S. ambassador for the Holy See.
John J. Studzinski is a director at the Human Rights Watch, a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and a papal knighthood knight.
papal knighthood is an honor conferred by pope from the Roman Catholic Church.
Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) is the pope emeritus at the Roman Catholic Church, and was the pope for the Roman Catholic Church.
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The question of Joseph Ratzinger’s involvement with Nazi Germany and the Hitler Youth is important: there is reason to think that Ratzinger has been less than fully candid about his past.
Raymond L. Burke is a cardinal for the Roman Catholic Church, and the top judge for the Vatican.

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