Happy "New Year"

With the Pope returned from summer hiatus, 2009's main gathering of bishops now underway and the Appointment Machine up and running again, another "Vatican Year" has begun... and with a bang, at that.

To sum things up: as President Obama looms large over this month's African Synod -- and America's new Vatican legate gives his first interviews on the job -- one of these shores' more forthright prelates took to the Roman press to publicly rebut a cardinal's recent effusive praise of the Commander-in-Chief... the pilgrims have begun converging on the Urb for this weekend's canonizations... B16 underscored that any sound ecclesial reform must first "aim at the heart" of believers at today's General Audience... the leading African papabile (and "star" of this Synod) talked up a Pope of color following his first major Aula turn... and all as the chief of the US bishops begun an English-Italian "Simply Catholic" press tour to plug his new book, which'll see its Stateside presentation later this month in New York.

And that's barely the surface... for all the rest, as always, stay tuned.

PHOTO: Reuters

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