Out With a Bang

And lo and behold, folks, seemingly everything drops....

This morning, the Pope named:

• Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec, 66, as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and the post's traditional secondary assignment of president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America;

• Archbishop Rino Fisichella, 58, as president of the new Pontifical Council, which bears the official name of "Promoting the New Evangelization";

• Archbishop Celestino Migliore, 58 tomorrow -- since 2002, the Holy See's highly-regarded Observer (nuncio) to the UN in New York (and leader of the Vatican's "green" push of recent years) -- as apostolic nuncio to Warsaw;

• Bishop Blase Cupich of Rapid City, 61, to Spokane;

• intriguingly, the rectors of Boston's two seminaries -- Fr Arthur Kennedy, 68, of St John's in Brighton, and Fr Peter Uglietto, 58, of Blessed John XXIII in Weston -- as auxiliary bishops there.

• and finally, Fr John Cihak -- a priest of Portland in Oregon ordained in 1998 and already on Vatican service -- as an assistant papal ceremoniere.
  

PHOTO: AP

-30-