Pope Francis makes changes in the Vatican Council.

[rpannier]

Wuerl named to bishops' panel; Burke not confirmed

Pope Francis on Monday named Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., as a member of the Vatican's all-important Congregation for Bishops,making Wuerl the most powerful bishop in the United States.
The Pope did not confirm Cardinal Raymond Burke (the Social Warrior) as President of the Apostolic Signatura. Burke is arguably the most conservative activist Cardinal in the US and he is proud of it. Cardinal Burke of Philadelphia insisted that Nancy Pelosi should not receive communion and led the investigation of the nuns for being too concerned with the poor and not concerned enough about abortion.

The Pope also did not confirm Cardinal Rigali. For those unfamiliar with his stellar work Rigali left Philadelphia with a slew of lawsuits against it. And his work in St Louis was just as bad. The man is a walking commercial for afternoon law-firm commercials.

The most significant part of the Pope moving Burke out of his position as 'The Bill O'Reilly of the Catholic Church' is that he no longer gets to recommend new bishops and Cardinals to the Pope for promotion. That duty is Wuerl's. Wuerl also will likely wield more power and influence than Burke ever did because he is the only American Cardinal named to the powerful Vatican councils.

Sources: National Catholic Reporter <Primary>
Alsdo sourced through various other sites.

My take is Burke was doomed the moment the Pope got elected. Burke seems unsympathetic to the plight of the poor and only sees the world through a social issues prism. Considering the horrid choices he sent to the Vatican for San Francisco, Portland, Denver and Hartford, it's good he is gone.
Burke is also reported to consult with Cardinal Harvey and the disgraced former Cardinal of Boston Law regularly. I guess with Burke wagging the finger only extends to gays and abortion, not to criminal enablers.

Cardinal Battista Re appears to also be out. Re has been overseeing the curia for the past several years, allowing the level of corruption to go on without doing much, either because he was complicit, inept, blind or all.

Good riddance Burke.
I'm sure somewhere Pat Buchanan, Bill Donahoe and that right wing nut at NBC news are standing their mouths agape holding back the tears.

[Delphinus]

1. That's fantastic news!

Although I think there should definitely be separation of church and state, I am glad Pope Francis is understanding of that slippery slope and is not allowing things to continue.

[Renew Deal]

2. Link?

[rpannier]

6. Primary Source Link

http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/wuerl-named-bishops-panel-burke-not-confirmed

[pinto]

3. This is a pretty important bureaucratic change. Much of church policy is made at that level.

It's a long established, hidebound bureaucracy. Good move by Francis. We'll see how it plays out.

Oh, I'll echo the need of a link. Thanks.

[rpannier]

5. primary source link

http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/wuerl-named-bishops-panel-burke-not-confirmed

[pinto]

7. Thanks. (nt)

[Lurks Often]

4. Interesting, Cardinal Wuerl is supposed to have zero-tolerance for priests who molest children

and actively investigated, went after, had arrested and defrocked those priests that did so.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Wuerl

the wikipedia article also suggests that while Wuerl is still a devout Catholic, he can be tolerant of beliefs that conflict with Catholic beliefs.

While I am not especially religous and don't agree with much of what the Catholic Church preaches, I find Pope Francis interesting to watch and am curious what changes he'll make in the future. He has already shaken the Church up in less then a year.