Source: Thomas Aquinas College

It has certainly been a busy morning on the Catholic side of the blogosphere!! This morning, the musings about Cardinal Marc Ouellet heading to Rome as the Prefect for the Congregation for Bishops and head of the Commission for Latin America were confirmed when he was appointed to those positions by Benedict XVI. For the first time, the most important posts in the Roman Curia (Vatican Secretary of State, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the Congregation for Bishops) are headed by two North Americans. [The CDF is headed by Cardinal Levada.]

Cardinal Ouellet has served as the Archbishop of Quebec since November of 2002, when he was appointed to the post by Pope John Paul II. During his days as a student, Ouellet studied philosophy at the Ecole Normale d’Amos, earning a Bachelor of pedagogy from Laval University in 1964. For his theological studies, the Cardinal attended the Grand Seminary of Montreal, receiving a degree in theology from the University of Montreal. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Amos on May 25, 1968.

Since his ordination to the Holy Priesthood, Ouellet has attended various other universities, obtaining degrees in philosophy from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) and a doctorate in dogmatic theology at the Gregorian University.

Here are the appointments from this morning:

• The Holy Father appointed Bishop Blase Cupich, current Bishop of the Diocese of Rapid City, as the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Spokane.
• The Holy Father appointed Rev. Arthur L. Kennedy, Ph.D., current Rector of St. John’s Seminary, as Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Boston.
• The Holy Father appointed Rev. Peter J. Uglietto, S.T.D., current Rector/President of Blessed John XXIII Seminary, as Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Boston.
• The Holy Father appointed Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Cardinal-Archbishop of Quebec, as the Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and Chairman of the Commission for Latin America.
• The Holy Father appointed Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella as the head of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evengelization.
• The Holy Father appointed Archbishop Celestino Migliore as the Apostolic Nuncio to Poland.

This morning, Pope Benedict XVI also accepted the resignations of:

• Bishop William Skylstad, Bishop of the Diocese of Spokane.
• Bishop Peter A. Rosazza, Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Hartford.
• Bishop Emilio S. Allué, Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Boston.

Source: Archdiocese of Quebec

Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli is speculating that the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, will name Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Canada as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. You may recall, in May Tornielli predicted that Australia’s Cardinal George Pell would be named as the prefect for the congregation. However, recent reports have reported that Cardinal Pell was reluctant to accept the new position. The position is important in the church because the congregation is instrumental in the naming of bishops throughout most of the world. The current prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, has been expected to announce his retirement for some time.

Cardinal Ouellet was ordained a priest on May 25, 1968. Throughout his life of ministry, Ouellet has served as Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. On November 15, 2002, Ouellet was named Archbishop of Quebec by Pope John Paul II. On October 21, 2003, Archbishop Ouellet was elevated to Cardinal by John Paul.

Stay tuned!

Sources: (1) Il Blog di Andrea Tornielli; (2) CatholicCulture.org