We’re reminded there of an earlier dust-up between the old and the new. Maybe this was the parting shot.
I’ve never been a particular fan of any of these three men, but I suppose Cardinal Wuerl is the best of the bunch.
Rocco comments:
For those who enjoy what Italians do best, (this replacement) is nothing short of extraordinary. With today’s nod, the District cardinal becomes the first shepherd of the nation’s capital to have a seat at the Curia’s most significant table of all; until now, only prior archbishops of New York, Boston and Philadelphia have known the role.
The geography seems less important in the modern era of airport bishops. These guys certainly get to know one another much better than in previous decades. Plus there is the internet factor. Just read someone’s blog archives. You get the measure of a candidate thus as well as anything else.
Catholic Sensibility 
The full news:
http://www.vis.va/vissolr/index.php?vi=all&dl=dc6e1059-b79c-469d-92f3-52af043f29da&dl_t=text/xml&dl_a=y&ul=1&ev=1
Ouellet is confirmed as Prefect. But the ouster of Burke and Rigali, and addition of Wuerl, will have a significant tempering effect on the ternas that will be developed in the future; Pell will remain an additional influence in the Anglosphere, but no longer reinforced by Burke & Rigali.
PS: http://ncronline.org/blogs/distinctly-catholic/shake-rome
More and more I’m seeing a trend with this pope: he’s going to focus on, and “reward” for lack of a better term, those bishops who are leaders in places where the church is growing and/or is doing an extraordinary job spreading the gospel – in other words, shepherds who lead by example and “smell like the sheep.”
I’d be very curious to see what happens with the next batch of red hats, especially as it related to the US. My prediction is at least one, if not two, will move to the south and east – Miami and Atlanta come to mind. Those are “booming” churches, and I see Francis giving credit where credit is due. One only has to pray that, if the honorary titles were to end up there, they would not go to anyone’s head (whether the recipient’s or the faithful’s). So far, that doesn’t appear to have happened in Houston – one can hope that’s a trend that will continue.
MikeK:
If what you say is true, then why is Cardinal Wuerl being promoted? What has he done for evangelization and in growing his dioceses?
I find the Wuerl appointment very disquieting. For those with ears to hear, it seems a force is on the rise that has been subdued in this country for a decade in the aftermath of the Crisis: the LM. Even some of my progressive priest buddies, no fans of the “orthodox” Wuerl but even less of Burke, are stunned by this. Are we really going to go down this path of bishops with pet elephants in the room yet again?
LM? Latin Mass?
Think of a mafia.
Oh dear. Tin foil hat time.
PS You get no discounting on calumny or detraction (depending on the situation) for this attempt at erstwhile discretion.
Ah yes: the most incompetent mafia on the planet. Responsible for cranking up the anti-gay sentiment from within the episcopacy, alienating thousands, pouring money down political rabbit holes, and like behavior.
Hey: when you’ve got an attractive and lurid conspiracy theory, who needs reality?