St. Louis emeritus Archbishop Raymond Burke

Pope Benedict XVI named St. Louis emeritus Archbishop Raymond Burke to the Vatican’s influential Congregation for Bishops on Saturday.

The congregation, or Vatican office, is responsible for recommending Roman Catholic bishop candidates around the world to the pope.  Over time - and Burke is only 61 - the Congregation’s members can have a significant impact on the direction of the Catholic church.

Burke will join another former St. Louis archbishop, Cardinal Justin Rigali, at the Congregation for Bishops. He’ll be the fifth American member of the office.

Burke left St. Louis to become the prefect, or leader, of the Apostolic Signatura - often described as the Vatican’s version of the Supreme Court. Burke also is a member of two other Vatican offices, the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, which interprets canon law, and the Congregation for the Clergy, which regulates the formation and training of diocesan priests and deacons.

Whispers in the…

St. Louis Archbishop-elect Robert Carlson gives his first St. Louis homily at the Cathedral Basilica at an evening prayer service June 9. Courtesy of the St. Louis Archdiocese.

Archbishop-elect Robert Carlson will be installed Wednesday, but Tuesday evening, he gave his first St. Louis homily homily at an evening prayer service at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica.

Carlson first asked the 1,000 in attendance to “welcome back” his predecessors - Cardinal Justin Rigali, now of Philadelphia, and Archbishop Raymond Burke, now the supreme justice of the Vatican’s highest court. The faithful did so, to rousing and sustained applause.

Dressed in regal, gold vestments, Carlson spoke of the need for the Roman Catholic church to work with the civic community and other Christian churches to help change the status quo.

“If the civic and business communities provide the body of that engagement, the Church needs to be its soul,” Carlson said.

His installment is scheduled for 2…

Joseph R. Cistone, the new bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw, speaks during his introductory press conference at the Center for Ministry in Saginaw Township. The Saginaw News.

On Wednesday, Pope Benedict XVI named an auxiliary bishop from Philadelphia - Joseph Cistone - to replace Robert Carlson as the new bishop of Saginaw, Mich. The pope named Carlson archbishop-elect of St. Louis just four weeks ago - nine months after he named former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke to a prominent Vatican position.

Carlson’s installation is scheduled for June 10.

“It was a great surprise to find out the Holy Father was entrusting me to serve as a diocesan bishop,” said the 60-year-old  Cistone, at his news conference in Saginaw Wednesday, according to the Saginaw News. “The speed of the announcement took me by surprise, too.”

The News gave a hint of Carlson’s trademark sense of humor,

Leader in Saginaw for four years, Carlson introduced Cistone to a stunned crowd of…