Important: Abp. Burke appointed to Congregation of Bishops

Good news for the Church in the United States, and the world, as reported by Whispers:

[Yesterday], B16 named the church's "chief justice" Archbishop Raymond Burke to the membership of the Congregation for Bishops, giving the 61 year-old prelate a seat at the dicastery's all-important Thursday Table, whose votes recommend prospective appointees to the Pope.

As a result, Burke's impact on the process and its outcomes could be felt for two decades; normally renewed on a five-yearly basis, Curial memberships automatically cease at age 75 for bishops and 80 for the college of cardinals, which the Wisconsin-born prefect of the Apostolic Signatura is likely to join at the next consistory, expected to take place sometime in mid-2010.

... Though it can only be gauged with time, the emergence of a potential "Burke effect" on Stateside appointments bears watching.

Any move that places Abp. Burke in a more prominent oversight role over the appointment of bishops in the United States is a good thing.