Pope Benedict has appointed more Australian Bishops than American Ones

Yes, folks, strange but true. According to Rocco Palmo (who is still Whispering in the Loggia--although we are back to normal volume here at Sentire Cum Ecclesia for the moment), Pope Benedict has appointed only three new prelates for the US since becoming Pope, and two of them were already bishops. Aren't we lucky, then, to have two brand spanking new bishops (Elliott and Costelloe) here in Melbourne alone?

Really though, the situation is so dire in the States--with as many as 25 ordinaries needing to be appointed not counting auxiliaries etc. and one diocese which has been without a bishop for 25 months--that some are saying there is a "crisis of vocations" for bishops! One assumes that Papa Benny has been studying the files for American bishops as closely as he has obviously done for our Australian candidates.