Joseph Edward Kurtz | |
---|---|
Archbishop Emeritus of Louisville | |
Archdiocese | Louisville |
Appointed | June 12, 2007 |
Installed | August 15, 2007 |
Retired | February 8, 2022 |
Predecessor | Thomas C. Kelly, O.P |
Successor | Shelton Fabre |
Previous post(s) |
|
Orders | |
Ordination | March 18, 1972 by Joseph McShea |
Consecration | December 8, 1999 by Gabriel Montalvo Higuera, Thomas C. Kelly, and Edward Peter Cullen |
Personal details | |
Born | Joseph Edward Kurtz August 18, 1946 |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Residence | Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
Parents | George and Stella (née Zmijewski) Kurtz |
Occupation | Archbishop |
Alma mater | St. Charles Borromeo Seminary Marywood University |
Motto | Hope In The Lord |
Coat of arms |
Styles of Joseph Edward Kurtz | |
---|---|
Reference style | |
Spoken style | Your Excellency |
Religious style | Archbishop |
Ordination history of Joseph Edward Kurtz | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||
|
Joseph Edward Kurtz (born August 18, 1946) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville in Kentucky from 2007 to 2022. He previously served as the bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville in Tennessee from 1999 to 2007. Kurtz was president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) from 2013 to 2016.
Joseph Kurtz was born on August 18, 1946, in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, to George and Stella (née Zmijewski) Kurtz. He is of Polish descent. [1] One of five children (Rose Marie, Theresa, George, and Patricia), he entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia in 1964. He obtained a Bachelor of Philosophy degree and a Master of Divinity degree from that school. [2]
Kurtz was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Allentown by Bishop Joseph McShea on March 18, 1972. [3] Kurtz completed his post-graduate work at Marywood University in Scranton, earning a Master of Social Work degree.
During his priestly ministry, Kurtz served as high school teacher, college lecturer, administrator, and pastor in Catasauqua and Bethlehem, both in Pennsylvania. He was raised to the rank of Monsignor in 1986. [2]
On October 26, 1999, Kurtz was appointed as the second bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on December 8. 1999. from Archbishop Gabriel Higuera, with Archbishop Thomas Kelly and Bishop Edward Cullen serving as co-consecrators, before an audience of approximately 5,000 at the Knoxville Convention Center in Knoxville. [3]
Kurtz was named archbishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville on June 12, 2007, by Pope Benedict XVI. His installation took place on August 15, 2007, at Louisville Gardens in Louisville. [3]
In addition to his diocesan duties, Kurtz served as chair of the USCCB Committee on Marriage and Family Life. He was elected as the vice president of the USCCB in November 2010. [4] On November 11, 2013, Kurtz was elected USCCB president. On February 19, 2014, Kurtz was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. [5] On November 14, 2014, he was elected as a delegate to the 2015 Synod of Bishops on the Family, pending Vatican approval. [6] [2]
On February 1, 2019, Kurtz released a report that named 22 priests from the archdiocese with credible accusations of sexual abuse. The report was prepared by an independent investigator who was not part of the church. None of the 22 men were active priests in 2019. [7]
In July 2019, Kurtz underwent treatment for urothelial cancer, which required a three-month medical leave of absence from the archdiocese. [8]
On February 8, 2022, Pope Francis accepted Kurtz's letter of resignation as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville [9] [3] and named Shelton Joseph Fabre as archbishop of the Archdiocese. [10] He was installed on March 30, 2022. [11]
Kurtz is generally seen as a conservative and a firm follower of Vatican directives on doctrine and liturgy. The Rev. Thomas J. Reese indicates that Kurtz is a "smiling conservative" like Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, who is "very gracious but still holds the same positions" as a cleric like Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who has openly criticized Catholic politicians who support abortion rights for women. [12]
|
Francis Eugene George was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the eighth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois (1997–2014) and previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Yakima in Washington State and archbishop of the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (USCC), it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic hierarchy in the United States and the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Justin Francis Rigali is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was the eighth Archbishop of Philadelphia, having previously served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 1994 to 2003, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 2003. Following a sex abuse probe into the Catholic Church, Cardinal Rigali resigned in 2011.
Charles Joseph Chaput OFMCap is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the ninth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, serving from 2011 until 2020. He previously served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Denver in Colorado (1997–2011) and bishop of the Diocese of Rapid City in South Dakota (1988–1997). Chaput was the first archbishop of Philadelphia in 100 years who was not named a cardinal.
The Archdiocese of Louisville is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in central Kentucky in the United States. The cathedral church of the archdiocese is the Cathedral of the Assumption in Louisville, Kentucky. The archdiocese is the seat of the metropolitan see of the Province of Louisville, which encompasses the states of Kentucky and Tennessee. The archdiocese is the second-oldest diocese west of the Appalachian Mountains, after the Archdiocese of New Orleans. As of 2023, the archbishop of Louisville is Shelton Fabre.
José Horacio Gómez Velasco is a Mexican-American prelate of the Catholic Church. He became the fifth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California in 2011. He previously served as Auxiliary Bishop of Denver in Colorado from 2001 to 2004 and as Archbishop of San Antonio in Texas from 2004 to 2010.
Daniel Nicholas DiNardo is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the second and current archbishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas serving since 2006. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City in Iowa from 1998 to 2004.
The Diocese of Knoxville is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in eastern Tennessee in the United States. It was founded on May 27, 1988, from the eastern counties of what was then the Diocese of Nashville. The diocese is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Louisville.
The Diocese of Memphis is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the western part of Tennessee in the United States.
The Diocese of Rapid City is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in western South Dakota in the United States It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The mother church of the Diocese of Rapid City is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Rapid City. Pope Francis appointed Scott E. Bullock to be Bishop of Rapid City on June 25, 2024.
William Edward Lori is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as the 16th archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland since 2012.
Martin David Holley is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, from 2016 to 2018, when he was removed by Pope Francis for alleged mismanagement of the diocese.
Shelton Joseph Fabre is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as the Archbishop of Louisville in Kentucky since March 30, 2022. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in Louisiana from 2013 to 2022 and was auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans in Louisiana from 2007 to 2013.
Joseph Anthony Pepe is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the second bishop of the Diocese of Las Vegas in Nevada from 2001 to 2018.
Gerald Frederick Kicanas is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Tucson in Arizona from 2002 to 2017. He served as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Las Cruces in New Mexico from September 2018 to July 2019.
Richard Frank Stika is an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Knoxville from 2009 to 2023.
Mitchell Thomas Rozanski is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of St. Louis since 2020. He previously served as Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts from 2014 to 2020 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore from 2004 to 2014.
Paul Dennis Étienne is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle in Washington State since 2019.
Mark Edward Brennan is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who is bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia. He was installed on August 22, 2019. Brennan previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland from 2017 to 2019.