Rev. Joseph E. Kurtz, Archbishop Of Louisville, Elected President Of US Catholic Bishops

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He had previously been VP of the USCCB so it seems he should be ready to hit the ground running. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston is the new VP.

It will be interesting to see how things unfold. I don’t know much about either of them.
 
smichhertz said:
When in doubt, wikipedia! 😃

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Edward_Kurtz
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From the Wiki link

“Kurtz is generally seen as a conservative and a firm follower of Vatican directives on doctrine and liturgy. The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a frequent critic of the church hierarchy, indicates that he fits the mold of a “smiling conservative” in the vein of New York’s Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, who is “very gracious but still holds the same positions” as a more pugnacious cleric like Philadelphia’s Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who has not hesitated to call out Catholic politicians who dissent from church teachings on abortion.”

So does this mean he will be quietly compliant with some of the social issues like Cardinal Dolan is or outspoken in opposition like Archbishop Chaput?
 
Traditionally, the USCCB almost always votes in the VP as the President. The only real exception to that rule was when Dolan won. So it’s no surprise they returned to the tradition and elected VP again.
 
Lapey said:
From the Wiki link

“Kurtz is generally seen as a conservative and a firm follower of Vatican directives on doctrine and liturgy. The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a frequent critic of the church hierarchy, indicates that he fits the mold of a “smiling conservative” in the vein of New York’s Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, who is “very gracious but still holds the same positions” as a more pugnacious cleric like Philadelphia’s Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who has not hesitated to call out Catholic politicians who dissent from church teachings on abortion.”

So does this mean he will be quietly compliant with some of the social issues like Cardinal Dolan is or outspoken in opposition like Archbishop Chaput?
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I suppose time will tell. But you never really know for sure. Dolan was certainly not quiet about the contraception mandate.
 
(Emphasis added mine)
"We humbly offer our prayers and support to His Eminence Archbishop Kurtz. He has a reputation as placing abortion, euthanasia, and other challenges to protecting the dignity of the human person at the forefront of his priorities as a teacher and shepherd.
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With his experience in social programs, we hope that Archbishop Kurtz will take the reins of social justice programs at USCCB to advance this important work of the Church. ***His leadership in this area will assure that social justice is not separated from social morality. ***
~ Judie Brown, American Life League ~
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May the Lord see fit to give him wisdom, strength and courage in reforming the CCHD and CRS.
 
Also, this is a pretty informative interview (from a few years ago) that Archbp. Kurtz gave:

[natcath.org/ma(name removed by moderator)age/specialdocuments/kurtz_interview.pdf](http://www.natcath.org/ma(name removed by moderator)age/specialdocuments/kurtz_interview.pdf)
 
I am from Louisville. (I don’t live there anymore.) He is a great supporter of their EF communities, specifically the one at St. Martin church downtown, which has had the EF for decades now. Its scale and the permeation of a century of incense into the walls make it a gorgeous experience. PLUS they have two full-body relics of early Roman Christians, Sts. Magnus and Bonosa, the former of whom was a Centurion who refusde to kill the latter. Then they were both killed.
 
When Archbishop Kurtz was the Bishop of Knoxville, during his tenure there was a positive upswing in vocations. I met a seminarian from Knoxville who was studying at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia.

I think Archbishop Kurtz will be good as President of the USCCB. I have family in Houston and Daniel Cardinal DiNardo seems to be doing well there - I find much better attitudes (and better formed Catholics) among Houston area Catholics now than I did ten years ago. Cardinal DiNardo is a straight shooter, and doesn’t sugar coat things - young men in particular need to see a leader like Daniel Cardinal DiNardo.

On a side note, I was afraid some media outlets would label Kurtz as being more of a “social justice priest” due to the fact that Kurtz has an MSW. From what I have witnessed, I haven’t seen a “slant” like this from the secular media, which is good.

I do know that Kurtz has great respect for the mentally handicapped, because he had a brother who had Down’s Syndrome.
 
What will really define Archbishop Kurtz as president will be the issues that arise during his administration. Archbishop Gregory was the face of the American Church during the worst of the sex abuse crisis. Cardinal Dolan was the face of the American Church with the HHS mandate. Probably the best to be hoped for is that in three years no one will even remember who was president of the USCCB during this time because there will have been no crises he had to speak about.
 
SuscipeMeDomine said:
What will really define Archbishop Kurtz as president will be the issues that arise during his administration. Archbishop Gregory was the face of the American Church during the worst of the sex abuse crisis. Cardinal Dolan was the face of the American Church with the HHS mandate. Probably the best to be hoped for is that in three years no one will even remember who was president of the USCCB during this time because there will have been no crises he had to speak about.
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Where does this leave the on-going crisis within the conference that has been allowed to continue for the past 20+ years regarding the two main anti-poverty programs of the bishops? The fact that millions of Catholic dollars have gone (and continue to go) against the Church in the form of giving to social justice causes (and even one criminal organization that we know about) that spread every form of intrinsic evil against divine law. It’s really an on-going scandal that never seems to be addressed. I hope under new leadership the status quo will not be allowed to remain and a thorough house cleaning done of the lay staffers who only offer lame excuses to the faithful for their decisions, and seem to be immune to definitive action by the bishops.
 
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