Dangerous Directions | by Jim Graves | Catholic World Report | July 2011
Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, vice president of the USCCB, on opposition to same-sex marriage and other issues.
Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, 64, was born in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest of five children; his father was a coal miner. His three older sisters had married and moved out of the house when he was still young; hence, his closest sibling companion in his youth was his brother, George, who had Down syndrome.
As a young man, Kurtz first thought about becoming a priest after praying one day in a chapel. He was also inspired around this time by a book his sister gave him on St. Dominic and the Rosary, which is still in his possession today. The book described Dominic as an “athlete for Christ.” This life appealed to him more than devoting himself to a career, so he decided to enter the seminary.
Kurtz was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1972. In 1999, he was named bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee, and he became archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky in 2007. In addition to his work on the diocesan level, Archbishop Kurtz serves as chairman of the Committee on Marriage and Family Life of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Last fall, he was elected vice president of the USCCB. Archbishop Kurtz recently spoke with CWR.
What do you believe is the proper role for the USCCB?
Archbishop Kurtz: Pope John Paul’s 1998 apostolic letter Apostolos Suos tells us that episcopal conferences have a three-fold role. First, they promote unity among the bishops with the Holy Father. This role is important, and underestimated.
At each meeting, for example, the bishops make a Holy Hour and have confessions. To me, that is one of the most important things we do. It fosters unity. It is based on the call to holiness that each of us is called to embrace, especially the bishops in our leadership role. We must support each other in our mission to follow Christ on a path of holiness.
Second, episcopal conferences help diocesan bishops in their pastoral care of the local church. In my work over the past six years on the Initiative on Marriage, for example, much of what I’ve tried to do is to provide material to the local church that can be used in catechetical programs and our Catholic schools.
Third, and most familiar to people, episcopal conferences provide a vehicle for addressing the vital issues of our day. These include respect for human life—advocating for the common good in legislation and regulation to protect the human person from conception to natural death.
You’ve personally been a leader in opposition to same-sex marriage.
Archbishop Kurtz: Bishops, the Church, and society in general need to understand the public nature of marriage. Aspects of marriage are personal and private, but it is also public, because it affects society as a whole.
Many people assume that marriage is a right that the state can simply create. That is a dangerous direction in which to go. The majority of voters cannot create whatever rights they want. Marriage is a gift given to us by God and defined by him. We, as Catholics, must not be afraid to say so publicly.
We need to be forthright in speaking about the importance of defending and protecting the gift of marriage within our Church and society. We need to be able to speak forthrightly to our people on the importance of marriage, and make it clear that our respect for the individual should not be at the expense of marriage itself.
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