Joseph Edward Kurtz

Joseph Edward Kurtz (born August 18, 1946) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the fourth and current Archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky, having previously served as Bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1999 to 2007. Kurtz also served as the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops between 2013 and 2016.

Joseph Kurtz was born in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, to George and Stella (née Zmijewski) Kurtz. He is of Polish descent. One of five children (Rose Marie, Theresa, George, and Patricia), he entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in 1964, from where he obtained a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a master's in divinity. Kurtz was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Joseph McShea on March 18, 1972, and did his post-graduate work at Marywood University in Scranton, earning a master's in social work.

During his priestly ministry in the Diocese of Allentown, Kurtz served as a high school and college teacher, an administrator, and a pastor in Catasauqua and Bethlehem. He was raised to the rank of Monsignor in 1986. Prior to becoming Archbishop (with his brother's death) he had a close bond with his brother George. George would have a large impact on him and his church community forming relationships with staff and parishioners.

Bishop of Knoxville

On October 26, 1999, Kurtz was appointed the second Bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee, by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following December 8 from Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo Higuera, with Archbishop Thomas Kelly, OP, and Bishop Edward Cullen serving as co-consecrators, before a crowd of approximately 5,000 people at the Knoxville Convention Center.

Archbishop of Louisville

Kurtz was later named Archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky, on June 12, 2007. His installation took place on August 15 at Louisville Gardens.

Archbishop Kurtz, in addition to his diocesan duties, also serves as Chairman of the Committee on Marriage and Family Life of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Kurtz was elected as the Vice President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in November 2010.

On November 11, 2013, Kurtz was elected as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

On February 19, 2014 he was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.

On Friday, November 14, 2014, during the fall meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, of which he then was President, he was elected as one of the delegates to the 2015 Synod of Bishops on the Family, pending Vatican approval.

In July 2019, Archbishop Kurtz revealed he was suffering from urothelial cancer (a type of transitional cell carcinoma), a type of bladder cancer, that was affecting the bladder and prostate. The precise stage and level of aggressiveness and spread were not indicated. He will receive as-yet unspecified chemotherapy and immunotherapy for 12 weeks- a 3 month absence from the Archdiocese (though he will remain in close contact with officials there; the article did not say if he would temporarily transfer some or all powers to a temporary administrator). He has informed the Vatican, through the Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S., Archbishop Christophe Pierre, of the situation, and has received their support. Care is being provided through the chief oncologist of the Duke Cancer Institute.

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 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 cleric like Philadelphia's Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who has not hesitated to call out Catholic politicians who dissent from church teachings on abortion.