Monthly Archives: January 2014

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Why I’m going to the Philippines

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is traveling to the Philippines on February 2-7 with other U.S. Catholic Church officials to see recovery efforts in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, which struck Nov. 8. The trip is organized and sponsored by Catholic Relief Services. Archbishop Kurtz wrote an op-ed about the trip, which was first published by Catholic News Service. To learn more about […]

2017-10-13T15:53:07-04:00January 28th, 2014|Archbishop's Blog|

Service and Faith – Two Sides of the Same Coin

Little Sisters of the Poor in Louisville, Ky. Little Sisters of the Poor in Louisville, Ky.

When I came to Louisville six years ago, I discovered the charism of the Little Sisters of the Poor.  Actually I knew of the Little Sisters for 50 years but not directly.  I entered the seminary in 1963 and met a classmate who would serve for years as a priest of Philadelphia before he died […]

2017-10-13T15:53:08-04:00January 27th, 2014|Archbishop's Blog|

Congratulations to Bishop Gainer: Statement of Archbishop Kurtz & Bishops of Kentucky

From left: Bishop Gainer, Bishop Roger Foys of Covington, Bishop William Medley of Owensboro, and Archbishop Kurtz The Bishops of Kentucky. From left: Bishop Gainer, Bishop Roger Foys of Covington, Bishop William Medley of Owensboro, and Archbishop Kurtz

With deep gratitude to almighty God, I welcome the wonderful news that our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has appointed Bishop Ronald Gainer as the Bishop of Harrisburg in Pennsylvania.  For the past eleven […]

2017-10-13T15:53:08-04:00January 24th, 2014|Archbishop's Blog|

Archbishop Kurtz on the New Pope

Recently, I spoke with Dr. Gregory Hillis, Assistant Professor of Theology at Bellarmine University, about Pope Francis.  His article about our conversation, reprinted with permission below, is in the Winter 2014 edition of Bellarmine’s Magazine:

When Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio emerged as Pope Francis onto the balcony at St. Peter’s Basilica without the papal mozzetta – the red cape traditionally worn by popes – and greeted the crowd with a simple, “Buona sera,” the tone changed in Rome and throughout the Roman Catholic Church. Over […]

2017-10-13T15:53:08-04:00January 16th, 2014|Archbishop's Blog|

January 22: Marching for the Unborn

This Jan. 22 marks the 41st year since abortion became legal in the United States throughout the nine months of pregnancy. The 1973 Supreme Court decisions Roe v. Wade and its companion case, Doe v. Bolton, created one of the most sweeping licenses for abortion in the world. Since then, more than 55 million innocent children have lost their lives to abortion in the U.S. Countless mothers are left behind, often hurting physically, emotionally and spiritually in silence. Others suffer, […]

2017-10-13T15:53:08-04:00January 14th, 2014|Archbishop's Blog|

Taking the Plunge

I was only ten days old when baptized, and so I really don’t remember how that water of grace first touched me – likely through a pouring on my forehead. Today, I love the practice of immersion, which shows to all the senses that there is a death going on.

The Baptism of Christ by Bartolomé Murillo, 1655. The Baptism of Christ by Bartolomé Murillo, 1655.

​Feeling unworthy, St. John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the River Jordan only with the insistence of […]

2017-10-13T15:53:08-04:00January 10th, 2014|Archbishop's Blog|

Serving the Poor and the HHS Mandate

In my role as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, I just released an article about 
the Church’s call to serve the poor and the serious barriers to this work created by the Department of Health and Human Service mandate, which is a component of the Affordable Care Act. This piece has been published by Religion News Service and can be found here.  

 

 

 

2014-01-07T08:41:24-05:00January 7th, 2014|Archbishop's Blog|