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	Area Native Selected As Archbishop By Stephen J. Pytak The Republican & Herald [Pennsylvania] June 13, 2007 http://www.republicanherald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18466767&BRD= 2626&PAG=461&dept_id=532624&rfi=6 The Most Rev. Joseph E. Kurtz, a Mahanoy City native, was named the ninth Archbishop of Louisville, Ky., on Tuesday. Kurtz, 60, has served as bishop of Knoxville, Tenn., since October 1999. As bishop, he guided approximately 46,000 Catholics in 45 parishes that made up 36 eastern Tennessee counties, from the Cumberland plateau to the North Carolina border. As archbishop of Louisville, he'll be serving 24 counties, 200,000 Catholics in 121 parishes in Central Kentucky, said Cecelia H. Price, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Louisville. His installation is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Aug. 15. Kurtz said Tuesday that he was eager to begin his new assignment, and said he was coming to Louisville "to learn, to listen and to proclaim the word of God." "I have a great passion for the gift of life, for the family and a love for seeking to serve, especially those who are poor," Kurtz told The Associated Press. Kurtz will be succeeding Thomas C. Kelly, who guided the Louisville archdiocese through a tumultuous period amid a clergy sexual abuse scandal. "We're awfully lucky to get him and God has blessed us abundantly," Kelly said. Kurtz said he has taken a "proactive" approach to "seek a wholesome and a healthy environment within our parishes, our schools and every institution." Kurtz said he thought his approach to responding to any controversy from the abuse scandal was a "healthy one." "It's built on a transparency — a desire not only to cooperate with public authorities when a problem occurs but to be able to have the confidence of the faithful and the average citizen that we are cooperating," he said. Born in Mahanoy City, Aug. 18, 1946, Kurtz is a son of the late George E. and Stella Zmijewski Kurtz. He attended Assumption BVM and St. Canicus elementary schools. He later attended Immaculate Heart High School, which became Cardinal Brennan, the Fountain Springs-based Catholic school the Diocese of Allentown ordered closed at the conclusion of the 2006-2007 school year. Kurtz left school in the 11th grade to study to become a priest, according to REPUBICAN & Herald archives. Kurtz studied for the priesthood at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Wynnewood, and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Allentown by the Most Rev. Joseph McShea, the first bishop of Allentown, at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena, March 18, 1972. Kurtz has served as a priest with the Diocese of Allentown for 27 years, according to Matthew T. Kerr, spokesman for the Diocese of Allentown. From 1972 to 1999, Kerr said Kurtz served as assistant pastor at St. Joseph Church, Limeport, and Ss. Simon and Jude Church, Bethlehem; executive director of the Social Action Bureau; assistant director and later director of the Catholic Social Agency; president of the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities; pastor of Annunciation BVM Church, Catasauqua, and later at Notre Dame of Bethlehem. Kurtz was named monsignor by Pope John Paul II in October 1986. In October 1999, Monsignor Kurtz was named bishop of Knoxville by Pope John Paul II. Other prestigious religious leaders from Schuylkill County include the Most Rev. Kevin C. Rhoades, ordained ninth Bishop of Harrisburg in December 2004, and the Most Rev. Joseph T. Daley, sixth Bishop of Harrisburg, who died in 1983. Stephen J. Pytak: spytak@republicanherald.com
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