By Peter Smith
The Courier-Journal
November 16, 2010
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20101116/NEWS01/311170039
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| Louisville Archbishop Joseph Kurtz. (Sheryl Edelen) |
His standing raised by his public opposition to same-sex marriage, Louisville Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz was elected Tuesday as vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, putting him in line to potentially lead the powerful group that sets policies and serves as a voice of church on public issues.
Kurtz, who until this meeting had served as the conference treasurer, was elected to a three-year term on the third ballot by a 147-91 vote.
Kurtz speculated his election was less the result of his performance as treasurer and more to his prominence as the bishops' spokesman on the volatile and high-profile marriage issue.
“I suspect it's more the involvement I've had in strengthening marriage,” Kurtz said at a news conference in Baltimore, where the bishops are meeting, noting this is one of the top stated priorities of the conference. “It's a commitment that goes through the body of bishops.”
Brian Reynolds, chancellor and chief administrative officer for the Archdiocese of Louisville, said Kurtz's election is an “affirmation of his skills and abilities” and keeps the archdiocese “more engaged in efforts beyond our borders, because our leader is engaged beyond here.”
In recent years, every time a state has voted or a court has ruled on same-sex marriage, Kurtz has spoken for the bishops to support the traditional legal definition of marriage.
As recently as Monday, Kurtz stood before his colleagues at their semi-annual gathering, issuing a passionate call to fight what he said was a potential federal court approval of same-sex marriage similar to the Supreme Court's legalization of abortion in 1973.
In addition to his public comments, Kurtz also led the bishops in the preparation of a 2009 pastoral letter on marriage. It applauded those in traditional marriages while lamenting trends toward gay marriage and high rates co-habitation and divorce.
Normally, the bishops' vote would position Kurtz as the leading candidate in 2013 for president of the conference. But bishops shattered that decades-old precedent on Tuesday by bypassing their most recent vice president, Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., and electing New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan instead.
In Dolan, the bishops picked the leader of the church's most prominent diocese. He has sparred frequently with The New York Times over coverage he feels is hostile to the church, and like Kurtz, has unapologetically defended church teachings against abortion and same-sex marriage.
Overall, the votes show it's “a more conservative conference,” said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a research fellow at Georgetown University in Washington and author of books on the Catholic hierarchy.
“It seems to me that this election shows that the bishops want to continue to be leaders in the culture wars,” said Reese.
He noted Kurtz's closest opponent was Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput, who he said has an even more conservative voice. In 2008, Chaput said future Vice President Joe Biden should refrain from taking communion because of his support for abortion rights.
The conference has listed five priorities in recent years: defending marriage and life, recruiting priests, faith formation and promoting cultural diversity. Although bishops answer directly to the Vatican, the national bishops conference has a staff of 350 that runs numerous programs, ranging from education to broadcasting to the awarding of anti-poverty grants.
The conference was one of the most vocal opponents of the recent health care overhaul legislation signed by President Obama, with bishops saying they favored universal health care, but believed the new law opened the door to tax-funded abortion.
In 2002, amid an avalanche of revelations that bishops allowed sexual abusers to continue in the priesthood, the conference drew massive media attention when it approved a new policy banning abusers from ministry.
While the bishops continue to face harsh criticism for their handling of sex abuse by clergy, “what men like Dolan and Kurtz strongly represent is what I've been referring to as a confident Catholicism — a Catholicism that is not in a defensive crouch but is prepared to boldly proclaim the church's witness in the world, specifically its religious and moral witness,” Princeton University law professor Robert George, a Catholic who co-authored the 2009 Manhattan Declaration, said in a phone interview.
The Declaration, signed by Kurtz and dozens of other Christian leaders of various denominations, opposed abortion, same-sex marriage and any government attempts to force religious bodies to accept either.
George said Kurtz has shown he can “work easily and comfortably with non-Catholics and even non-Christians” on such issues.
Some national groups advocating “full equality” for gay Catholics issued statements lamenting the vote.
The vote “sends an ominous message,” said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of one such group, Maryland-based New Ways Ministry.
“Both men have made strong statements against gay and transgender people,” he said.
Dolan and Kurtz were among 10 candidates for either president or vice president. After Dolan's election, Kurtz won a plurality of votes among the remaining candidates in the first two ballots for vice president before winning the runoff with Chaput.
Ordained to the priesthood in 1972, Kurtz previously served as a priest in Pennsylvania and as bishop of Knoxville, Tenn., before Pope Benedict XVI appointed him archbishop of the Louisville diocese in 2007.
Reporter Peter Smith can be reached at (502) 582-4469.
Contact: psmith@courier-journal.com
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