Page 35 - Catholic Extension Magazine - Spring 2016

is giving today. It ts perfectly. And as Pope Francis comes to know Catholic Extension, he is going to be one of the great proponents of our work.
How did your experience in a mission diocese prepare you for your roles today as archbishop
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in Louisville and president of the bishops’ conference?
Being a bishop in a mission diocese ensures that you are close to the people you serve. Knoxville only had 40 parishes, and so I visited them very often. Being able to come to know the people of the diocese and not to simply be an administrator had a great e ect
on me. I would compare it to the privilege I had to serve as a pastor in two parishes in Pennsylvania. What are your greatest hopes for the Year of Mercy the Church is celebrating this year?
e Year of Mercy is a call to touch everyone’s heart, beginning with our own. Both we who are called to serve and those who feel most distant from Christ need our hearts to be touched by mercy. is year is a great clarion call to focus on the time-honored mis- sion of mercy that Pope Francis is giving us.
Catholic Extension, of course, is not waiting for people to come to us but is going out to reach people where they are, especially at the
“Christ calls for generosity. There is a great spirit of generosity that surrounds Catholic Extension.”
margins. Catholic Extension has been undertaking a mission of mercy for more than a century. Can you share an experience of mercy in your own life?
To me, my brother Georgie, who had Down Syndrome, really captured the spirit of mercy.
He taught me some important lessons. He made me slow down and “stop and smell the roses” and made me appreciate people. Not living a very complicated life, he was always able to spread joy. He also was not afraid to ask for help when he needed help, and he made it easier for me to do the same. I think that capacity to ask others for help can make us understand what it means to be dependent on God.
Looking back over the past six years with Catholic Extension, what else stands out for you?
I count it as a great privilege
in my life to have come to know and serve the mission of Catholic Extension, and I am grateful for that. I have had great admiration for Cardinal George, the former chancellor, and all of the board, and I know that Archbishop Cupich will continue that strong tradition of leadership. It has been a great privilege over the past six years to come to know and work with the ne sta , beginning with Father Jack Wall.
Extension | Spring 2016 35
MERCY FUND TO SUPPORT MINISTRY TO THE POOR
In honor of Arch- bishop Kurtz’s service to Catholic Extension’s board of governors,
Catholic Extension has just an- nounced a special “Mercy Fund.” Following Archbishop Kurtz’s expressed desire, the Mercy Fund will support the Church’s pastoral outreach and spiritual care to the poor, displaced and vulnerable in this Year of Mercy.
This special initiative will support a number of dioceses this year, and it will be one more way that Catholic Extension will be marking this Jubilee year.