Kentucky Right to Life Changing Hearts, Saving Lives Award

Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Edward Kurtz - 2023 Recipient The Archdiocese of Louisville

Prolife Advocate Of The Year

A culture of compassion and love quietly permeates our pro-life cause. Love and compassion change hearts, change minds, and save lives. “How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love.” –

Mother Teresa 1994

Kentucky Right to Life, Changing Hearts ~ Saving Lives ProLife Advocate of the Year Award is presented in recognition of an individual who has a heart inspired by God to see the beauty of each life as a gift from God. Their strength of conviction to extend a helping hand and their heart to love beyond measure, recognizing the dignity and potential of every life, are a reflection of Kentucky Right to Life’s own mission and ministry. It is bestowed in honor of their significant personal or professional contributions, demonstrated through their dedication to pro-life activities and their unwavering respect for the most vulnerable in our midst, especially unborn child and their mothers.

The Kentucky Right to Life Changing Heart ~ Saving Lives Award Is Inspired by the Tradition of the “Red Rose ~ White Rose”

You may be familiar with the red rose as a symbol of the prolife movement’s respect for the lives of preborn babies and their mothers. But are you aware of the history of the White Rose?

By the mid-1930s, ending the lives of those deemed physically or socially unfit was openly accepted in Germany. By 1939 the “mercy killing” of babies born with abnormalities, the elderly, the chronically or incurably ill, the mentally ill, and the physically or mentally disabled was officially legal.

Hans Scholl, a young medical student in Germany in 1941, is said to have heard a sermon on this “terrible thing” – the government sanctioned killing of innocent people. Scholl and a group of students then formed the Weisse Rose (White Rose). Using a small duplicating machine, the students distributed thousands of pamphlets denouncing the Nazi regime and its crimes against life.

Joseph Edward Kurtz was ordained a priest of Allentown, Pennsylvania on March 18, 1972. He has served the Catholic Church as a priest for over 50 years, 23 years as a bishop.

Bishop Kurtz was serving as bishop for the Diocese of Knoxville, TN, when he was called to become the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville. He served in that office from 2007 until his retirement in 2022. During his active ministry, he was elected Vice-president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) from 2007-2010, and then elected President of the USCCB from 2013-2016.

Respected for his life of service, he is loved for his welcoming smile and known for his authenticity and gracious manner. Archbishop Kurtz is known for his sincerity and his commitment to life when it comes to ending the legalized killing of innocent unborn children in America. Speaking to the crowds at the Vigil Mass for the 42nd Anniversary March for Life in Washington, DC in 2015, Archbishop Kurtz shared his own first public witness for life:

“In 1973, I was a priest — at that point, ten months ordained. They call that ‘priests who are wet behind the ears.’ And, I remember the first letter to the editor that I ever wrote. It’s now 42 years ago, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. You can guess what it was about. It was protesting the Supreme Court decision against life and wanting to stand up for life. That was a public action.”

Archbishop Kurtz would go on to get a degree in social work and serve in Catholic charities for more than 20 years. He labored in programs such as Caring Heart that reach out to those who, in many cases through no fault of their own, are being sold a bill of goods and turning away from life and choosing death instead.

If a picture is truly worth a thousand words, then the picture of Archbishop Kurtz, taken by a reporter for the Louisville Courier while the archbishop was on his knees, praying, in front of the EMW Abortion facility in Louisville, said it all.

PAST RED ROSE ~ WHITE ROSE AWARD RECIPIENTS

1987 - Arnold Turner, Prestonburg

1988 - Frank Schwendeman, Lexington

1990 - Hilda Pullen, Lexington

1994 - Al J. Arbogast, Lexington

1995 - Art Brestel, Wilmore

1996 - Vera Amann, Villa Hills

1997 - James and Carolyn Mathieu, Salem

1998 - Paul and Elsie Gardner, Bardstown

1999 - Rosemary Fister and Edward Norton, Lexington

2000 - James and Janice Smith, Owensboro

2001 - Sister Mary Prisca Pfeffer, R.S.M.

2002 - Joseph D. Calvert, Louisville

2010 - Little Sisters of the Poor

2012 - Dr. Jack and Barbara Willke, Cincinnati, OH

2015 - Darlene Livers, Webster

2022 - Amanda Westerfield