New director of Office of Life, Justice and Peace hopes to promote dignity of all

Before Catholics can do anything to influence the wider culture on such hot-button issues as abortion, physician-assisted suicide, capital punishment or treating immigrants with dignity, they have to be convinced by the church’s moral vision themselves.

Helping the faithful grow in that conviction is at the heart of Collin Kourtz’s mission as the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s new director of the Office of Life, Justice and Peace.

Kourtz, a 34-year-old Virginia native who earned an engineering degree from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, took on his new role this fall in the archdiocese’s Institute for Evangelization, succeeding Erin Younkins.

“Are we Catholic first and then an active Democrat or Republican?” he asked. “What takes priority in our lives? Political division doesn’t reflect the moral reality of the church and the unity that’s there.”

That unified moral vision, Kourtz said, recognizes the same dignity in a person suffering on the streets with mental illness, an unborn child who can’t speak for himself or someone serving time in prison.

Kourtz’s appreciation for human dignity is grounded not only in faith but also in the lessons of his own past. In his early adulthood, he drifted from the church – chasing the kind of life he saw promoted on MTV, one that promised excitement and fulfillment, but ultimately left him empty.

During his junior year at Loyola, he quietly began attending a late-night Mass on campus, where he discovered a deeper and more lasting sense of purpose in living according to his faith.

After earning his degree, Kourtz worked as an engineer in New Hampshire, but found himself longing for more direct connection with people. He began discerning a call to religious life and joined the Mercy Volunteer Corps, spending more than a year working with vulnerable populations in the emergency department at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore.

Kourtz then entered the Capuchin Franciscan Friars to prepare for the priesthood. His ministry included time at St. Ambrose Parish in Park Heights, where he worked in the Capuchin parish’s Sunday School. 

“I loved the Capuchin saints,” he said. “I really loved the model of life – the simplicity, the austerity, the kind of contemplation they had. They’re all very different, but there’s a quiet joy amongst them.”

Kourtz ultimately discerned he wasn’t called to the priesthood, leaving seminary before professing final vows or being ordained. He completed a graduate degree in business from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he is now completing an advanced degree in theology.

In his new role in the Institute for Evangelization, Kourtz hopes to help parishioners throughout the archdiocese understand why the church teaches that there’s a preferential option for the poor and why it holds life sacred from conception to natural death.

In addition to pro-life work, his office promotes outreach to people with disabilities, those imprisoned and their families, and the deaf community.

Kourtz, a married parishioner of Ss. Philip and James in Homewood, said one area for possible growth might be fostering more partnerships to provide increased support for the parents and families of people with mental disabilities.

“I’d love for there to be more direct collaboration with the parents of children and adults with disabilities in the archdiocese,” he said.

With the Maryland General Assembly expected to take up debate on the legalization of physician-assisted suicide in the coming legislative session and with Maryland becoming one of the leading states where women go to have abortions in the wake of the Supreme Court Dobbs decision ending Roe v. Wade, he knows he has his hands full.

Kourtz highlighted the important work of pro-life pregnancy resource centers in Maryland and organizations such as the Gabriel Network that provide assistance to pregnant women and their families.

It’s important to create a culture “where women who are in need can come and find both acceptance and support and true moral guidance,” he said.

“The priority really needs to be changing our own hearts and minds – creating a culture in which people are passionate about helping women choose adoption, helping make adoption not so burdensome on children and making it something that is helping fashion that society where there is enough maternity leave, where there is enough support and guidance for women who are in really tough situations,” he said.

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

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