Archbishop Emeritus Curtiss Continues Long-Time Support for Institute as Spiritual Director
Archbishop Emeritus of Omaha, Elden Francis Curtiss
The Pope Paul VI Institute is on the front lines in the fight against a culture of death that is continuing to pervade every nation and community across the globe. Fortunately, the Institute is well-supported in this fight, and among its strongest supporters is Archbishop Emeritus Elden F. Curtiss, former Archbishop for the Archdiocese of Omaha and the Institute’s current Spiritual Director.
In this role, Archbishop Emeritus Curtiss celebrates mass several times each month in the Institute’s Chapel of the Holy Family and also helped to develop the Institute’s impressive Bishops Advisory Board. The Board, which is comprised of cardinals and bishops from throughout the world, including Cardinals Timothy Dolan and Raymond Burke, as well as Archbishops Samuel Aquila and George Lucas amongst others, provides spiritual support to the Institute and its unique mission.
For Curtiss, serving as the Institute’s Spiritual Director is an extension of his longtime support for the Institute, which dates back to his time serving as Bishop for the Diocese of Helena, Montana.
“I received a letter from Pope Paul VI Institute in the early 1980s, and here was this organization that was truly responding to Pope Paul VI’s Humanae Vitae and its appeal to medical professionals,” Curtiss recounts. “The Institute and its mission had tremendous importance, and this was immediately apparent to me.”
After he was named Archbishop of Omaha in 1993 by Saint John Paul the Great, his support of the Institute would continue. It was during his time as Archbishop when Curtiss received further confirmation of the Institute’s unique contribution.
“Pope John Paul told me that the Institute gave him ‘great hope for the future’,” says Curtiss. “While I knew the Institute was doing great work, to hear it directly from the Holy Father was special.”
The future of the Institute and its mission is indeed cause for hope, according to Curtiss.
“It did not have a lot of support in the beginning, but Dr. Thomas Hilgers’ groundbreaking research has not only proven itself effective in pinpointing fertility cycles, but it is also gaining acceptance amongst young medical professionals who recognize the harmful aspects of a contraceptive approach to reproductive health care.”
“Pope Paul VI Institute does not take shortcuts in its treatment,” he says. “It seeks to address the real causes and always, children are important to us — they are not secondary.”