Fr David Strong SJ, The Australian dictionary of Jesuit biography 1848-2015, Second Edition, 2017:
Kurts, Phillip

Teacher, missionary, spiritual guide; born Sydney, 2 September 1921; died Hornsby, NSW, 7 April 2006, aged 84.

Phillip Kurts was educated by the Sisters of Mercy, Watsons Bay, 1926-30, and the Christian Brothers at Waverley College in Sydney 1931-38, entering the Society at Loyola College, Watsonia, 18 February 1939. After studying philosophy, and gaining an Arts degree in French and Latin from the University of Melbourne, he taught Latin, French, physics and religion at St Aloysius' College, Milson's Point, NSW, 1947-49, where he was also, at various times, senior debating master, a lieutenant of Cadets, and directed sodalities. He was recognised as a firm but fair disciplinarian.

After theology at Canisius College, Pymble, 1950-1953, he went to Riverview, 1954-55, as third division prefect and taught physics and religion. He was then assigned to Watsonia for a year as socius to the master of novices before tertianship at Sevenhill, 1957. He returned to Loyola, Watsonia, as socius again, 1958-59, where he also edited 'Province News', taught the juniors English and did retreat work. Novices found him stern and exacting about rules and customs, hard on himself and others, but always fair.

Kurts was given a complete change as parish priest at Hawthorn, 1960-61 where he completed additions to the church. He was recognised as an accomplished preacher, and his parishioners appreciated his care and dedication. However, the visitor to the province in 1961 decided that he was too good a teacher to remain in parish work; so he was send again to Riverview, where he taught religion, French and Latin, and was involved with rowing.

He returned a third time as socius to the master of novices, 1963-65, and after a year as minister at the provincial office, was assigned to Papua New Guinea, as Director of the Social Institute, 1967-75.

Here he saw himself working for the Catholic bishops in PNG, all of whom were expatriates at that time. It was a difficult missionary country with between seven and eight hundred languages being identified. The Church was well established in the territory with its own system of education, seminary, health care, and communications. The Church also owned much land, which was sacred to the indigenous people. Issues of social justice existed in relation to land ownership, and Kurts organised courses for future Melanesian leaders. He had a sense of mission, and was a disciplined man, who accepted responsibility and believed in accountability. He had a sense of fairness and remained loyal to the bishops.

In 1970 Kurts took up residence in a house built especially for his work; and was allotted an assistant in the person of Father Rene Fraix MSC, a French missionary with years of experience in the Bereina diocese. During this year Kurts participated in and gave papers at seminars for priests at Vunapope and Yule Island; directed leadership courses for trainee teachers at colleges at Mt Hagan and Vunakanau; and was named chairman of the planning committee for three leadership consultations mounted by Sodepang for society, development and peace, in different parts of the country. He also gave courses of lectures on Populorum Progressio and social questions at the Melanesian Social Pastoral Institute; at the Xavier Institute for Religious Women; and at the Major Seminary.

At the July bishops’ Conference, it was decided to establish a Catholic Commission for Development and Peace, and Kurts became its secretary. One of the functions of this commission was to liaise with overseas funding organizations for development.

Kurts was also a member of the seminary senate and a member of the senate of priests for the Port Moresby archdiocese. He was a special adviser to the Bishops’ Conference and was named consultant to delegates to a chapter of a religious order. He represented the Catholic Church on the council of Social Services of Papua, and was a member of the Industrial Relations Society in Port Moresby

The following year, Kurts accompanied a group of fifteen indigenous educators from Papua-New Guinea to the Educators’ Social action Workshop held in Kyoto. The group impressed the conference for their awareness of social questions and their fluency in English.

In May 1974 Kurts conducted one-day seminars for young Melanesians in Port Moresby on human development. He also went to Wewak to direct a retreat for Australian and Indonesian Christian Brothers who came in from all over PNG for the occasion.

During his time in PNG Kurts maintained continual priestly activity. He was confessor at the national seminary at Bomana and to many religious; he said Mass daily at a catholic missionary hospital, gave retreats and led days of recollection. He was a kind man to live with, showing restraint, courtesy and charity.

Just before independence in 1975, the bishops decided to close the Institute, declaring that work for social order was proper to the local diocese and not the national conference of bishops. Kurts accepted the decision in silence and with his customary grace, but probably felt a sense of failure. He left PNG, but after a short stay in Sydney, returned to PNG in January 1977 to establish a House of Prayer.

His close relation with the Papuan congregation, the Handmaid sisters, made it natural for them to ask him to start this house of prayer on their property. There he learnt Hiri Motu and did a little evangelising in the local villages along the river and began to assimilate the Papuan culture and mysticism. He found peace and was able to communicate it to others. Other Christians came to the house for prayer and retreats. During this time Kurts wrote a few books on prayer.

However, his formidable will power nearly proved his death when had had a crash with a heavy truck and was seriously injured in 1981. Had he not been forced to hospital, with the insistence of Ian Dillon, he would surely have died of his wounds. As it was, many operations and a year of convalescence in Australia were needed to restore him and to enable him to resume his work at the house of prayer. After a short time all agreed that he should leave the work to others.

In his ministry Kurts showed truly great self-control tempered by humility, moderation in speech and action, with a tart humour which formed part of his slightly sceptical, but balanced power of judgment.

After he regained his health, Kurts, true to his sense of mission, went to Lahore, Pakistan, in 1984, with Renato Zecchin, as the Australian province had taken over responsibility for the region. They joined four other Jesuits, and Kurts was made superior of the mission and he began life and work at Loyola Hall, supervising the student hostel. He undertook the study of Urdu, and was able to say Mass in the language, but most of his ministry was in English. He taught at St Mary's Minor Seminary and gave classes in spirituality to the Jesus and Mary novices, and talks on religious life to the sisters. He also taught the sisters English, and gave them days of recollection. Prayer days were given to the seminarians and he visited the sick in the nearby hospital. He had a weekly Mass supply to a number of convents, and people came to him for guidance. He was also a spiritual director to a number of sisters and priests.

Kurts was experienced as a sociable person, a good reader who enjoyed engaging others in conversation. He was a man of prayer and very loyal to the Society. He was a disciplined person and could live on very little. There was a simplicity about him, and perhaps too austere for conditions in Lahore. He found the heat difficult, but it did not stop him using a pushbike to travel everywhere.

He returned to Australia in 1989 and began retreat work from Canisius College, Pymble. After a sabbatical year in 1998 he began a ministry to the housebound, in whose houses he sometimes celebrated the Eucharist and shared the Sacraments, operating from the local parish in which he resided for about two weeks. He worked in 17 parishes in the first year. He exercised this ministry with energy and enthusiasm within the Archdiocese of Sydney and the Diocese of Broken Bay, and opened up a new form of ministry within some parishes.

During his later years, Kurts showed himself to be a man actively interested in the Church's struggle to communicate relevantly. He kept trying to balance a creative, forward-looking approach with an at-times stern defense of his own non-negotiables. He was appreciated for his intellectual energy and powerful apostolic zeal and enthusiasm, as well as being a patient and gentle listener. He suffered heart trouble for a number of years, and became quite frail, but never lost his sense of humour and cheerfulness. His ultimate decline happened over a few weeks.

(Reproduced by permission of Fr David Strong SJ.)