Kurtz was born in Kempa, Gau Silesia (now Kępa, Opole Voivodeship).
He was ordained to the priesthood as a member of the Society of the Divine Word in 1962.
He was appointed bishop of Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea, in 1982, serving until he was named coadjutor archbishop of Madang in 1999.
He succeeded Benedict To Varpin as archbishop in 2001, and retired from this position in 2010.
This article about a Polish Catholic bishop or archbishop is a stub.