Kurt Martens (born March 31, 1973, in

Tielt Tielt (; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Tielt proper and the villages of Aarsele, Kanegem, and Schuiferskapelle. History Some traces of Gallo-Roman occupation hav ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

) is a Belgian professor and canon lawyer.

Biography

Martens studied as a secondary school student at the Sint-Jozefscollege in Tielt. Later as a student at the

Catholic University of Louvain The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, he obtained a civil law degree (1996), licentiate degree in canon law (1997), and earned his doctorate in canon law (2004). During his student years he was president of the faculty circle ''Canonica'' for the 1996-1997 academic year, and worked as a research assistant at the Special Faculty of Canon Law of the Catholic University of Louvain until 2005. In 2003 he was a visiting professor at the Institut de Droit Canonique of the

Université Marc Bloch The University Marc Bloch, also known as Strasbourg II or UMB, was a university in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. As of 2006, it had around 13,000 students. Its name used to be ''Université des Sciences Humaines'' (University of Social Sciences), bu ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Starting with the 2005–2006 academic year, Martens has been a member of the faculty of the School of Canon Law at

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He received the Young Faculty Research Award from the university in 2009, and was promoted to ordinary professor in 2015. He was appointed a counselor to the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance of the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic C ...

in 2008. In 2022, he was appointed a member of the National Review Board. Martens has served as editor-in-chief of the scientific journal ''The Jurist: Studies in Church Law and Ministry'' since 2012. He was also the co-founder and co-editor-in-chief of the journal ''Recht, Religie en Samenleving (Law, Religion and Society)''. He is an expert in

religious liberty Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

/ church-state relations,

papal elections A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around po ...

, the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

, the canonical processes of hierarchical recourse, and the hierarchical structures of the Church (such as

episcopal conference An episcopal conference, often also called a bishops’ conference or conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The fir ...

s, diocesan structures, and curias).

Publications

*''The Pope and His Entourage'' (Leuven: Davidsfond, 2003) *''

Habemus Papam ''Habemus papam'' () is a Latin phrase used in—as well as the name of—the announcement of the election of a new pope of the Catholic Church, traditionally given by the protodeacon of the College of Cardinals (the senior cardinal deacon i ...

, Het Profiel van de Volgende Paus'', written with

Rik Torfs Henri Maria Dymphna André Laurent "Rik" Torfs (born 16 October 1956) is a Belgium, Belgian Canon law of the Catholic Church, canon law scholar and media personality. He is a former List of members of the Senate of Belgium, Senator for the Christ ...

'Habemus Papam, The Profile of the Next Pope''(Leuven: Davidsfond, 2004; ) *''Van Ratzinger tot Benedictus XVI'' Ratzinger to Benedict XVI">Joseph_Ratzinger.html" ;"title="'From Joseph Ratzinger">Ratzinger to Benedict XVI''] (2005) *''Legal Protection in the Church'' [''Rechtsbescherming in de Kerk; Ontwikkeling en aanwending van rechtsmiddelen tegen overheidsbeslissingen in de rooms-katholieke Kerk''] (2007) *''Handboek Erediensten – Bestuur en organisatie'', written with Frank Judo 'Worship Manual: Administration and Organization''(2010) *''Justice and Mercy Have Met:

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

and the Reform of the Marriage Nullity Process'' (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2017; ) *''A Service Beyond All Recompense: Essays in Honor of Monsignor Thomas J. Green'' (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2018; )''

References

External links

Official faculty website at The Catholic University of America
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martens, Kurt 1973 births 21st-century Belgian lawyers Belgian Roman Catholics Canon law jurists Catholic University of America faculty Catholic University of America people Catholic University of America School of Canon Law faculty Flemish academics KU Leuven alumni Academic staff of KU Leuven Living people