March 7, 2008

Saint Meinrad lecturer to speak on embryonic stem-cell research

James J. Walter, a professor of bioethics at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, will deliver the annual Thomas Lecture on Philosophy and Theology at Saint Meinrad School of Theology in St. Meinrad at 7 p.m. CDT on March 27 in the Newman Theater.

“Human Embryonic Stem-Cell Research: A Catholic Perspective” is the title of the lecture.

Walter is the Austin and Ann O’Malley Professor of Bioethics and the chairperson of The Bioethics Institute at Loyola Marymount University. He earned five advanced degrees, including a Ph.D. in ethics at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.

He completed a post-doctoral fellowship in clinical bioethics at the Department of Medicine of Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University of Chicago, and has extensive experience as a bioethics consultant for several hospitals.

Walter’s most recent book is Artificial Nutrition and Hydration and the Permanently Unconscious Patient: The Catholic Debate (Georgetown University Press, 2007). He has also authored dozens of book chapters, articles and reviews, and is the recipient of several awards, including the 2007 Spirit of St. Francis Award from St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, Calif., for excellence in clinical bioethics consultation.

In 2005, he was appointed by the California Council on Science and Technology to a one-year, statewide panel on bioethics. He is the founding chair of The International Forum for Catholic Bioethicists, which meets annually in Brussels, Belgium, with participants from around the world.

The Thomas Lecture is made possible by an endowment established in honor of the late George and Mary Thomas and the late Benedictine Father Kieran Conley. The lecture provides an opportunity for students and faculty members at Saint Meinrad School of Theology to explore issues in philosophy and theology.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Parking is available at the Guest House and student parking lots. Saint Meinrad operates on central time.

(For more information, call Mary Jeanne Schumacher at 812-357-6501 during business hours.) †

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