• FOR LIFE AND FAMILY

about Converging Roads

Where Health Care Ethics and Medicine Converge
Converging Roads is a regional conference series offering continuing education for health care professionals that equips them to practice the highest ethical and medical standards of their profession. To learn more about Converging Roads, click here.
  • Feedback from past attendees of Converging Roads:
  • "I’m so glad I attended. It was so insightful and gave me more knowledge on how to study more about human dignity, disabled persons and the correct way to explain our duty to others (as health care providers to our patients)."
  • "It is edifying to be with so many people trying to live their faith in a field that constantly challenges the truth."
  • "Thus far in my (nascent) career, my Catholic and medical identities have unfortunately been largely separate. I’m confident that the knowledge I obtained at Converging Roads and my subsequent reflection will serve me well on my path towards becoming the Catholic physician I’m striving to be."

REGISTRATION

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT

In-Person Ticket Options:
  • Physicians/Physician Assistants: $149
  • Nurses/Nurse Practitioners: $129
  • General Admission*: $79
  • Medical residents, clergy, or religious*: $69
  • Student Scholarship Rate**: $15
Online Ticket Options:
  • Online tickets include access to the livestream on Saturday, April 2, as well as additional access to the recordings (from noon CT on Sunday, April 3, to 11:59 pm CT on Wednesday, April 6).
 
  • Physicians/Physician Assistants: $119
  • Nurses/Nurse Practitioners: $99
  • General Admission*: $49
  • Medical residents, clergy, or religious*: $39
  • Student Scholarship Rate**: $0
 
  • *Not eligible for CME/CNE credits, however, Chaplain certificates of completion can be requested upon registration for continuing education purposes.
  • **Not eligible for CME/CNE credits.
Exhibitor Opportunities:
Includes 1 exhibitor booth and admission for 1 organizational representative
  • Ministry/Non-Profit (including CME/CNE credits): $170
  • Ministry/Non-Profit (not including CME/CNE credits)*: $100
  • Vendor/For-Profit (including CME/CNE credits): $220
  • Vendor/For-Profit (not including CME/CNE credits)*: $150
 
  • *Not eligible for CME/CNE credits, however, Chaplain certificates of completion can be requested upon registration for continuing education purposes.
 

TOPICS

  • The Dignity of the Person
  • Sister Terese Auer, OP, PhD
  •  
  • Gender Dysphoria in Children and Adults: Science, Ideology, and Ethics
  • Paul Hruz, MD, PhD
  •  
  • The Health Care Professional in an Era of Secular Medical Ethics
  • John I. Lane, MD
  •  
  • Moral Decision-Making: Proportionate and Disproportionate Care
  • Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD
  •  
  • Infertility and Surrogacy
  • Roland Millare, STD; and Mary M. Paquette, MD
  •  
  • Sacramental and Spiritual Care for the Dying: Suffering, Compassion, and Hope
  • Msgr. James P. Shea
  •  
  • Solidarity and Subsidiarity
  • Melissa Moschella, PhD
  •  
  •  

SCHEDULE

 
8:00 AM
  • Mass
8:30 AM
 Check-In Begins
9:15 AM
 Opening Remarks
9:25 - 10:20 AM
 The Dignity of the Person
10:25 - 11:25 AM
 Moral Decision-Making: Proportionate and Disproportionate Care
11:25 AM
 Break
11:40 AM - 12:40 PM
 Solidarity and Subsidiarity
12:40 - 2:15 PM
 Hippocratic Oath Luncheon
1:10 -2:10 PM
 Sacramental and Spiritual Care for the Dying: Suffering, Compassion, and Hope
2:15 PM
 Break
2:35 - 3:35 PM
 Gender Dysphoria in Children and Adults: Science, Ideology, and Ethics
3:40 - 4:40 PM
 Infertility and Surrogacy
4:40 PM
 Break
4:55 - 5:55 PM
 The Health Care Professional in an Era of Secular Medical Ethics
6:00 - 6:45 PM
 Wine & Cheese Reception

Speakers

SISTER TERESE AUER, OP, PhD
Chair of Bioethics, Saint John Paul the Great High School

Sister Terese Auer, O.P., Ph.D. is the head of the bioethics department and a teacher at Saint John Paul the Great High School in Potomac Shores, Virginia.  She is a board member of Human Life International. Sister Terese received her B.A. Degree in English from Silver Lake College, Manitowoc, WI, and her Master’s and Doctoral Degrees in Philosophy from the Center for Thomistic Studies at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, TX. Sister Terese has taught at the high school and college levels for about 40 years.  She has also written two textbooks for high school students: The Human Person ~ Dignity Beyond Compare and Called to Happiness ~ Guiding Ethical Principles.

PAUL W. HRUZ, MD, PhD
Professor of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine

Paul W. Hruz is Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Professor of Cellular Biology and Physiology at Washington University in St. Louis. Hruz received his Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry from Marquette University in 1987. As a member of the Medical Scientist Training Program at the Medical College of Wisconsin, he received his Ph.D. Degree in Biochemistry in 1993 and M.D. Degree in 1994. He completed Residency training in Pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle and a Pediatric Endocrinology fellowship at Washington University.  Hruz served at the Chief of the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes at Washington University from 2012-2017.  He is a member of the University's Disorders of Sexual Development (DSD) Multidisciplinary Care Program. Hruz is board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Endocrinology. He has also received certification in Healthcare Ethics from the National Catholic Bioethics Center.  He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts, scientific reviews and book chapters.

REV. TADEUSZ PACHOLCZYK, PhD
Director of Education, The National Catholic Bioethics Center

Fr. Tad currently serves as the Director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia and directs the Center's National Catholic Certification Program in Health Care Ethics. He is a priest of the diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts. He writes and speaks widely on bioethics and medical ethics. Since 2001, he has given several hundred presentations and invited lectures, and participated in debates and roundtables on contemporary bioethics throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. He has taught bioethics classes for seminarians at St. John's Seminary in Boston, Pope St. John XXIII Seminary in Weston, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Connecticut. As an undergraduate Fr. Tad earned degrees in philosophy, biochemistry, molecular cell biology, and chemistry, and did laboratory research on hormonal regulation of the immune response. He later earned a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Yale University, where he focused on cloning genes for neurotransmitter transporters which are expressed in the brain. He worked for several years as a molecular biologist at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Father Tad studied for 5 years in Rome at both the Gregorian University and the Lateran University, where he did advanced work in dogmatic theology and in bioethics, examining the question of delayed ensoulment of the human embryo. He has testified before members of the Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Virginia and Oregon State Legislatures during deliberations over stem cell research and cloning. He writes a monthly newspaper column on bioethics that is nationally syndicated to more than 40 diocesan newspapers in the U.S., and which has also been carried by newspapers in England, Poland and Australia. He has done commentaries for numerous media outlets, including NBC Nightly News, CNN International, ABC World News Tonight, National Public Radio, the Wall Street Journal, the Dallas Morning News, and the New York Times.

ROLAND MILLARE, STD
Vice President of Curriculum and Director of Shepherd’s Heart, St. John Paul II Foundation

Dr. Roland Millare, a native Houstonian, serves as Vice President of Curriculum and Director of Shepherd’s Heart for the St. John Paul II Foundation. Dr. Millare served as a member of the Theology Department at St. John XXIII College Preparatory for over 15 years. He received a BA in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville. He has a MA in Theological Studies (with a concentration in Moral Theology) from the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College and a Licentiate (STL) and Doctorate in Sacred Theology (STD) in Dogmatic Theology (with a specialization in Sacramental Theology) at the Liturgical Institute of the University of St. Mary of the Lake. Dr. Millare also serves as an adjunct professor of theology for permanent deacon candidates at St. Mary’s Seminary. He has published various book reviews and theological articles for Logos, Antiphon, New Blackfriars, Nova et Vetera, The Adoremus Bulletin, and the Heythrop Journal. His forthcoming book, A Living Sacrifice: Liturgy and Eschatology in Joseph Ratzinger, will be published by Emmaus Academic in the fall of 2021. Dr. Millare has also contributed an article to a dictionary on the theology of Joseph Ratzinger, which will be published in Spanish, German, and English. Dr. Millare lives with his beautiful wife Veronica and two daughters, Gabriella and Karolina, in Sugar Land, TX.

MONSIGNOR JAMES P. SHEA
President, University of Mary

Monsignor Shea was inaugurated in 2009 as the sixth president of the university and, at the age of 34, became the youngest college or university president in the United States. The oldest of eight children, Monsignor Shea grew up on a dairy and grain farm near Hazelton, North Dakota. He began his undergraduate work at Jamestown College, majoring in English and history. He then entered the seminary for the Diocese of Bismarck, earning a bachelor’s degree and a pontifical master’s degree (licentiate) in philosophy at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He studied classical Greek at the University of Texas at Austin and studied theology at the Gregorian and Lateran universities in Rome. He has studied management at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business and is also an alumnus of the Institutes for Higher Education at the Graduate School of Education, Harvard University. Monsignor Shea has worked with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity while teaching religion at two inner-city elementary schools in Washington, D.C.  In Rome, he served as chaplain for the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital and also at the Rome campus of the Center for Catholic Studies at the University of Saint Thomas. Following his ordination to the priesthood in 2002, he returned to North Dakota and served as an associate pastor in Bismarck and Mandan, and a chaplain and instructor at Saint Mary’s Central High School in Bismarck. He then served as pastor to parishes in Killdeer and Halliday (North Dakota), while teaching at Trinity High School in Dickinson. Deeply committed to the education and formation of young people, he has been an inspirational teacher and mentor for many students.

JOHN I. LANE, MD
Professor of Radiology, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine

Dr. Lane joined the Mayo Clinic Department of Radiology in 1999 where he holds the rank of Professor of Radiology. He is Past-President of the Catholic Medical Association and is currently serving as Vice President of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC). He is adjunct faculty at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family on the campus of the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC where he and several other Mayo physicians teach a post-graduate course on Faith and Medicine. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Scranton in 1981 and earned his MD degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1985. He completed a residency in diagnostic radiology at The Reading Hospital and Medical Center in 1989 and a fellowship in Neuroradiology at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in 1991. Following his medical training, he served on active duty in the U. S. Navy at the Oakland Naval Hospital until 1995. He has been married to his wife Mary Frances for 38 years. They have 4 adult children and 6 grandchildren.

MELISSA MOSCHELLA, PhD
Associate Professor of Philosophy, The Catholic University of America

Melissa Moschella, PhD, is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America, as well as a Visiting Scholar at the Heritage Foundation’s B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies, and a McDonald Distinguished Fellow in the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University School of Law. She serves as Associate Editor of Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics, on the editorial board of The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly and on the editorial advisory board of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. Dr. Moschella graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, earned a Master’s in Philosophy summa cum laude from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, and received her Ph.D. in Political Philosophy from Princeton University. Her research and teaching focus on natural law, biomedical ethics, and the family, covering a variety of contemporary issues such as brain death, end-of-life ethics, parental rights, sexual ethics, abortion, reproductive technologies and conscience rights. Dr. Moschella is the author of To Whom Do Children Belong? Parental Rights, Civic Education and Children’s Autonomy (Cambridge University Press, 2016), and of numerous articles published in scholarly journals as well as popular media outlets, including Bioethics, The Journal of Medical Ethics, The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, Christian Bioethics, The New York Times, USA Today, and The Washington Post.

SPONSORS

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Accreditation
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA) and St. John Paull II Foundation. Christian Medical & Dental Associations is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Physician Credit
The Christian Medical & Dental Associations designates this educational activity for a maximum of 7 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Physician Assistant
AAPA accepts certificates of participation for educational activities certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. by an organization accredited by the ACCME or a recognized state medical society. Physician assistants may receive up to 7 credits for completing this activity.

Nurse Practitioner
The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP) accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ from organizations accredited by the ACCME. Individuals are responsible for checking with the AANPCP for further guidelines. Nurse practitioners may receive up to 7 credits for completing this activity.

Nursing

This nursing continuing professional development activity was approved by the Ohio Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (OBN-001-91). Nurses may receive up to 7 credits for completing this activity.

Objectives:

– Discuss the basis for the sanctity of human life.
– Describe how the human person images God.  
– Consider what it means to speak of the dignity of the person and how this dignity impacts medical care. 
– Define the basic principles of solidarity and subsidiarity.
– Identify how care for the sick, disabled, and dying is rooted in these principles.
– Consider how patient care and communication with patients and their families is improved by a commitment to solidarity and subsidiarity.
– Describe the challenges of a Christian healthcare provider in serving the whole person in an era of secular medical ethics.
– Identify means of maintaining the integrity of faith and reason in the current cultural environment. 
– Consider ways for the medical professional to maintain a proper lived understanding of freedom and conscience in the face of a secularized medical ethic.
– Define proportionate and disproportionate and provide specific examples
– Identify the weaknesses of the language of futility in decision making.
– Describe the criteria used to determine whether a treatment is morally obligatory (proportionate) or morally optional (disproportionate).
– Discuss medical psychosocial realities of gender dysphoria.
– Identify anthropological and medical basis for medical and psychological interventions.  
– Consider medical outcomes of puberty suppression and gender reassignment and whether these interventions are in keeping with medical data and best patient outcomes. 
– Review the medical literature on gender dysphoria in adult and pre-adult population. 
– Describe the medical options for a family struggling with infertility.
– Provide insight into the emotional and psychological suffering associated with infertility.
– Identify best practices for psycho-social support, treatment and intervention on behalf of patients. 
– Consider how to offer spiritual care to patients who are of other faiths than the medical and spiritual care team.
– Explore how to offer a sufficiently robust spiritual care to patients who are Catholic.
– Describe how to navigate scenarios when the medical team or hospital face patients with positions and wishes that are contrary to the medical or ethical position of the practitioner or hospital.

Chaplains
The National Association of Catholic Chaplains has approved this program for 7.5 Continuing Education Hours. Please select the General Admission or Clergy/Religious (if applicable) ticket option and request a certificate of completion on your registration form. For questions, please email [email protected]. 

Venue

University Center Saint Mary's University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Campus

2540 Park Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55404

For More Information:
Mylinh Vo, Conference Coordinator
832.779.1070
[email protected]

CONTACT US

  • PHONE

    832.779.1070

  • PHYSICAL ADDRESS

    7730 Westview
    Houston, TX 77055

  • MAILING ADDRESS

    P.O. Box 5927
    Katy, TX 77491

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