• 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 IS NOW OPEN

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT


In-Person Ticket Options:
  • Physicians/Physician Assistants: $159
  • Nurses/Nurse Practitioners: $139
  • General Admission*: $85
  • Medical residents, clergy, or religious*: $75
  • Student Scholarship Rate**: $15
 
Online Ticket Options:
  • Online tickets include access to the livestream on Saturday, March 9, as well as additional access to the recordings (from noon PT on Sunday, March 10, to 11:59 pm PT on Wednesday, March 13).
  • Physicians/Physician Assistants: $129
  • Nurses/Nurse Practitioners: $109
  • General Admission*: $55
  • Medical residents, clergy, or religious*: $45
  • 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): $180
  • Ministry/Non-Profit (not including CME/CNE credits)*: $105
  • Vendor/For-Profit (including CME/CNE credits): $230
  • Vendor/For-Profit (not including CME/CNE credits)*: $155
  • *Not eligible for CME/CNE credits, however, Chaplain certificates of completion can be requested upon registration for continuing education purposes.

Sponsors:
  • If you and/or your organization is interested in joining our mission as a supporting sponsor, please click here for the Sponsorship Form. You can also submit the form online by clicking here.
  • For questions or more information, please contact the conference coordinator at [email protected].

Student Scholarships:
  • Undergraduate, graduate, nursing, and medical students are eligible to register for Converging Roads at the discounted rate above through the Dr. Mini Vettical Scholarship. If you are a student currently enrolled in classes and would like to attend the conference, please complete our student scholarship form prior to registering for the conference (click here).
  •  
  • If you are interested in providing a scholarship for a student to attend Converging Roads, you can do so at the time of registration or by clicking here.

Refund Information:
  • If you are no longer able to attend the conference, after purchasing your ticket, you may choose to transfer your registration fees to a student in need, or request a refund.
  • All refunds must be requested 2 weeks prior to the conference. The last day to request a refund is Friday, February 23. All refund requests made on or after February 24 will not be accepted, but the funds will automatically be transferred to a student in need. Please email [email protected] to transfer your registration or request a refund.

TOPICS

  • Imago Dei: Human Dignity as a Foundation for Medical Ethics
  • Arland K. Nichols, PhD (cand.)
  •  
  • The Good Samaritan and the Practice of Medicine
  • Natalie King, MD, MA
  •  
  • The Unique Mission of Catholic Hospitals
  • Dolores Meehan, MSN, RN, AG-ACNP-BC; and more!
  •  
  • A Christian Anthropology for Understanding Gender and Sexuality
  • Theresa Farnan, PhD
  •  
  • Wellness and Care for the Health Care Professional
  • Julian Lagoy, MD; and more!
  •  
  • Challenging Prenatal Diagnoses and the Gift of Human Dignity
  • William Stigall, MD, MA
  •  

SCHEDULE

8:00 AM
  • Check-In Begins
8:30 AM
  • Mass
9:45 AM
Opening Remarks
9:55 - 10:55 AM
    • Imago Dei: Human Dignity as a Foundation for Medical Ethics
 
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • The Good Samaritan and the Practice of Medicine
12:00 PM
Break
12:15 - 1:15 PM
The Unique Mission of Catholic Hospitals
1:15 - 2:50 PM
Hippocratic Oath Luncheon
1:45 -2:45 PM
  • A Christian Anthropology for Understanding Gender and Sexuality
2:50 PM
Break
3:10 - 4:10 PM
  • Wellness and Care for the Health Care Professional
4:15 - 5:15 PM
  • Challenging Prenatal Diagnoses and the Gift of Human Dignity
5:25 - 6:00 PM
Wine & Cheese Reception

Speakers

MOST REV. SALVATORE J. CORDILEONE
Archbishop of San Francisco

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone was born in San Diego on June 5, 1956. He attended public school through 12th grade and earned his BA in philosophy from the University of San Diego in 1978.  He earned a second bachelor’s degree in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1981.  Archbishop Cordileone was ordained to the priesthood on July 9, 1982.  He continued his studies at Gregorian University from 1985-89, earning a doctorate in canon law.   He was appointed Judicial Vicar for the Diocese of San Diego in 1990 and served as an assistant to the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura from 1995-2002.  On July 5, 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed him the Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of San Diego, where he served until his appointment as Bishop of Oakland on March 23, 2009. On July 27, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as the ninth Archbishop of San Francisco.  He was installed on October 4, 2012.   Archbishop Cordileone chairs the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage and sits on the Committee for Canonical Affairs.  He is a member of the Governing Board of the International Theological Institute and the Subcommission on the Liturgy for the Anglican Ordinariates.

ARLAND K. NICHOLS, PhD (cand.)
President, St. John Paul II Foundation

Arland K. Nichols, Ph.D. (cand.) is president and founder of the St. John Paul II Foundation. After a decade of teaching and leadership at a Catholic college preparatory school and an international nonprofit, Arland launched the St. John Paul II Foundation in 2014. Early in his career he became a popular speaker and successful writer while he established the groundwork for the initiatives that would become the St. John Paul II Foundation. He is author, with Rev. John Leies of the forthcoming 4th edition of the Handbook on Critical Life Issues published by the National Catholic Bioethics Center. Arland earned a B.A. in philosophy from Texas A&M, an M.DIV. in Theology from University of St. Thomas, and is completing a Ph.D. in bioethics from Regina Apostolorum in Rome. With the generous support of his wife, Cindy, and their ten children, Arland is blessed to lead the St. John Paul II Foundation as it serves, educates, and supports medical professionals, married couples, and clergy.

NATALIE KING, MD, MA
Palliative Medicine Physician

Dr. Natalie King is a palliative medicine physician who specializes in caring for patients with serious illness and nearing the end of life. She is originally from Indiana and attended the University of Notre Dame. While in medical school at Tulane University, she founded the Catholic Medical Association Student Section. She completed internal medicine residency at the University of Utah and palliative medicine fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. After fellowship she worked as a palliative medicine physician in Denver, Colorado, helping lead her hospital’s ethics committee and teach trainees. She completed a master’s degree in bioethics from The Ohio State University, partnering with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to improve education around palliative care for Catholic laity. She has organized a forum for the Catholic Medical Association on end-of-life issues. She is passionate about education and advocacy about palliative medicine and ethical issues relating to serious illness and the end-of-life and is set to have a book released by Ave Maria Press in fall of 2024. Dr. King currently lives with her family in Cincinnati, Ohio.

THERESA FARNAN, PhD
Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and Co-founder of Person and Identity Project

Theresa Farnan, Ph.D., is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center focusing on the challenges of gender ideology as part of EPPC’s Person and Identity Project. She is the co-author of two books, Get Out Now: Why You Should Pull Your Child from Public School Before It’s Too Late and Where Did I Come From? Where Am I Going? How Do I Get There? She has taught at St. Paul Seminary in Pittsburgh, Franciscan University of Steubenville, and Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and has worked with the diaconate formation program for the Dioceses of Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. She served as a consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth and is a member of the Catholic Women’s Forum Advisory Council. She has lectured widely on gender ideology, Catholic education, theology of the body, the personalism of Pope John Paul II, the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, and the vocation and dignity of women. She hosted St. Thomas Aquinas in Today’s World on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). She received her master’s degree and her doctorate in Medieval Studies from the University of Notre Dame. She and her husband, Michael, have ten children.

JULIAN LAGOY, MD
Psychiatrist, Mindpath Health

Dr. Lagoy received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, his medical degree from St. George’s University, and completed his psychiatry residency at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. He is published in multiple medical journals and presented his research at multiple conferences including the American Psychiatric Association National Meeting and the World Psychiatric Association International Congress in Spirituality and Psychiatry. He is featured in numerous media outlets including Forbes, WebMD, US News and World Report and Popular Science. Dr. Lagoy has a passion for service. Prior to starting medical school, he served as a Catholic missionary in the Philippines with Con-solatio, an international Catholic NGO. During residency, he served on the hospital ethics committee, and was awarded the Humanism in Psychiatry Award and the Claudio Award from Con-solatio for his compassion in patient care. Dr. Lagoy currently practices at Mindpath Health and serves the Catholic Church in the Exorcism and Deliverance ministry as a psychiatric consultant to priests and exorcists. He is certified in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and specializes in treating severe depression. He currently lives in California with his wife and two daughters.

WILLIAM STIGALL, MD, MA
Adjunct Asst. Professor, University of Dallas, Department of Philosophy

Dr. William Stigall is a Pediatric Critical Care Physician and Bioethicist. He’s a graduate of the University of Texas Business School and University of Texas-Southwestern Medical School. He underwent medical training at UTSW/Children's-Dallas for Pediatric Residency, Chief Residency, and Critical Care Fellowship. He completed an additional Fellowship in Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care at St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix. During residency and fellowship, Dr. Stigall obtained a Master's in Philosophy from the University of Dallas. He has been a member and chair of multiple bioethics committees and has taught bioethics at the University of Dallas for over a decade. His loves of medicine, philosophy, and the application of knowledge to heal have coalesced in his current role as Vice President and Chief Research Officer at Cook Children’s. He still attends in Cook’s Pediatric ICU, but not as much as he would like. Along with being adjunct faculty in the Philosophy Department of the University of Dallas, Dr. Stigall is a member of the clinical faculty of the TCU School of Medicine. He has spoken locally and nationally on the biopsychosocial effects of contraception and oxytocin, the practice of medicine as an Aristotelian art, and the Hippocratic Oath, among other topics. He is convinced that much more can be done to develop an evidenced based bioethics and discussions like these are a necessary first step. Dr. Stigall and his wife, Kathryn, were married in 2001, serendipitously on the feast day of the nativity of Our Lady. They are converts to Catholicism and came into the Church Easter of 2004. They have been blessed with 3 sons, John, 18, James, 9, and Peter, 7. John, James, and Peter are living proof that man’s soul is rational from its very beginnings and goodness has infinite variety. The Stigall family enjoys reading, travel, running, tennis, and any excuse to get outdoors.

SPONSORS

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Chaplains
The National Association of Catholic Chaplains has approved this program for 6.25 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.

Venue

St. Patrick's Seminary & University

320 Middlefield Rd.
Menlo Park, CA 94025

For More Information:
Ana Quireza, Conference Coordinator
832.779.1070
[email protected]

CONTACT US

  • PHONE

    832.779.1070

  • PHYSICAL ADDRESS

    1177 W Loop South, Ste. 940
    Houston, TX 77027

  • MAILING ADDRESS

    P.O. Box 5927
    Katy, TX 77491

Top