November 8, 2025 | Milwaukee, WI | Converging Roads

ROLAND MILLARE, STD
Vice President of Curriculum and Director of Clergy Initiatives, St. John Paul II Foundation

Dr. Roland Millare, a native Houstonian, serves as the Vice President of Curriculum and the Director of Clergy Initiatives for the St. John Paul II Foundation (Houston, TX). Dr. Millare served as a member of the Theology Department at St. John XXIII College Preparatory (Katy, TX) for over 15 years. He received a BA in Theology from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. He has a MA in Theological Studies (with a concentration in Moral Theology) from the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College (Alexandria, VA) and a Licentiate (STL) and Doctorate in Sacred Theology (STD) in Dogmatic Theology (with a specialization in Sacramental Theology) from the University of St. Mary of the Lake (Mundelein, IL). Dr. Millare also serves as an adjunct professor of theology for permanent deacon candidates, seminarians, undergraduate and graduate students at the University of St. Thomas, St. Mary’s Seminary, the Diocese of Fort Worth and the University of Dallas. He has published various theological articles for Logos, Antiphon, New Blackfriars, Nova et Vetera, and the Heythrop Journal. He has published the book, A Living Sacrifice: Liturgy and Eschatology in Joseph Ratzinger (Emmaus Academic, 2022). Dr. Millare has also contributed an article to a forthcoming lexicon on the theology of Joseph Ratzinger (Ignatius Press). Dr. Millare is a member of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Academy of Catholic Theology, and the Society for Catholic Liturgy. Dr. Millare enjoys the gift of life and love with his beautiful wife Veronica and their three children.

KRISTIN M. COLLIER, MD, FACP
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Director of the University of Michigan Medical School Program on Health, Spirituality, and Religion

Kristin Collier, MD, FACP is an associate professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor Michigan where she serves as the director of the University of Michigan Medical School Program on Health, Spirituality, and Religion. She received her medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School and completed her internship, residency, and chief residency at The University of Michigan Hospitals. Her academic interests are in the overlap of spirituality, religion and medicine and her peer reviewed work has been published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the British Medical Journal, the Annals of Internal Medicine, The Journal of General Internal Medicine, and the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She has had writings published in Notre Dame’s Church Life Journal, Theopolis, America Magazine, Public Discourse and the New York Times. She is also a wife and a proud mother of four boys. She can be found at Twitter (X) at @HSRDirector.

Rev. COLUMBA THOMAS, OP, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine; Chaplain, Dominican Healthcare Ministry

Father Columba Thomas, OP, MD, is a Dominican friar and a physician specializing in Internal Medicine. He graduated from Yale School of Medicine in 2012 with distinction and one of the top prizes for his thesis entitled, “Foretelling the Future of Prognostication: A Historically- Inspired, Domain-Based Approach for the Elderly.” Before joining the Dominicans in 2016, he completed a Primary Care Residency and Chief Residency at Yale and attained board certification in Internal Medicine. His publications have appeared in a variety of journals, including JAMA Internal Medicine, Journal of General Internal Medicine, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, and National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly. More recently, he edited The Art of Dying: A new, annotated translation (National Catholic Bioethics Center, 2021). Fr. Columba currently serves as chaplain for the Dominican Healthcare Ministry at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and continues research in bioethics as Assistant Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine.

REV. ROBERT GAHL, PhD
Associate Professor of Church Management Director of Church Management Programs – Catholic University of America

Fr. Robert Gahl, PhD is Associate Professor of Practice in the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America and Director of the Church Management Program, including the Master in Ecclesiastical Administration and Management (MEAM). He is also Associate Professor of Ethics in the School of Philosophy of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Santa Croce) in Rome where he was Director of the Program of Church Management (2017-2022). A native of Milwaukee Wisconsin, he completed his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis and worked in Silicon Valley with robotic software for electron beam lithography systems (1985-1987). After completing his Licentiate in philosophy at the University of Navarre (Pamplona, Spain, 1989) and his Doctorate in Rome at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (1991), he did postdoctoral research at the University of Notre Dame (1993) and was ordained to the diaconate by Blessed Alvaro del Portillo and to the priesthood by St. John Paul II (1992). Fr. Gahl has published on the narrative structure of the moral life, cognitive behavioral therapy, corporate social behavior, and the social doctrine of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. In 2018-2019, as Visiting Faculty Research Affiliate at Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program, he taught courses at Harvard and MIT. He has directed courses on institutional mission at leading health care and medical research centers and on virtuous leadership for Italy’s Center for Advanced Defense Studies (IASD). His current research focuses on intergenerational human flourishing. He recently published “The Challenge of Self-Mastery in the Future of Work” for the Business and Professional Ethics Journal (2022) and has offered analysis regarding issues of ethics and Church affairs for numerous media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, CNN, CBS, BBC, the Associated Press, Relevant Radio and Vatican Radio. In addition to Italy and the USA, he has lectured in the Vatican, UK, Spain, Kenya, Ireland, Malta, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Ethiopia, and Poland.

CHRISTINA FRANCIS, MD
Board Certified OBGYN, CEO American Association of Prolife Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Francis, MD, Christina is CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), and an OB/GYN hospitalist in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She is a member of AAPLOG, a diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a member of Christian Medical and Dental Associations, an associate scholar with the Charlotte Lozier Institute, a board member of Indiana Right to Life, and a physician member of the Abortion Pill Reversal Network. Dr. Francis received her MD from Indiana University and completed residency at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Francis has spoken worldwide on medical expertise, bioethics, and pro-life reasoning; has testified before Congress on women’s health and abortion; and has written on issues surrounding women’s health and abortion for publications including the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and USA Today.

MARTIN MCCAFFREY, MD, CAPT USN (RET)
Professor of Pediatrics, UNC Chapel Hill

Dr. Marty McCaffrey is a Professor of Pediatrics at UNC Chapel Hill in the Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. He is a retired Captain in the US Navy and served as the Director of Neonatal Care at the Naval Medical Center San Diego and the Consultant to the US Navy Surgeon General for Neonatology. Dr. McCaffrey is the Director of the Perinatal Quality Collaborative of North Carolina (PQCNC or “PICNIC”) which has conducted 11 statewide quality improvement projects across the North Carolina. The mission of the PQCNC is to make North Carolina the best place to give birth and be born. He is also the Co-Chair of the CDC’s National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives. Dr. McCaffrey also has a strong interest in the care of infants and children, and the support of families with challenging prenatal diagnoses. As a member of the International Trisomy Alliance Board and the Be Not Afraid Board he offers significant medical and emotional support to families dealing with difficult diagnoses in their unborn and born children. He has most recently published on the topic of trisomies in the September 2016 issue of the American Journal of Medical Genetics.

VERY REV. JAVIER I. BUSTOS
The Archbishop’s Delegate for Catholic Health Care, Archdiocese of Milwaukee

Fr. Javier I. Bustos was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy in 1991 and a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in 1994. In 1996, he completed a Master’s degree in Philosophy. During this period, he worked as a journalist and served as a university professor, teaching Modern Philosophy, Epistemology, Latin, Greek, and Logic. He also served as Editor of the Revista de Filosofía, the Latin American Philosophy Journal of the Universidad del Zulia, where he published multiple scholarly articles. In 1996, Fr. Bustos was invited to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He completed a Master of Divinity in 2001 and was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese on May 19 of that year. He served for two years as Associate Pastor of Saint Mark the Evangelist Parish in Kenosha, Wisconsin, while also directing the Latin American Center in the same city. In 2003, at the request of Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Fr. Bustos pursued doctoral studies in Moral Theology at the Alphonsian Academy in Rome, Italy. He completed his Doctorate in 2007, focusing his dissertation on Sexual Ethics. That same year, Archbishop Dolan commissioned him to establish a formation center for Lay Ecclesial Ministers and Permanent Deacons. This initiative led to the creation of the John Paul II Center for Lifelong Faith and Ministry Formation for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, where Fr. Bustos served as its first Director.In 2011, he was appointed Director of the Master of Arts Program at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology, where he also served as Professor of Moral Theology. Additionally, he was an adjunct professor of Moral Theology at Cardinal Stritch University. In June 2013, he became Vice-President for External Affairs, Director of Admissions, and Professor of Moral Theology at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology.In 2017, Fr. Bustos was appointed Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Delegate for Catholic Healthcare, and Vicar for Hispanic Ministry. Currently, Fr. Bustos is Delegate for Catholic Healthcare, Professor of Moral Theology at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology, and Pastor of Our Lady Queen of Peace and Blessed Sacrament Parishes in Milwaukee. He is also Chair of the Archdiocesan Healthcare and Bioethics Committee.

7:30 AM	Check-In Begins
8:00 AM	Mass
9:15 AM	Opening Remarks
9:25 - 10:25 AM	The Vocation of the Health Care Professional
10:25 AM	Break
10:35 - 11:35 AM	The Dignity of the Person: Image of God, Freedom, and Conscience
11:35 AM	Break
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM	Hope and the Redemptive Meaning of Suffering
12:45 - 2:20 PM	Hippocratic Oath Luncheon
1:15 - 2:15 PM	Sacramental and Spiritual Care for the Sick and Dying
2:20 PM	Break
2:40 - 3:40 PM	Developments in Therapeutic Interventions for Patients with Poor Prenatal Diagnoses
3:40 PM	Break
3:50 - 4:50 PM	Care of Pregnancy Complications Post Dobbs: Dispelling the Myths
5:00 - 5:45 PM	Wine & Cheese Reception

about Converging Roads

Where Health Care Ethics and Medicine Converge

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TOPICS

The Vocation of the Health Care Professional

The Dignity of the Person: Image of God, Freedom, and Conscience

Hope and the Redemptive Meaning of Suffering

Sacramental and Spiritual Care for the Sick and Dying

Developments in Therapeutic Interventions for Patients with Poor Prenatal Diagnoses

Care of Pregnancy Complications Post Dobbs: Dispelling the Myths

SCHEDULE

7:30 AM

8:00 AM

9:15 AM

9:25 - 10:25 AM

10:25 AM

10:35 - 11:35 AM

11:35 AM

11:45 AM - 12:45 PM

12:45 - 2:20 PM

1:15 - 2:15 PM

2:20 PM

2:40 - 3:40 PM

3:40 PM

3:50 - 4:50 PM

5:00 - 5:45 PM

Speakers

ROLAND MILLARE, STD Vice President of Curriculum and Director of Clergy Initiatives, St. John Paul II Foundation

KRISTIN M. COLLIER, MD, FACPAssociate Professor of Internal Medicine, Director of the University of Michigan Medical School Program on Health, Spirituality, and Religion

Rev. COLUMBA THOMAS, OP, MDAssistant Professor of Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine; Chaplain, Dominican Healthcare Ministry

REV. ROBERT GAHL, PhD Associate Professor of Church Management Director of Church Management Programs – Catholic University of America

CHRISTINA FRANCIS, MDBoard Certified OBGYN, CEO American Association of Prolife Obstetricians and Gynecologists

MARTIN MCCAFFREY, MD, CAPT USN (RET)Professor of Pediatrics, UNC Chapel Hill

VERY REV. JAVIER I. BUSTOSThe Archbishop’s Delegate for Catholic Health Care, Archdiocese of Milwaukee

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CONTINUING EDUCATION

Venue

Marquette University

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