• 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 21, as well as additional access to the recordings (from noon ET on Sunday, March 22, to 11:59 pm ET on Wednesday, March 25).
 
  • 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, March 6. All refund requests made on or after March 7 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

  • Human Dignity and Medicine as a Healing Profession
  • Rev. Robert Gahl, PhD
  •  
  • Compassionate Care for Persons with Disabilities 
  • Joseph Dutkowsky, MD, KM
  •  
  • Human Trafficking and the Response of Catholic Health Care
  • Faculty TBA
  •  
  • Dignity of the Caregiver
  • Frances Broghammer, MD
  •  
  • When Life Seems Over: Understanding the Temptation of Assisted ​Suicide
  • Amanda Achtman
  •  
  • Hope and the Redemptive Meaning of Suffering
  • Faculty TBA
  •  

SCHEDULE

7:30 AM
 Check-In Begins
8:00 AM
  • White Mass
9:15 AM
 Opening Remarks
9:25 - 10:25 AM
  • Human Dignity and Medicine as a Healing Profession
 
10:25 - 10:35 AM
 Break
10:35 - 11:35 AM
  • Compassionate Care for Persons with Disabilities
 
11:35 - 11:45 AM
 Break
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
  • Human Trafficking and the Response of Catholic Health Care
 
12:45 - 2:20 PM
 Hippocratic Oath Luncheon
1:15 - 2:15 PM
  • Dignity of the Caregiver
2:20 - 2:40 PM
 Break
2:40 - 3:40 PM
  • When Life Seems Over: Understanding the Temptation of Assisted ​Suicide
 
3:40 - 3:50 PM
 Break
3:50 - 4:50 PM
  • Hope and the Redemptive Meaning of Suffering
 
4:50 - 5:00 PM
 Closing Remarks
5:00 - 5:45 PM
 Wine & Cheese Reception

Speakers

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.

FRANCES BROGHAMMER, MD, FABPN
Psychiatrist; Clinical Director, Minnesota Department of Human Services

Frances Broghammer, MD, FABPN, is a Board-Certified Psychiatrist and a Clinical Director of Inpatient Mental Health for the State of Minnesota. She completed her residency training at the University of California, Irvine, including a two-year tenure as Chief Resident. Her academic and clinical interests lie in medical ethics, education, and human flourishing. She is a former Leonine Fellow, an American Psychiatric Association Leadership Fellow and is a board member for Pepperdine University’s American Project. Dr. Broghammer played Division I Women’s Lacrosse at the University of Notre Dame, and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Science Pre-Professional Studies and Portuguese Language & Brazilian Studies. She attended the University of California, Irvine for medical school and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Medical Honor Society. She resides in Minnesota with her husband and their three children.

JOSEPH DUTKOWSKY, MD, KM
Orthopedic Surgeon, Bassett Medical Center

Dr. Joseph Dutkowsky is an orthopedic surgeon who has dedicated his career of more than forty years to caring and advocating for persons with disabilities and their families. He received his medical degree from Brown University, general surgery training at Dartmouth, performed his orthopedic surgery residency at the Campbell Clinic, and one year of fellowship in pediatric orthopedics at Harvard. He is a past president of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine and was a pioneer in the care of adults with childhood onset disabilities. Currently, he lives and practices in the Bassett Healthcare Network in rural Cooperstown, New York. He participated in the five year start up of the Weinberg Family Cerebral Palsy Center at Columbia University Medical Center and continues teaching and performing research at Columbia University in New York City. Dr. D., as he is best known, worked with the New York City Ballet and former Major League Baseball players to establish movement workshops for children and adults with disabilities. He is a Knight of Malta.

REV. MSGR. PATRICK J. WINSLOW
V.G., Vicar General & Chancellor

The Very Rev. Patrick J. Winslow, V.G., has served as vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of Charlotte since 2019. As vicar general, Monsignor Winslow reports directly to the bishop on matters related to clergy and vocations, and acts in place of the bishop in his absence. As chancellor, he also oversees the diocese’s day-to-day administrative and business operations. A noted preacher and canon lawyer, he came to the Charlotte diocese in 2002 and has served with distinction in several important roles, including as Promoter of Justice and as an ex-officio member of the Lay Review Board. As Promoter of Justice for the diocese, his responsibility was to provide for the public good and serve as prosecutor in Church court proceedings. Monsignor Winslow is a member of the Presbyteral Council and the College of Consultors, two groups of priests who serve as advisors to the bishop. He also serves as clergy formation advisor to St. Joseph College Seminary in Charlotte and sits on the diocesan Vocations Board. A native of upstate New York, he studied chemistry in college before discerning a call to the priesthood in 1993. He was ordained a priest in 1999 and served in parishes and as a maximum-security prison chaplain in the Diocese of Albany, New York, before moving south and becoming incardinated into the Charlotte diocese in 2002. In North Carolina, he served as pastor at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Parish in Charlotte, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Parish in Jefferson and St. Frances of Rome Catholic Mission in Sparta, and St. John the Baptist Catholic Parish in Tryon before becoming pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Parish in Charlotte in 2012, where he served as pastor until his appointment as vicar general and chancellor in 2019. In 2015, he was named a “Missionary of Mercy” by Pope Francis for the Jubilee Year of Mercy, one of only two priests from the Charlotte diocese and among only about 50 priests from the United States to serve in this unique role. These priests from around the world were specially selected by the pope to highlight the mercy of God throughout the holy year, by preaching and offering the sacrament of reconciliation. He earned a Licentiate of Canon Law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 2012. A gifted preacher and Scripture scholar, Monsignor Winslow has contributed to numerous Bible studies through Catholic Scripture Study International, which publishes more than 30 Bible and faith-related study programs. Monsignor Winslow is the fifth chancellor for the Charlotte diocese.

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.

SPONSORS

Venue

The Cathedral of Saint Patrick

1621 Dilworth Road East
Charlotte, NC 28203

For More Information:
Taylor Briggs, 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

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