On April 6 at 5 p.m., Dr. Dan O’Brien will present his lecture, “Diverging Roads: Cultural and Political Trends and Their Impact on Catholic Healthcare.” The lecture will take place in Jones Auditorium as part of the Most Reverend John McCarthy Lecture Series on the Catholic Church in the 21st century. The event is free and open to the public.

O’Brien has been working in the field of Catholic healthcare ethics for more than 20 years, serving in leadership, research, teaching and consultation roles. He has served as Vice President for Ethics at Ascension Health since its founding in 1999. Former positions include Vice President of Ethics for the Sisters of St. Joseph Health System in Michigan 1991-99; Ethics Associate for the Pope John XXIII Center 1989-91 (now the National Catholic Bioethics Center); and as associate for the Center for Health Care Ethics at Saint Louis University 1986-88. O’Brien has also served as Vice President of the Board for the Medical Ethics Resource Network (MERN) of Michigan 1994-96, Chair of the Board for the Supportive Care Coalition 2004-06, and adjunct professor of theology at Aquinas Institute in St. Louis.

O’Brien received his BA in Philosophy from Regis University (1986), MA in Systematic Theology from Aquinas Institute (1988), and his PhD in Health Care Ethics from Saint Louis University (2000), passing his comprehensive exams with distinction. He also studied moral theology, sacramental theology, medical ethics and spirituality at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas and at the Alfonsiana Institute of Moral Theology at the Lateran University, both in Rome, Italy 1988-89. 

O’Brien has presented at numerous ethics institutes and workshops, and has chaired and served on many ethics committees and planning committees for regional and international ethics conferences. He has authored and co-authored over 50 items, including an ethics manual, book chapters, reviews, editorials, letters, research in peer review journals, newsletters and newspapers, including in Health Progress, The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, The American Journal of Bioethics, Medical Ethics and Bioethics (Bratislava, Slovakia), The Journal of Management Development, The New England Journal of Medicine, Health Care Ethics USA, Supportive Voice and Ethics & Medics. 

In 1995 he received his Papal Knighthood into the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, from Cardinal Joseph Bernardin. In 2005, he received the International Catholic Press Award for Best Feature Article in a Scholarly Magazine, Second Place: “Utilitarian Pessimism, Human Dignity & the Vegetative State: A Practical Analysis of the March 20, 2004 Papal Address Concerning Nutrition & Hydration,” with John Paul Slosar and Anthony R. Tersigni, in the National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 4, 3 (Autumn 2004): 497-512, a publication of the National Catholic Bioethics Center.

St. Edward's created the lecture series to honor Bishop McCarthy, who led the Diocese of Austin from 1985 to 2001, and to underscore the university's commitment to its Catholic roots and Holy Cross Heritage.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Reception to follow the event. Valet parking is provided.

For more information, contact the Center for Ethics and Leadership at 464-8871 or http://www.stedwards.edu/ethics