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A pediatrician recently appointed to the Florida Board of Medicine. Priests who have been sent by their bishops so they can more effectively serve on hospital ethics committees. Recent college graduates who want to boost their knowledge of bioethics before entering medical school, where they will certainly face difficult decisions. Mid-career physicians who are called to hospital leadership positions.
Those are just some of the kinds of people who have gone through the bioethics program at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. The university offers a Master of Science degree in bioethics, featuring classes not only in philosophy and theology but also in law and healthcare policy. The program partners with the National Catholic Bioethics Center.
Now, the university is entering into a partnership with the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation for the training of professionals in a one-year “Bioethics Expert Diploma.”
Research, care, advocacy
The Paris-based Lejeune Foundation funds research to treat genetic disorders that cause intellectual disabilities. The foundation does its work with three objectives: research, care, and advocacy. The institution provides medical treatment for persons with intellectual disabilities, and is also a powerful advocate for bioethics and public policies that respect the dignity of the human person.
In accordance with its statutes, the foundation pursues the mission of defending life and dignity from conception until natural death. It is committed to bioethics education for professionals and individuals interested in this field.
Therefore, in 2009, the International Chair of Bioethics Jérôme Lejeune was established with the aim of providing training to professionals and individuals who want to be able to build scientific and objective criteria to defend the dignity of the human person. The Bioethics Expert Diploma is part of the educational offerings provided by the Chair.
Students who previously obtained a one-year Bioethics Expert Diploma from the International Chair of Bioethics Jérôme Lejeune can now earn a master’s degree in bioethics in just one year, online, from the University of Mary.
“We recognize the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, with its affiliated associations and respected world-class faculty, as an important authority for higher education in bioethics in the American Catholic world,” said Dr. Mónica López Barahona, president of the International Chair of Bioethics Jérôme Lejeune. “Given our respect for the university – its patroness Blessed Mother Mary, its mission, its compassion for the dignity of the whole person and the unborn, and our admiration for its president, Msgr. James Shea – this was an easy decision for us. Our two institutions share a common mission and fidelity to the Gospel of Life that regards every human person as created in the image and likeness of God, endowed with life and dignity.”
Need for a compass
Providing good Catholic bioethics education is more important than ever, said Dr. David Echelbarger, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs for non-traditional programs, and Associate Professor of Philosophy, School of Arts & Sciences.
“Healthcare is really hurting and craving for well trained, thoughtful people who can help give moral guidance at a time when the whole healthcare industry is really changing very rapidly,” Echelbarger told Aleteia. “When you have a lot of change, you need a sort of stability and a strong moral compass is more essential than ever.”
In particular, Catholic institutions make up the lion’s share of the healthcare industry in the US, so it’s important that well-trained and well-formed individuals staff their bioethics departments, he said.
Father of modern bioethics ... and a saint?
The Jérôme Lejeune Foundation is named for the physician known as the “father of modern bioethics” because of his 1958 discovery of the genetic basis of Down syndrome. A Frenchman, Lejeune dedicated his life to the struggles experienced by the intellectually disabled children.
In 2021, Pope Francis recognized the heroic virtues of Lejeune, and he was declared Venerable by the Roman Catholic Church — the first step in the Vatican’s process on the road to canonization.
Following his example, the foundation works through educational and legal means to ensure the respect for life. Within the context of an ever-accelerating scientific progress and ideological pressure that pose fundamental questions for society, the foundation is highly vigilant about bioethical issues in relation to the research it funds.
“We are grateful, thrilled, and very humbled that the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation would ask us to collaborate with them in this way,” Msgr. Shea said in a statement. “The foundation is entrusting us with their students so that our extraordinary faculty can further educate them through our extensive Catholic bioethics curriculum. Jérôme Lejeune was a model of Catholic bioethics, a legacy championed so fervently, diligently, and without compromise by the foundation. This partnership is providential for both parties, affording us an opportunity to walk arm-in-arm in the defense of life and refuse to accept the culture of death that is still prevalent in today’s society — just as Jérôme Lejeune stood strong with courage and truth throughout his remarkable life.”
