FALL 2003 PROGRAM:
The thoughts of John Paul II throughout his papacy.

DATES:

• Sept. 22nd – A Film makers Response to John Paul II’s Letter to Artists
• Oct. 27th – Faith, Reason, and John Paul II’s Response to the Crisis of Truth with Robert Royal
• Nov. 24th – Evangelium Vitae: John Paul II’s Vision of Building a Culture of Life with Dr. John Haas

WHERE:
Ivy Hall, 6331 Lancaster Ave., Philadelphia 19151

The Gospel of Life: “From its very title, Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), the encyclical of Pope John Paul II demonstrates its highly positive character and its great spiritual thrust. While realistically countering unprecedented threats to life and the spread of a “culture of death,” the primary intention of the papal document is to proclaim the good news of the value and dignity of each human life, of its grandeur and worth, also in its temporal phase. The cause of life is in fact at the same time the cause of the Gospel and the cause of man, the cause entrusted to the church.” from THE VATICAN’S SUMMARY OF “EVANGELIUM VITAE” available at http://www.priestsforlife.org/magisterium/evvatsummary.htm

Therefore I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days…
Deuteronomy 30:19-20

John M. Haas is the President of the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Boston, Massachusetts. The Center was established in 1972 to research problems in medical ethics and to apply the teachings of the Catholic Church to specific medical issues emerging from advances in medicine, the life sciences and civil law. It is the largest publisher of books and periodicals on Catholic bioethics in the country. Dr. Haas received his Ph.D. in Moral Theology from the Catholic University of America and his S.T.L. in Moral Theology from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Before assuming the Presidency of The National Catholic Bioethics Center, Dr. Haas was the John Cardinal Krol Professor of Moral Theology at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Philadelphia and Adjunct Professor at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies in Marriage and the Family, Washington, D.C. For a number of years he produced and hosted an national television program known as The St. Charles Forum which was carried on the Catholic network EWTN. He has also served as a member of the Medical Moral Commission of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and has been a faculty member of the Commission for Inter-professional Education and Practice at Ohio State University.
 
Dr. Haas has testified before the Joint Judiciary Committees of the Massachusetts Legislature on physician-assisted suicide and before the US Senate Committee on Health and Public Safety on the subject of cloning humans. He has also provided testimony to the President’s National Bioethics Advisory Commission. He has written many articles on topics ranging from the role of the laity in the Church, to sexual morality, social justice issues and bio-ethics. He is the editor of and a contributor to Crisis of Conscience published by Herder/Crossroads and is a contributing editor to Crisis and Touchstone magazines. His Opinion Pieces have appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He has lectured extensively in this country and abroad, including Peru, Mexico, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, and at the Vatican. He is a consultant to the Committee for Pro-Life Activities of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. He is a former board member of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars and is a board member and faculty member of the International Catholic University and President of the International Institute for Culture based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Haas and his wife Martha are the parents of nine children and reside in Philadelphia.