News

In Memoriam: H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr. (1941–2018)

Author: Kenneth Hallenius

H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr.

The Center for Ethics and Culture mourns the death of philosopher H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., professor of the history and philosophy of medicine at Rice University and professor emeritus at Baylor College of Medicine, who passed away on June 21, 2018 in Houston. Engelhardt was recognized as one of the pioneers of the field of bioethics, writing more than 300 books, chapters, and articles that examined personhood and identity, bioethics, genetics, secular humanism, the deprofessionalization of medicine, Christian theology and ethics, animal rights, health policy, and much more. His seminal 1986 book Foundations of Bioethics

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Carter Snead Elected as Hastings Center Fellow

Author: Kenneth Hallenius

The Hastings Center Vertical

O. Carter Snead, the William P. and Hazel B. White Director of the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture, has been elected as a Fellow of the Hastings Center, the world's first and most prestigious bioethics research institute. The Hastings Center draws their Fellows from across the disciplines and hails them as "an elected group of individuals of outstanding accomplishment, whose work has informed scholarship and/or public understanding of complex ethical issues in health, health care, life sciences research and the environment." Their Fellows display "uncommon insight and impact in areas of critical concern to the Center – how best to understand and manage the inevitable values questions, moral uncertainties and societal effects that arise as a consequence of advances in the life sciences, the need to improve health and health care for people of all ages, and mitigation of human impact on the natural world."…

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52 Sorin Fellows to Walk in 2018 Commencement

Author: Kenneth Hallenius

Sorfel Ladies

This May, more than 50 participants in the Center for Ethics and Culture's Sorin Fellows student formation program will graduate as part of the Class of 2018 from the University of Notre Dame. Established in 2014 and named in honor of Notre Dame’s founder, Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., as part of the university’s bicentennial celebration of his birth, the Sorin Fellows program provides students with opportunities to build lasting relationships with other fellows and Notre Dame faculty; participate actively in the intellectual life and programming offered by the Center; and gain access to a wide range of unique opportunities including leadership development, professional and career mentorship, and funding for internships and research projects with partner organizations around the world.…

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CNN Publishes Op-Ed by CEC Director Carter Snead on What the Alfie Evans Case Laid Bare

Author: Kenneth Hallenius

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In a piece entitled "The Alfie Evans case is straight out of a dystopia," CEC Director O. Carter Snead wrote,

Little Alfie Evans has recently passed away, but the struggle over his treatment provoked a worldwide conflict over parental rights, how to care properly for the seriously disabled, and the appropriate role of the state in such intimate and vexed matters. What it revealed is that the law of the UK is in desperate need of revision to make room for the profoundly disabled and their loved ones who wish to care for them, despite the judgment of others that such lives of radical dependence and frailty are not worth living.

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CEC Public Policy Fellow to Speak at UN

Author: Kenneth Hallenius

UN Panel on Down Syndrome Poster

Center for Ethics and Culture Public Policy Fellow Mary O'Callaghan will be a featured speaker at a panel discussion about Down Syndrome hosted by the Holy See's Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations on March 20. "No Room in Rural Villages, Cities, & Homes for Those with Disabilities? Are Girls & Boys with Down Syndrome Being Left Behind?" will take place at the UN Headquarters in New York City the day before World Down Syndrome Day, 3/21, referring to the Trisomy 21 genetic marker that causes Down Syndrome as discovered by geneticist Dr. Jérôme Lejeune.…

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In Memoriam: Germain Grisez (1929-2018)

Author: Kenneth Hallenius

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The Center for Ethics and Culture mourns the death of philosopher Germain Gabriel Grisez, professor emeritus of Mount Saint Mary's University, who passed away on February 1, 2018 following a battle with cancer. Grisez, one of the twentieth century's most influential Catholic moral philosophers and co-founder of the "New Natural Law Theory," is best known for his masterwork The Way of the Lord Jesus

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Pausing to Reflect on Pro-Life Victories

Author: Kenneth Hallenius

As the United States observes the 45th anniversary of the Supreme Court's tragic and misguided decision to deny unborn children the equal protection of the law, the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture, the university's primary locus of pro-life research, teaching, and public engagement, has stepped up its efforts to proclaim the countercultural message that all human life is sacred and entitled to respect and protection.…

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CEC Presents Vita Institute: New York

Author: Kenneth Hallenius

Q And A At Vita Nyc

On January 6, the Center partnered with Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, to present a condensed version of the Notre Dame Vita Institute, its elite pro-life training program. More than 175 guests registered to take part in the one-day workshop to explore the most pressing life issues with the CEC's world-premier scholars in biology, philosophy, theology, and law. In his remarks at the conference, Cardinal Dolan praised the work of the CEC

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A Grateful Thanks: 2017 CEC Year in Review

Author: Kenneth Hallenius

Thank you!

As 2017 draws to a close, the director and staff of the Center for Ethics and Culture would like to extend a sincere "Thank you!" to the many benefactors and friends who have helped us further our mission to promote the Catholic intellectual and moral tradition both on the Notre Dame campus and in the wider public square.…

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Statement on Fall Conference Presentation by John Waters

Author: Kenneth Hallenius

O. Carter Snead, the William P. and Hazel B. White Director of the Center for Ethics and Culture, issued the following statement addressing questions related to John Waters's presentation at the Center's 18th Annual Fall Conference:

The history of the Mother and Baby Home at Tuam is a source of great pain for many people both in Ireland and throughout the world. We recognize and share that pain.…

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CEC's 18th Annual Fall Conference Explores Good and Evil

Author: Kenneth Hallenius

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More than 750 scholars and guests are gathering at the University of Notre Dame for the Center for Ethics and Culture’s 18th annual interdisciplinary Fall Conference, “Through Every Human Heart,” November 9–11. The conference features 112 presentations that consider the perennial problem of good and evil in our world, including the Thursday keynote lecture “Is the God of the Old Testament Evil?” by Gary Anderson, the Hesburgh Professor of Catholic Theology at Notre Dame, and Saturday's closing keynote presentation by Harvey Mansfield of Harvard University, "Machiavelli on Necessary Evil." Additional keynote speakers include Jacqueline Rivers of Harvard University, the University of Chicago's Jonathan Lear, Bishop Godfrey Onah of Nsukka, Nigeria, James Hankins of Harvard University, and the Center for Ethics and Culture Senior Distinguished Research Fellow Alasdair MacIntyre.…

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CEC Launches "Ethics and Culture Cast" Podcast Series

Author: Kenneth Hallenius

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The Center for Ethics and Culture launched a bi-weekly podcast series, Ethics and Culture Cast, featuring lively conversations with professors, fellows, and friends of the Center. Hosted by the CEC's communications specialist Ken Hallenius, episodes release every other Thursday throughout the academic year.…

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Nash Promoted to CEC Associate Director for Operations

Author: Kenneth Hallenius

Laura Nash

Laura Nash, Center for Ethics and Culture Event Planning Program Manager, has been promoted to Associate Director for Operations. In the newly created position, she will oversee the Center's day-to-day operations and finances, execute strategic planning, oversee the staff, and ensure Center initiatives operate at the highest-level. Laura will work with Director, Carter Snead, and Center staff to implement the mission and vision of the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture to share the richness of the Catholic moral and intellectual tradition through teaching, research, and public engagement across a variety of disciplines.…

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ND Vita Institute Prepares Pro-Life Leaders for Worldwide Mission

Author: Kenneth Hallenius

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Current and future pro-life leaders from around the world gathered on the campus of the University of Notre Dame for a week-long "pro-life boot camp" at the Center for Ethics and Culture's annual Notre Dame Vita Institute, June 9-17, 2017. Participants studied the fundamentals of life issues with leading scholars across a wide range of disciplines including social science, biology, philosophy, theology, law, neonatology, and reproductive health.…

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