About the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute.

CCBI Director: Moira McQueen, LL.B, M.Div., Ph.D.

Dr. Moira McQueen graduated in law from the University of Glasgow, Scotland. and worked as a lawyer for several years, specializing in family law and and juvenile court. After her Master of Divinity Degree from the Faculty of Theology, University of St. Michael's College and the Toronto School of Theology, she earned a Ph.D in moral theology, also from St. Michael's. She has been teaching moral theology at the Faculty of Theology since 1994, and has written and co-authored several articles in bioethics and other areas.

Moira was appointed Director of the CCBI in July, 2004.

Researcher: Bridget Campion, PhD

Bridget Campion, PhD, is a bioethicist and researcher with the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute at the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto. Formerly a clinical ethicist in Toronto hospitals and an assistant professor of moral theology at the Toronto School of Theology, Dr. Campion writes, researches, and lectures on topics in health care ethics, and also teaches Nursing Ethics at Trent University in Peterborough. She is a member of the Canadian Bioethics Society, the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities and the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto.

Researcher: Bambi Rutledge

Bambi Rutledge is the administrator of the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute, a member of the Toronto Homelessness and Palliative Care Committee, and a graduate of the University of St Michael's College in the University of Toronto.

Board of Directors

Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto
Prof. Anne Anderson, csj, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of St Michael’s College
Patrick Jordan CA
John Kyle (board member, St. Joseph’s Health Centre, Toronto)
John McGrath (Chancellor of Temporal Affairs, Archdiocese of Toronto)
Dr. Moira McQueen (Director, CCBI, Ex-Officio)
Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton (Representative of CCCB)
Richard M.H. Alway, Praeses, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies
John Gennaro

Our Mission Statement
As approved by the Board of Directors on April 15, 2002

To promote and protect the dignity of the human person through interdisciplinary ethics research and education in health care and the life sciences.

Promouvant la dignité de la personne humaine par la recherche et l’ éducation interdisciplinaire en éthique dans les soins de santé et les sciences de la vie.

Statement of Principles

Promote the dignity of each person through every stage of life;

Promote an ethos of life and the virtues of respect, benevolence, compassion, and justice in the context of contemporary health care;

Work with a special commitment to those who are poor and most vulnerable;

Be an effective resource within the Church and in our society through the Institute’s unique contribution to ethics research within the context of a Catholic tradition;

Commit to ethics education in health care and the life sciences;

Collaborate with related organizations to provide services to the Church and society based on intellectual inquiry, and reasoned, rigorous reflection on moral issues that promote understanding an application of the Church’s teaching and the enhancement of human dignity and freedom.

Our Goals

To engage in ethics research in the context of contemporary health care and the life sciences;

To foster collaboration among interdisciplinary colleagues, bioethics and research centres, academic institutions, and health care professionals in order to integrate scientific, religious, and social perspectives relative to bioethics;

To disseminate the results of the scholarly undertakings of the Institute through a variety of means;

To create and maintain a database of work being carried out in the field of bioethics in Canada and internationally, and by doing so, act as a bioethics information resource centre.

How We Are Meeting Our Goals of Research, Education, Communication

Presenting research papers at academic conferences
Analyzing Papal documents
Studying bishops’ statements
Researching and writing academic papers
Public lectures given at the University of St. Michael’s College, on current popular topics
Talks to health care professionals, clergy, chaplains, students, Catholic organizations
For the People in the Pews (FPIP) a parish based bioethics course consisting of four 2-hour evenings
Continuing education classes at the University of St. Michael’s College
Researching and writing CCBI publications

Our Publications

Bioethics Update: a review that is aimed at a general academic and professional audience. It reviews and analyses a controversial topic in bioethics
Bioethics Matters: a review and commentary on bioethical issue that are in the news. It is distributed to bishops, priests and Catholic lay organizations
À Propos: an update on the activities and publications of the CCBI
Website: www.ccbi-utoronto.ca

History

The Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute came about as a result of discussions, dating back to 1998, among some Toronto-area physicians and lawyers, ethicists at the three Catholic hospitals of Toronto, University of St. Michael's College, Regis College, St. Augustine's Seminary, and the Canadian Association of the Order of Malta. This group felt that it would be helpful to create a centre or institute to help enhance Catholic research and communications in the area of bioethics in a way that would be of service to Canadians generally. In particular, it was felt that there was a need to foster collaborative, integrated research and to communicate the fruits of that research in ways that are accessible to Canadians of all backgrounds. The group also stressed the need for a proactive approach to bioethics by Catholics, academically credible research, and stronger links across the country among academics, clinical ethicists, and workers in health and pastoral care.
In February 2000, the group submitted a proposal for the CCBI to the Archdiocese of Toronto. In the summer of 2000, under the direction of His Eminence Cardinal Ambrozic, the Archdiocese of Toronto agreed to provide sufficient funds to organize the proposed institute, to fund its activity during the first year, and to provide significant annual support thereafter. With this support assured, an office was established on the campus of the University of Saint Michael's College at the University of Toronto. A director, Dr. William Sullivan was appointed effective January 2001 to begin the process of Canada-wide consultations that would help to shape the Institute's vision, mission and activities. The first meeting of Catholics involved and interested in bioethics was held on June 22-24, 2001. In March 2001, the Institute became formally affiliated with the University of Toronto through the University of St. Michael's College.
The CCBI officially opened on November 16, 2002, with the support of many Canadian bishops, national Catholic lay organizations and academics from across the country. The CCBI is taking a year to sponsor a few, focused research projects that relate to human reproduction, genetics and health economics, gathering information for a national database of resources in Catholic bioethics, and consolidating the advice of national taskforces that are helping to form a research strategy and a mission and vision for the CCBI. A successful first research think tank, called Quodlibet 2002, was held June 10-13, 2002 in Guelph, Ontario on "Human Genetics in the Context of Health Care Reform". It involved forty scholars from across Canada and the U.S. The proceedings will be submitted for publication to the University of Toronto Press. On July 26, 2002, the CCBI and the Order of Malta sponsored an international meeting of three hundred enthusiastic university students for a discussion of "Catholic Bioethics: Building a Culture of Life" during World Youth Day 2002.