Upcoming Seminar: A Catholic Approach to Finding Meaning in Suffering and at End of Life | Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute – Affiliated with the University of St. Michael's College in the University of Toronto

The Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute cordially invites you to join us for a free lecture.

May 8, 2024; 7:00 – 8:30 pm

Speaker:	Erin Kinsella, BSc., MTS Ann Sirek, MD, PhD
Host:	Dr Moira McQueen
To Register:	To Register: Email CCBI at bioethics.usmc@utoronto.ca All are welcome!
Location:	81 St Mary Street, Charbonnel Lounge, University of St Michael’s College

About the Speakers

Erin Kinsella, BSc., MTS is a Consecrated Virgin of the Archdiocese of Toronto and a co-host of “In the Thicket,” a podcast on suffering and hope. She holds a Master of Theological Studies from St. Augustine’s Seminary conjointly with the University of Toronto and completed her thesis on the theology of the suffering body.

Ann Sirek, MD, PhD completed her medical studies and later her theological studies at the University of Toronto. Her medical practice revolved around care of persons with diabetes. The suffering of those who live with diabetes is not always obvious. This interest in the narrative of the sufferer moved her towards doctoral studies in theology and philosophy. Her dissertation on the spiritual processes that come about in response to suffering is presented in an abbreviated and accessible book format: Visceral Resonance: A Theological Essay on Attending the Sufferer (PICKWICK Publications, 2020).
As a dancer, she believes that movement is a language of the body, especially when words and coherent thoughts are not possible. It is this intersection of clinical experience in medicine, her academic studies in Thomas Aquinas, and her art of dance that shape her lived spirituality as well as her ongoing academic pursuits. Her most recent engagements include the 2024 International Association for Catholic Bioethics on the topic of suffering. She led a parish-based Advent retreat in 2023, and from 2022-2024 facilitated a parish-based Bible/Faith exploration Group. While still in practice, she facilitated weekend retreats for persons with diabetes, intending the discovery of spiritual growth through the challenges of living with diabetes. She is honoured to be participating in this forum on a spirituality of suffering.

Moira McQueen, LL. B, M.Div., Ph.D., DSL (Hon) was appointed Executive Director of the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute in July 2004, and is involved in lecture and consultancy sessions with school boards, health care institutions, priests’ seminars, conferences, parish talks and media appearances. She is a consultant to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. From 2014-2019, she served on the International Theological Commission of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, collaborating in publishing three documents on Religious Freedom, Synodality, and the Sacraments.