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Rome Proceedings

PROCEEDINGS of MaterCare's 4 th International Workshop of Catholic Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
"Challenging the Status Quo"

QUODCUMQUE DIXERIT VOBIS, FACITE
(Do what ever He tells you)

4TH INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP FOR CATHOLIC OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNAECOLOGISTS
OCTOBER 11TH - 15TH 2006

THEME:
The Dignity of Motherhood and the Practice of Obstetrics - Challenging the Status Quo

OBJECTIVES
To consider the Dignity of Motherhood
To Consider the Encyclical Deus Caritas Eat
To consider Christian Values in the Practice of Obstetrics.
To consider the Ethics of Current Issues in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
To Consider the United Nations Millennium Development Goals
To Consider the Biology and Ethical Concerns of Current Stem Cells Research.
To Consider Abortion and Alternatives Services
To Consider Ethical Treatments for Infertility.
To consider the Organization, Function, Current and Future MCI Activities.
To provide an Opportunity to Raise and Discuss other Issues
To provide an Opportunity to Make and Renew Friendships

PARTICIPANTS
65 Registrants from 20 countries, included obstetricians, general practitioners, bioethicisists, priests, religious and volunteers.

PLACE
INSTITUTO "MARIA SS BAMBINA", VIA PAULO VI, ROME

Welcome

Dr. Robert Walley
Founder and Executive Director
MaterCare International

Dear colleagues and friends;

MCI cordially welcomes you to Rome for this its 4th International Workshop. We have put together an interesting programme with papers on spiritual and professional subjects that we hope you will agree, are of a high standard. We hope that you will also join in the discussions and have your say. We invite you all to the evening social gatherings on the roof, to enjoy the glorious view of the eternal city, to continue discussions and make new friends.

MCI is a unique professional organization, within the Church, whose goal is to "breathe life" back into the practice of obstetrics and gyneacology and therefore into maternal health care in a different way. As Pope Benedict XVI has reminded us in his first Encyclical, Deus Caritas "Christian charitable activity, apart from its professional competence, must be based on the experience of a personal encounter with Christ, whose love touched believers' hearts, generating within them love for others".

Dr. J.Ma. Simon Castellvi
President of the World Federation of
Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC)

Dear colleagues;

It is with great pleasure that I attend this Conference as President of the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC)!

The Catholic Ob/Gyns are the very "Alpha priority" of our Federation. And, as Canon Law allows me, as President of an International Public Catholic Organization, to speak and act in the name of the Church, I can say in the name of the Church that Catholic Ob/Gyns and their work with mothers and children are a priority for the Catholic Church.

Preferential options for mothers. A beautiful commitment and a necessary aim in our nowadays world. We live in a world (especially the western one) where many opinion-makers approve abortion with enthusiasm. We are for life. We respect life. We love the mystery of life!
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Table of Contents

"The Dignity Of Motherhood And The Practice Of Obstetrics - Challenging The Status Quo"

Wednesday, October 11th, 2006
Opening Address
Msgr Jean - Marie Mpendawatu
Official,
Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care

Thursday, October 12th, 2006
Homily Opening Mass
Archbishop Karl Josef Romer
Secretary, Pontifical Council for the Family
Key Note Address:
Deus Caritas Est
Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes
President, Pontifical Council, Cor Unum

Session I: The Dignity of Motherhood and the Obstetrician
Jesus and Healing - a Scripture Reflection
Rev. Richard Taylor
Professor of Scripture, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome
The Dignity of Motherhood
Maria Srodon
Regional Executive Assistant, MaterCare (Poland)

Session II: The Practice of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
The Gospel of Life and the Practice of Obstetrics
Bogdan Chazan
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Chairman MaterCare (Poland)
Courage and Obstetrical practice
Msgr Maurizio Calipari
Spiritual Director MaterCare International, Ecclesiastical Advisor to FIAMC.
Pontifical Academy for Life
Conscientious Objection in Medical Practice
Rev. George Woodall
Professor of Moral Theology and Bioethics,
Pontifical University, Regina Apostolorum, Rome
Discrimination in training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Imre Teglasy
National Director, Right to Life Hungary

Friday October 13th 2006
Homily Morning Mass
Msgr. Maurizio Calipari
Spiritual Director MaterCare International, Ecclesiastical Advisor to FIAMC
Pontifical Academy for Life

Session III Abortion Again
Abortion after 30 years
Jim Hughes
Chair, Campaign Life Coalition, Canada
Demographic Aspects of Abortion
Ewa Fratczak
Professor, Institute of Statistics and Demography,
Warsaw School of Economics
Alternatives to abortion Legal I
Nikolas Nikas President and General Counsel,
Dorinda Bordlee, Executive Director, and Senior Counsel
Bioethics Defence Fund, USA

Session IV Abortion Yet Again
Alternatives to abortion Social II
Nikolas Nikas President and General Counsel,
Dorinda Bordlee, Executive Director, and Senior Counsel
Bioethics Defence Fund, USA
Promotion of Ethical Positions in a Multi-Cultural, Secular Society (Croatian Experience)
Marijo Zivkovic,
Family Centre, Zagreb
The Use RU 486 and Misoprostol, The Australian controversy.
Elvis Seman
Consultant, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia.
Morning after Pill
John Seeds Chair, MaterCare (USA)
Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Virginia Commonwealth University, USA

Saturday, October 14th, 2006
Homily Holy Mass
Renato Raphael Cardinal Martino
President, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
Key Note Address
The UN and the Millennium Development Goals
Renato Rapheal Cardinal Martino
President, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
MaterCare International and its Programmes
Robert Walley, PPT presentation
Honory research professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Executive Director, MaterCare Internatioal

Session V The New Human Rights Agenda
“The new global ethic and its hidden agenda”
Marguerite A Peeter,
Director Institute for Intercultural Dialogue, Brussels
Keynote Address
Human Rights and Gender Equality
Anna Zaborska
President,
Commission on the Rights of Women and Gender Equality, European Parliament

Session VI Controversies/Infertility Treatments
Embodied Being and Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Is There a Way Forward?
William Hurlbutt, PPT Presentation
Professor of Bioethics, Stanford University, USA.
Member of the President’s Council on Bioethics
Is there an Ethical Alternative Reproductive Technology Worth Exploring?
Adrian Thomas
Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
Mercy Hospital for Women, Australia
The Billings Ovulation Method and the Achievement of Pregnancy, A Retrospective Study
Dr Mary Martin Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist Oklahoma, USA
Presented by: Marijo Zivkovic, Family Centre, Zagreb

Sunday October 15th 2006
Homily Closing Mass.
Rev. Richard Taylor
Professor of Scripture,
Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas

Movie Presentations

Thursday
“Love is a Choice”,
52 Minute Account of the Life of St Gianna Baretta Molla’, Patron of MCI
Salt and Light Television (Canada)

Friday
“Dying to Give Birth”.
30 Minute account of MaterCare International Activitie
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Hidden Tragedy
6 minute account of Obstetric Fistula
MaterCare International

Saturday
Abortion Breast Cancer Link
30 minutes
Breast Cancer Institute, New York