Ethics of End-of-Life Care

Contributions from the
Arts and Humanities

Wed. February 26 – Sun. March 2, 2025, Rome, Italy

An intensive ethics seminar
organized in cooperation with the
Pontifical Academy for Life, Vatican City

Summary outline

Care for the dying and their loved ones is a most rewarding but also challenging endeavor. Such care can evoke complex moral questions that often defy standard methods of ethical analysis. In this seminar, we enter into dialogue with the arts and humanities to gain new insights about the human condition, find meaning in the final phase of life, and achieve a truly dignified death.

Approach

Whereas internationally renowned experts will introduce the themes, the core of this seminar will be a sustained discussion among all participants.  Conversations will extend from the classroom to the cultural excursions in the city of Rome and many shared meals. Participants are encouraged to prepare a short presentation to stimulate still more dialogue. Registration is limited to 20 persons.

Integration with the 2025 Conference of the Pontifical Academy for Life

Following the completion of the seminar, participants can attend the 2025 conference of the Pontifical Academy for Life on Monday March 3 and Tuesday March 4. The specific theme of the 2025 conference has yet to be publicized. There may also be an opportunity to join in the Academy’s private audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican, depending on the Holy Father’s schedule and health. Detailed information about the speakers and presentations at the Academy conference will soon be available here.

Participants intending to attend both events can make this known when registering for the seminar and their registration information and added payment will be forwarded to the Pontifical Academy. There is no need to sign up separately at the website of the Pontifical Academy..

Submissions by participants

Each participant is invited and indeed encouraged to prepare a short presentation, to be given during the seminar. While this presentation may cover a completed ethics project, the primary purpose of these breakout sessions is to present a “work-in-progress” or even a project in the earliest planning phase. Graduate students whose master or doctoral thesis will include a normative component are especially encouraged to enroll.

Educational team

• Jos V.M. Welie, MA, MMedS, JD, PhD (Seminar Director). Founding President of the St. André International Center for Ethics and Integrity (France); Professor Emeritus of Medical Humanities at Creighton University (Omaha, USA)
• Don Andrea Ciucci, Pontifical Academy for Life (Vatican City)
• Andrea De Santis, PhD, Professor of Philosophy and Dean, School of Philosophy, Ateneo Sant’Anselmo (Rome, Italy)
• Henk ten Have, MD, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Health Care Ethics (Netherlands & Mexico)
• Therese Lysaught, PhD, Professor, Loyola University Chicago (USA)
• Linda Scheirton, PhD, Professor Emerita, Creighton University (USA) & Chateau Saint André Center (France)
• Joseph Tham, M.D., PhD, APRA Rome (Italy) & Holy Spirit Seminary College (Hong Kong)
• Tristan Welie, BA, Historian, Château Saint André Center (France).

Tentative Program

WEDNESDAY FEBR. 26: START OF SEMINAR   

THURSDAY FEBR. 27 : SEMINAR (CONTINUED)

FRIDAY FEBR. 28 : SEMINAR (CONTINUED)

SATURDAY MARCH 1: SEMINAR (CONTINUED)

SUNDAY MARCH 2: SEMINAR (CONTINUED)

MONDAY MARCH 3, 2025: PAV CONFERENCE

TUESDAY MARCH 4, 2025: PAV CONFERENCE (CONTINUED)

Language

The seminar is held in English. There will not be simultaneous language in other languages (except during the conference of the Pontifical Academy for Life). However, non-native speakers should not hesitate to enroll, as long as they have solid conversational competency in English. The members of the instructional team are either non-native speakers themselves, or have extensive experience working in other countries and conversing across language barriers. What matters is a willingness to engage in the discussions and not be worried about linguistic imperfections.

Certificate

Each educational program of the St André International Center for Ethics and Integrity is assessed by its Curriculum Committee, consisting of highly experienced educators and researchers from various of universities around the world. Participants will receive a Certificate of Completion, detailing the course description, contact hours completed, learning objectives, instructional modalities and other pertinent information.

Registration, fees and optional excursions

Attendance is limited to 20 participants. Registration for the seminar can be done via the online registration form. We will let you know within 72 hours if there still is availability.

The seminar fee schedule is as follows:

Full week including PAV conference $ 1090 / € 990
Reduced student fee $ 980 / € 890
Seminar only: $ 980 / € 890
Reduced student fee $ 880 / € 800

* If you elect to attend the full week program, you do NOT need to register separately at the website of the Pontifical Academy for the Mon-Tue conference. Your registration info will be shared with the PAV.

The registration fee includes:

• Attendance of all academic sessions
• 3 lunches and 2 dinners
• Coffee/refreshment breaks during all seminar days
• 3 half days of excursions to various cultural sites in Rome

The fee for accompanying persons is US$340 / €310 and includes all scheduled dinners, lunches and excursions.

Venue

Please note that the venue for the different program components will change. Most of the plenary sessions of the seminar from Wednesday afternoon through Saturday afternoon will take place in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome, immediately south of the Vatican at address: Piazza S. Calisto 16, Trastevere, Rome. The Sunday afternoon session will likely take place at one of the universities in central Rome.

The conference of the Pontifical Academy for Life will be held at the Augustinianum Congress Center (Via Paolo VI, 25), immediately south of the Vatican square. The audience with Pope Francis – if it will occur – will take place in the Vatican itself.

We therefore recommend to look for lodging not too far from the Trastevere site at Piazza S. Calisto 16, and more specifically for those planning to also attend the PAV session, a location between Piazza S. Calisto 16 and Via Paolo VI, 25.

For more suggestions about lodging and travel more generally, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Additional information

For all questions about this seminar, please use the contact button below.