Archdiocesan End of Life Conference

Heads up on an outstanding workshop that every Catholic in the area should consider attending.

It's the Archdiocesan End of Life Conference, being held in two separate presentations next weekend at two locations in St. Paul. The subtitle is "Care and Treatment for Compromised Patients or Patients at the End of Life," and it might sound kind of dry, but I'd urge everyone who can to attend. It's not only of acedemic interest, not only of interest to those who care about the direction our society is going in (take the first reading from this Sunday, for example, to see what might happen to us), but virtually all of us will be forced to confront end of life issues, whether for ourselves, our spouses and loved ones, our parents, or others.

The presenter for this conference is Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D., Director of Education at the National Catholic Bioethics Center. The even brochure describes him as "a neuroscientist, moral theologian, bioethicist and priest of the Diocese of Fall River, MA." I've heard nothing but good things about him, not only regarding his qualifications, but also that he is a dynamic and informative speaker, knowledgeable in the extreme, generous with his time.

You have two chances to attend this conference - Friday, March 31 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul, or Saturday, April 1 from 9:00 a.m. to noon, at Nativity of Our Lord Church (corner of Stanford and Prior Avenues in St. Paul).

Pre-registration is important in order to make sure you receive the packet of materials the archdiocese has prepared. Register by March 30 by calling 651-291-4515 or send an email to RespectLife@archspm.org.