ITEST Webinar
The New Genetic Medicine:
Miraculous Cures, Ethically Challenging Advances, or Both?
Saturday, April 18, 2026
7:00 am – 9:00 am (Pacific)
8:00 am – 10:00 am (Mountain)
9:00 am – 11:00 am (Central)
10:00 am – noon (Eastern)
Register at the bottom of this page for this webinar.
Webinar fee: $10
No charge for: ITEST members, clergy, seminarians, women and men religious
Donations are appreciated.
Webinar abstract
This webinar explores the rapidly evolving field of genetic medicine, examining its promise of life-altering cures alongside the profound ethical questions it raises. Fr. Kevin FitzGerald, SJ, of the Creighton Institute brings theological, medical, and moral insight to discern whether these advances represent unqualified progress, serious concern, or a call to careful ethical stewardship.
Our presenters
Fr. Kevin FitzGerald, SJ, PhD, PhD
The New Genetic Medicine:
Miraculous Cures, Ethically Challenging Advances, or Both?
Kevin T. FitzGerald, S.J., Ph.D., Ph.D., is the John A. Creighton University Professor and chair of the Department of Medical Humanities in the School of Medicine, at Creighton University. He received a Ph.D. in molecular genetics, and a Ph.D. in bioethics, from Georgetown University. His research efforts focus on the utilization of the Humanities in medical education, on the investigation of abnormal gene expression in cancer, and on ethical issues in biomedical research and medical genomics. He has published educational, scientific, and ethical articles in peer-reviewed journals, books, and in the popular press.
Fr. FitzGerald has given presentations nationally and internationally, and has often been interviewed by the news media, on such topics as human genetic engineering, cloning, stem cell research, and personalized medicine. He is a founding member of Do No Harm, and a member of the Genetic Alliance IRB. In addition, he has been a Corresponding Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life since 2005.
Abstract
Abstract coming soon
Fr. Dennis Billy, CSsR
Response to “The New Genetic Medicine: Miraculous Cures, Ethically Challenging Advances, or Both?”
Rev. Dennis J. Billy, C.Ss.R. is Professor Emeritus of the Alphonsian Academy of Rome’s Pontifical Lateran University. From 2019-2025, he served as Professor and holder of The Robert F. Leavitt Distinguished Service Chair in Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore, Maryland. From 2008-2016, he was scholar-in-residence, professor, and holder of the John Cardinal Krol Chair of Moral Theology at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbrook in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. Fr. Billy holds advanced degrees from Harvard University, The Pontifical University of St. Thomas (Angelicum, Rome), and the Graduate Theological Foundation. Father Billy has authored more than 65 books and published over 400 articles in a variety of scholarly and popular journals. He is also very active in retreat work and in the ministry of spiritual direction.
Abstract
Abstract coming soon