Inter Vitam et Mortem

In this episode of Inter Vitam et Mortem, Dr. Mary Anne Urlakis interviews Dr. Alan Moy, founder of Cellular Engineering Technologies (CET) (March 12, 2024) In 2005, Dr. Moy left his tenured academic career  to start a private solo pulmonary practice at a nearby Catholic hospital and started, on the same day, Cellular Engineering Technologies (CET), a biotech company with a modest goal of manufacturing adult stem cels. In 2006, he founded the non-profit John Paul II Medical Research Institute (JP2MRI). Initially the mission was to educate society on pro-life medical research ethics and advocate for the US to pursue adult stem cell research.  CET/JP2MRI developed biotechnology that is now superior and has the future potential to replace embryonic stem cells and aborted fetal cells that now commonly are used in the biopharmaceutical industry. While this change will not occur overnight, the scientific and business foundation is in place to support this vision. See the paper that was published in the Linacre Quarterly that describes Dr. Moy's journey.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32549639/ Dr. Moy was recently asked to publish a paper on the challenges of induced pluripotent stem cells for the European Medical Society.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38188933/ Both CET/JP2MRI are at an inflection point in their science and business to take off and hopefully achieve the vision that Dr. Moy started 2 decades ago.   Dr. Moy recently published an honest criticism directed towards Catholic and pro-life institutions.  https://thefederalist.com/2024/02/12/this-one-abortion-story-changed-medicine-forever-but-pro-lifers-hardly-talk-about-it/

Episode 45 of WCAT Radio’s “Inter Vitam et Mortem: Between Life and Death: Interviews and Discussion with a Catholic Bioethicist” is broadcast in conjunction with the Institute for the Theological Encounter Between Science and Technology (ITEST) and an upcoming webinar entitled “The Moral Arguments in the Embryo Adoption Debate.” Show host and Co-Founder of the Dignitas Personae Institute for Nascent Human Life, Dr. Mary Anne Urlakis, discusses the sacred dignity of embryonic human life with Laura Elm, the Founder and President of Sacred Heart Guardians and Shelter. Sacred Heart Guardians and Shelter is a charitable organization, guided by a profound respect for the dignity of every human person from the first moment of existence and founded with the mission of providing corporal and spiritual care for the youngest and smallest members of the human family. To this end, Sacred Heart Guardians and Shelter facilitates a dignified, prayerful, Catholic burial for embryos who die in Artificial Reproductive Technology (ART) laboratories. In this episode, Mary Anne and Laura discuss the fragility of embryonic human life and the necessity of treating each and every human person with the sacred dignity requisite to being created in the Image and Likeness of God. Additional information and registration for the May 8, 2021 ITEST Webinar, entitled “The Moral Arguments in the Embryo Adoption Debate” can be found on the Institute for the Theological Encounter Between Science and Technology page at: Embryo Adoption - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org).

Dr. Stacy Trasancos joins Dr. Mary Anne Urlakis for Episode 44 of WCAT Radio’s “Inter Vitam et Mortem: Between Life and Death: Interviews and Discussion with a Catholic Bioethicist” to discuss the current COVID vaccinations. Dr. Trasancos is a scientist, theologian, and mother; she holds a Doctorate in Chemistry from Penn State University and a Master’s in Dogmatic Theology (summa cum laude) from Holy Apostles College and Seminary. Dr. Trasancos is the Executive Director of Bishop Joseph Strickland’s St. Philip Institute of Catechesis and Evangelization in Tyler, Texas, and the Chief Research Officer of Children of God for Life. She is a Fellow of the Word on Fire Institute and an Adjunct Professor at Seton Hall University Catholic Studies program. Her work focuses on the integration of faith and science. In this episode Stacy Trasancos and Mary Anne Urlakis discuss the ethical implications of the current COVID vaccines, as well as those vaccines currently in development. Their ethical inquiry centers on three significant bioethical issues: (1) the liceity of using abortion-derived cell-lines for vaccine production, (2) the necessity of authentically informed consent, and (3) the sanctity of the human conscience and the issue of paternalism and coercion. Dr. Trasancos is a frequent guest on Catholic media, including Relevant Radio, Ave Maria Radio, EWTN, Catholic Answers Live, and The Journey Home. She has written numerous articles for Catholic publications and is the author of Science Was Born of Christianity: The Teaching of Fr. Stanley L. Jaki and Particles of Faith: A Catholic Guide to Navigating Science (Ave Maria Press), which has also been published as a textbook for Catholic high schools and colleges. Additionally, she has published a Catholic Answers booklet 20 Answers: Bioethics, and she writes the Science column for the National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly. In her most recent book, she examines the scientific evidence for Eucharistic miracles, co-authored with Fr. George Elliott entitled Behold, It Is I: Scripture, Tradition, and Science on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist (TAN Books). More information is available on the Children of God for Life website: https://cogforlife.org. Additionally, Dr. Stacy Trasancos’ position statement regarding the use of tissue derived from abortion in the development and production of COVID vaccines can be found at National Catholic Register and Catholic Answers. Her recent webinar presentation for ITEST, the Institute for the Theological Encounter with Science and Technology, entitled: “Is it Moral to Take the COVID Vaccine?” is available at: COVID-19 Vaccine Ethics - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org).

Sr. Marysia Weber, R.S.M., M.A., D.O., joins WCAT Radio Host, Dr. Mary Anne Urlakis for Episode 43 of “Inter Vitam et Mortem: Between Life and Death: Interviews and Discussion with a Catholic Bioethicist,” to discuss the challenging topic of achieving hope, healing, and chastity after pornography addiction or compulsion. Sr. Marysia is a board-certified physician, specializing in psychiatry with a fellowship in consulting-liaison psychiatry; she completed her residency and training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Sister earned a Master’s Degree in Theology from Notre Dame. Sr. Marysia Weber practiced psychiatry at her religious institute’s multidisciplinary clinic- Sacred Heart Mercy Health Care Center, in Alma, MI from 1988-2014. In 2014, Sr. Marysia accepted the role of Director of the Office of Consecrated Life for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, where she is also a facilitator for Project Rachel, the Chair of the Board of Directors for MyCatholic Doctor, and an executive board member of the St. Louis Guild of the Catholic Medical Association, and an executive board member for the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology. Sister also serves as an Adjunct Clinical Instructor in the Dept of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine, in St. Louis. Additionally, Sr. Marysia has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and has authored several books -- most recently penning two chapters in the new text on priestly formation: Spiritual Husbands- Spiritual Fathers: Priestly Formation for the 21st Century, edited by Bishop Felipe Estevez and Bishop Andrew Cozzens, published by Holy Apostles College and Seminary’s Enroute Books and Media. Sr. Marysia is a highly sought-after speaker and expert, and has presented to the Roman Curia, at the Vatican in 2002 regarding the Sexual Abuse by Clergy in North American. In this interview, Sr. Marysia and Dr. Urlakis address the issue of pornography use, compulsion, and addiction. Sr. Marysia shares her expertise, not only discussing the scope of the problem and the neuroscience behind internet pornography addiction, but also revealing effective and authentically Catholic strategies for hope and healing.