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work, life, reflect Church’s ‘consistency’
By Lou Baldwin
Special to The CS&T
OVERBROOK — Marie T. Hilliard, the director of the National Catholic
Bioethics Center in Overbrook, brings impressive qualifications to her
work.
Before coming to Philadelphia two years ago, she served as executive director
of the Connecticut Catholic Conference for 10 years, and she is the immediate
past chair of the National Advisory Council of the United States Conference
of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). In that capacity, she is still a member of
the national board of the council, which consists of laity, religious
and priests from across the nation who are chosen for their expertise
to review and offer recommendations on issues before the USCCB.
She is also a colonel in the United States Army Reserve, with expertise
in various areas, especially nursing. Her educational achievements include
bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing; a master’s
degree in religious studies, a J.C.L. in canon law and a doctorate in
professional nursing higher education administration.
She is an associate of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas and a extraordinary
minister of holy Communion to the elderly Sisters at McAuley Convent in
Merion. She also sings in the choir at Our Lady of Lourdes Church.
Service, especially to the Church, was instilled in Hilliard and her five
brothers by their parents while they were growing up in the Hartford Diocese
in Connecticut. “The last thing we heard at night was our parents
saying the rosary in bed,” she recalls.
Her mother had read the life of the Little Flower, St. Therese of the
Child Jesus, and made the decision to live the vocation of marriage and
teach her children to make the world a better place in whatever state
of life God asked them to live. All six grew up to be committed Catholics;
of Hilliard’s four living brothers, one is a priest and another
a permanent deacon.
In all her work with the Church, Hilliard draws on her experiences in
the various aspects of the health field as well as her grounding in religious
studies and canon law.
“The Gospel imperative requires us to address the needs of all vulnerable
persons from the moment of fertilization until natural death. This is
often misunderstood,” she said. “The Church is beautifully
consistent. We see all needs as a consistent ethic of life — it
may include such issues as affordable housing, food stamps [or] the
death penalty. “
The National Catholic Bioethics Center, which was founded in 1972, provides
moral analysis of developments in health care and the life sciences. Because
many ethical decisions are complex, it provides a hot line — (215)
877-2660 — which is available to dioceses, health providers and
individuals, Hilliard said.
As Catholics and Catholic health providers wrestle with decisions concerning
end-of-life issues — such as brain death and nutrition and hydration,
in vitro fertilization and other controversial procedures — the
Center provides a voice countering attempts to force providers to perform
services they cannot morally accept, Hilliard said.
“It’s a question of religious liberty,” she said.
Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo Parish and a freelance writer.