Past Presenters

The Most Rev. José H. Gomez, S.T.D.

Archbishop of San Antonio

The Most Rev. José H. Gomez, S.T.D., was installed as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio on February 15, 2005, at San Fernando Cathedral. Archbishop Gomez previously served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Denver, since his ordination on March 26, 2001.

 

Archbishop Gomez holds a doctorate in Sacred Theology which he received at the University of Navarre in Pamplona, Spain in 1980.  In 1978, the year he was ordained a priest of the Opus Dei Prelature, Archbishop Gomez completed his B.A. in Theology at the University of Navarre, Rome Campus.  He also has an accounting degree and a B.A. in Philosophy.

 

Archbishop Gomez has distinguished himself as a respected national leader among Hispanic priests in the United States. In 1991, Archbishop Gomez became a Regional Representative of the National Association of Hispanic Priests (ANSH) and in 1995 he was named President and then Executive Director from 1999‐2001.  ANSH is an organization which seeks to strengthen fraternity among the over 2,400 Hispanic priests in the United States and to communicate the faith effectively among diverse Hispanic congregations.

 

Archbishop Gomez also spearheaded the establishment of Denver’s Centro San Juan Diego for Family and Pastoral Care, a place for formation of lay leaders and a base to provide welcoming services to immigrants. The Center offers both pastoral and social services.

 

In 2005 he was named one of Time Magazine’s 25 most influential Hispanics in the United States, and in 2007 he was on a CNN’s list of “Notable Hispanics” in a web special celebrating “Hispanic Heritage Month”.

 

On July 25, 2008 he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as a consultant to the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, whose purpose is to assist the human and spiritual needs of the Church in Latin America.

 

For his Episcopal motto, Archbishop Gomez chose a scriptural passage from the Letter to the Hebrews: "Let us go forth with confidence to the Throne of Grace." (Heb. 4:16).

Dr. John F. Brehany, Ph.D., S.T.L.

Executive Director and Ethicist, Catholic Medical Association

Dr. John F. Brehany, Ph.D., S.T.L., joined the Catholic Medical Association as Executive Director and Ethicist in September 2006. He is responsible for overseeing operations of the CMA at its headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, providing direction on health care ethics and public policy issues, supporting membership and guild development, serving as spokesman to the media, and coordinating publications, advertising, and ongoing development of the Catholic Medical Association.

 

Dr. Brehany received a Ph.D. in Health Care Ethics from Saint Louis University in 2003, a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C. in 1991, and a M.A. in Philosophy from University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas in 1987. He received his undergraduate education at the University of San Francisco, graduating with majors in philosophy and theology, in 1983.

 

Before joining the Catholic Medical Association, Dr. Brehany served as Executive Director of Mission Services and Ethics for Mercy Medical Center, Sioux City, Iowa, where he was responsible for mission integration, ethics consultation and education, pastoral care, and the community benefit ministry program. Prior to that, Dr. Brehany taught courses in systematic and moral theology at Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Oregon, from 1992-1997. He has lectured at a number of other institutions of higher learning, including Saint Louis University Schools of Medicine and Public Health, Briar Cliff University School of Nursing, and the College of Pharmacy at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. Dr. Brehany has done a great deal of public speaking on issues ranging from assisted suicide to stem cell research.

Dr. Brehany and his wife Marybeth are the proud parents of seven children.

Rev. Kevin T. FitzGerald, S.J., Ph.D, Ph.D.

Georgetown University

Rev. Kevin T. FitzGerald, S.J., Ph.D.,is the Dr. David Lauler Chair in Catholic Health Care Ethics at Georgetown University and a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center. Prior to joining Georgetown University, Fr. FitzGerald was on the faculty of the Strich School of Medicine at Loyola University with dual appointments in the Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy and the Department of Medicine. His scholarship in bioethics has focused on the human genome project and the implications of genetic technologies. His scientific area of interest is the characterization and functional analysis of oncogenes.  He publishes on science and ethics in peer-reviewed journals, books, and in the popular press, and delivers presentations internationally.  He is often interviewed by the news media on topics such as human genetic engineering, cloning, stem cell research, and the Human Genome Project.

 

Fr. FitzGerald has served as an ethics consultant for the National Society of Genetic Counselors since 1992 and the March of Dimes Research Foundation since 2002. He is a member of the advisory committee to the AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion Program. He recently ended several years as a member of the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society, during which time he chaired the task force on the Pharmacogenomics report.  Fr. FitzGerald earned doctorates in molecular genetics and in bioethics from Georgetown University and a Master of Divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley.

Dr. Martha Marie Garza, M.D.

Dr. Martha M. Garza, M.D., has a private practice in gynecologic endocrinology, infertility, and obstetrics/gynecology. She also serves as a medical consultant for the Creighton Model of natural family planning. Dr. Garza speaks internationally on bioethical issues related to the beginning of life and has also served as Regional Director for the Catholic Medical Association.

 

Dr. Garza received the M.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Texas in 1982. She completed an OB/GYN Preceptorship in San Paolo, Brazil in 1984 and finished the OB/GYN Residency at University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 1988. She then went on to the Medical University of South Carolina for a Fellowship in Gynecolgocical Endocrinology and Infertility, which she completed in 1990.

 

Dr. Garza’s research interests include macroscopic tubal anomalies in patients with tubal ectopic pregnancy and setoli cell function along the seminiferous tubule.

Rev. John A. Leies, S.M., S.T.D.

President Emeritus, St. Mary’s University

Rev. John A. Leies, S.M., S.T.D., a Marianist priest, is past president, past academic vice-president, a tenured Professor of Theology, former Theology Department Chair, former Head of Campus Ministry, and President Emeritus of St. Mary’s University of San Antonio, an institute at which he has spent 34 continuous years. In addition, in the early 1960’s, he taught summer classes in graduate theology and was one of the founding faculty members of the Graduate Theology Program. He has been named as an Outstanding Faculty Member of the School of Arts and Social Sciences and also of the Graduate School.

 

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, he made his novitiate studies in Galesville, Wisconsin, and then completed college studies at the University of Dayton, Ohio.  He went on for seminary studies at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, where he was ordained and where he completed a Doctorate in Theology (S.T.D.). Fr. Leies has held many assignments at home and abroad for his religious community, the Society of Mary.

 

Fr. Leies has written and lectured in the area of medico-moral problems, has been an advisor to legal and ethical associations, is a Consultant for the National Catholic Bioethical Center (NCBC), and holds memberships in professional groups such as the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars.  He has been invited to attend the biennial Catholic Bishops’ Workshop on Bioethics for the past 20 years.

 

Fr. Leies has written more than 280 articles for Today's Catholic, the San Antonio archdiocesan weekly newspaper, in addition to articles for other publications.    He has edited two books for the NCBC:  Handbook of Critical Life Issues and Handbook of Critical Sexual Issues, college texts that have been used at St. Mary’s University and a number of other schools. For several years he co-hosted a weekly news show on Catholic Television of San Antonio (CTSA) and still continues to appear from time to time on programs for CTSA. 

Mr. Andrew Rivas, J.D.

Executive Director, Texas Catholic Conference

Andrew Rivas, J.D., is the Executive Director of the Texas Catholic Conference. As Executive director, he represents all of the Roman Catholic Bishops of Texas before the state’s governing bodies, including the legislature, the Texas delegation to the U.S. Congress, and the various state agencies. It is Andrew’s job to monitor issues of interest and concern to the Church, including those that affect the Church directly, and other issues relating to the Church’s teachings, such as protecting the sanctity of life at all stages of development, education, civil rights, and immigration reform.

 

Prior to his current position, Andrew spent five years as a policy advisor in the office of Social Development and World Peace at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Andrew advised the Bishops on federal legislation that affected Criminal Justice, Agriculture and the Environment issues. He worked on important federal legislation such as the 2002 Farm Bill, The Innocence Protection Act and the Agricultural Guest Worker legislation. As the policy advisor on criminal justice issues Andrew was part of the USCCB team that developed the Bishops’ campaign to end the use of the death penalty in the United States.

 

From 1999 until the end of 2001, Andrew served as an advocate on immigration, hunger and housing issues on behalf of Catholic Charities USA, the national social service arm of the Church. And, before taking that position Andrew was on staff at the United States Senate Commerce Committee, assigned to the Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs. While there Andrew assisted in oversight of the Federal Trade Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Consumer Products Safety Commission.

 

Andrew graduated from the Columbus School of Law in 1995 and received his B.A. from UCLA in 1992.