Medical ethicist John Brehany, Ph.D., will speak at the 12th annual meeting of the Atlanta Guild of the Catholic Medical Association on Saturday, Feb. 3, at Saint Joseph’s Hospital.

The meeting will begin with vigil Mass at 5:30 p.m. in the chapel, and then a catered banquet will be held in the hospital’s educational center.

Brehany, the new executive director of the Catholic Medical Association, will speak on “The Ethical Use of Vaccines.” He holds a doctorate in health care ethics from St. Louis University, a master’s degree in philosophy from the Center for Thomistic Studies, University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas, and a licentiate in marriage and family theology from the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C. He recently assisted the Catholic Medical Association (CMA), in conjunction with the National Catholic Bioethics Center and the Catholic Hospital Association, to develop a statement on the ethical use of vaccines. Even if physicians are not directly involved with vaccinations, his talk will educate the participants on the ethics used in decision-making.

Brehany is also making a site visit for the 76th annual educational conference of the CMA to be held for the first time in Atlanta Oct. 4 to 6. The conference is entitled “Theology of the Body—The Dignity of Woman” and will be held at the J.W. Marriott Hotel at Lenox. Speakers will include Atlanta Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory, Archbishop-emeritus John F. Donoghue, Bishop Robert Baker of Charleston, S.C., and Bishop Robert Vasa of Baker, Ore. Topics will include talks on Pope John Paul II’s series of Wednesday audiences entitled “Theology of the Body” and will interface with medical talks on women’s issues. The conference is dedicated to Pope John Paul II and Our Lady of the Rosary.

Dr. Kathleen Raviele of Tucker is president-elect of the Catholic Medical Association.

Registration for the Feb. 3 program is $50 per person, and the deadline is Jan. 29. To register, call (770) 491-0255 or (770) 491-0353, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is no registration at the door. For more information on the October program, visit www.cathmed.org.