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James Walter

United States
Institution Loyola Marymount University
Position Austin & Ann O'Malley Professor Emeritus of Bioethics
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Email Address jwalter@lmu.edu
Prior Educational Background
  • B.A. (Philosophy): St. Meinrad College, 1969
  • B.A. (Religious Studies): Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, 1970
  • S.T.B. (Theology): Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, 1971
  • M.A. (Religious Studies): Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, 1971
  • Ph.B. (Philosophy): Hoger Instituut Voor Wijsbegeerte (Higher Institute of Philosophy), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, 1972
  • Ph.D. (Christian Ethics): Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, 1974
Research Interests
  • Bioethics/Medical Ethics
  • Fundamental Moral Theology
  • Philosophical Ethics
Past Events
  • Trent 2010
  • Padua 2006
Recent Publications
  • Conversion and Discipleship: A Christian Foundation for Ethics and Doctrine (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986), 229 pages. (Co-authored with Stephen Happel). Republished in the Fortress Press Ex Libris series, 2007.
  • Quality of Life: The New Medical Dilemma (New York: Paulist Press, 1990), 357 pages. (Co edited with Thomas A. Shannon & contributed 2 chapters and authored all the section introductions). Digitally converted and republished in 2010.
  • A Call to Fidelity: On the Moral Theology of Charles E. Curran (Georgetown University Press, 2002), 310 pages. (Co edited with Timothy E. O'Connell and Thomas A. Shannon) (Festschrift in honor of Charles E. Curran and contributed 1 chapter and the Foreword)
  • The New Genetic Medicine: Theological and Ethical Reflections (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2003), 185 pages. (Co-authored with Thomas A. Shannon)
  • Contemporary Issues in Bioethics: A Catholic Perspective. (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2005), 304 pages. (Co-authored with Thomas A. Shannon)
  • Artificial Nutrition & Hydration and the Permanently Unconscious Patient: The Catholic Debate (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2007). 272 pages. (Co-edited with Ronald P. Hamel and contributed 2 chapters.)
  • “Healthcare Reform in the United States: The Status Quaestionis of the Ethical Debate,” Louvain Studies 35(2011): 117-138.
  • “Healthcare Reform: Six Ethical Elephants in the Room,” Health Care Ethics USA 20(Winter 2012): 2-8.
  • “The Human Genome Project From the Perspective of the Roman Catholic Tradition,” (in Japanese) in Proceedings of the Symposium “The Intersections between Science, Ethics and Religion: A Dialog between Shin Buddhism and the Roman Catholic Tradition” (Ryukoku University, Kyoto, Japan: Center for the Humanities, Science and Religion, 2012): 1-10.
  • “Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research: A Catholic Christian Perspective,” (in Japanese) in Proceedings of the Symposium “The Intersections between Science, Ethics and Religion: A Dialog between Shin Buddhism and the Roman Catholic Tradition” (Ryukoku University, Kyoto, Japan: Center for the Humanities, Science and Religion, 2012): 11-19.
Professional Activities and Affiliations
  • The David H. Meid Visiting Mentor Scholar in Residence at Marymount College, Palos Verdes, CA, March 2004.
  • Visiting Scholar in Residence, Wake Forest University and Medical Center, Wake Forest, NC, November 2004.
  • Invited as a Scholar/Lecturer in the Erasmus Mundus Master’s of Bioethics Program at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. The Program is sponsored by the European Union, and three universities participate: Catholic University Leuven, Belgium; Radboud University, The Netherlands; and University of Padua, Italy. October 2014.