Le Moyne College Calendar

Members of the Catholic Church and indeed all those who adhere to a religious tradition have the right to defend their faith. Our ability to do so increasingly is being threatened by not only political policies, but also the enshrinement of such policies into legal mandates restricting First Amendment rights.

Dr. Marie Hilliard will explore the tensions between religious freedom and conscience rights, as well as escalating public policies that threaten such freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

Dr. Hilliard holds graduate degrees in maternal-child health nursing, religious studies, canon law and professional higher education administration, and is a former tenured division chair in Catholic higher education. She is a registered nurse who has been substantially involved in health care regulation at the state and national levels for 12 years, including as former executive officer of the Connecticut Board of Examiners for Nursing and area IV director of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

In addition, Dr. Hilliard is a canon lawyer and serves as a resource for the United States bishops on the implementation of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services as well as church-state relations. Dr. Hilliard is a retired colonel in the United States Army Reserve, where she served as a registered nurse for more than 20 years. She served as the acting deputy brigade commander of the 5th Brigade, 98th Training Division, responsible for all U.S. Army Reserve medical training for the Northeastern United States. Dr. Hilliard has served as an advisor to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on its task force on Catholic bishops and Catholic politicians. She has been a guest at the White House at the invitation of President Clinton and has consulted with President Bush on faith and community based initiatives. .

Free and open to the public. This event is sponsored by the Order of Malta and the Sanzone Center for Catholic Studies and Theological Reflection at Le Moyne College. For more information, call (315) 445-4120.