Monczak Family Endows Chair in Bioethics at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv

By Petro Didula

Increasingly, modern medicine is confronted with ethical questions. The life of the patient often hinges on decisions made by doctors. With the development of knowledge and medical technology, the possibilities for doctors to interfere in a person’s physical state has repercussions in a person’s spiritual being as well. Today, the life of a person who might otherwise die can be extended. Death will come only when life-support equipment is removed. How long should a person’s life be preserved? Can the withdrawal of life-support be treated as intentional killing (euthanasia)?

These kinds of question require both theoretical understanding and special consideration  on a case-by-case basis. Many hospitals in Canada, the U.S., and Western Europe have special committees on bioethics which consider these problems. Generally, these committees are made up of individuals who have a deep understanding of the essence of humanity and a respect for human dignity and rights. The task of these committee members is to resolve the most complicated ethical questions that arise in medical practice. In Ukraine, unfortunately, in the majority of cases, what prevails is fear for the suffering of the patient and the greed of medical workers, lawyers, and officials.

The initiative of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) to open a Department of Bioethics in its Faculty of Philosophy and Theology is a response to the ever-growing need of modern Ukrainian society. “We want to provide fundamental knowledge in the field of bioethics and a quality moral and ethical education for doctors, scholars, philosophers, lawyers, as well as chaplains and medical workers in hospitals who might become members of bioethical committees at their medical institutions”, explains Fr. Ihor Boyko, Ph.D., Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Theology. “The general goal is to humanize medicine and formulate a social viewpoint among the population of Ukraine regarding questions like the dignity of human life, respect for individuals, organ transplants, the use of reproductive technologies, euthanasia, surrogate motherhood, the use of stem cells, and so on.”

UCU’s initiative received the support of Dr. Yury Monczak, Assistant Professor of Genetics at the Medical Faculty of McGill University in Montreal, one of the top twenty universities in the world, the Director of the Laboratory of Molecular Pathology at the Jewish General Hospital (a McGill University teaching hospital), as well as a lecturer at the University of Montreal. Together with his parents, Myron and Bohdana Monczak, he has become the founder of the Chair in Bioethics at UCU.

“UCU convinced me to foster my Ukrainian roots…”

“I became interested in the Department of Bioethics for professional reasons,” explained Dr. Monczak. “I am a witness of how quickly scholarly thought is going forward, and how a moral understanding of things is being left far behind. Research projects have given me pause to consider many ethical questions, for instance, regarding research on the use of human embryonic cells. Do we have the right to use embryonic cells for these purposes? I didn’t always have concrete answer to these questions. And here at UCU, a Department of Bioethics has appeared which will develop a Christian position on this matter, and will also address the issues of abortion, in-vitro fertilization, and so on. Knowledge gives us many options, but what are the moral criteria for their use? Consequently, when I heard about Fr. Ihor Boyko’s work, I decided at once to respond to this colossal need.”

A certificate program in bioethics commenced in October 2009, which is intended for medical and service personnel of medical institutions, religious, volunteers, and priests who work or plan to work as hospital chaplains. “Chaplains should know how to approach a patient who, let’s say, suffers from a terminal illness, or how to help a person whose family member has died. The training of such priests at the Department of Bioethics will help them in their pastoral work,” explained Rev. Dr. Ihor Boyko.

 “I have a special sentiment for the Ukrainian Catholic University,” said Dr. Monczak. “In his time my grandfather studied at the Theological Academy in Lviv [the precursor of UCU]. He talked about that period with great enthusiasm, in particular about [its founder] Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky. UCU, which Patriarch Josyf Slipyj founded in Rome, is connected with the life of my late uncle, Rev. Ihor Monczak. He studied in Rome and was one of Patriarch Josyf’s assistants. My uncle was authorized to open a UCU branch in Montreal and I attended some classes there. The idea of the university was already alive in the hearts of our great-grandfathers, priests from Halychyna [Western Ukraine].” This is why the Monczak Family established an endowment administered by the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation in Canada for UCU’s Department of Bioethics in memory of two grandfathers and two grandmothers – the Mykhailo Monczak, Rev. Ivan Hawryluk, Daria Kohutiak and Sofia Kokotska Memorial Fund.

“I admit that at first I was skeptical about UCU. But as soon as I came here to Lviv, and saw how this idea has developed, and spoke with my good friend the Rector, Fr. Borys Gudziak, I became a huge supporter of this university, because I was simply so taken by its dynamic development,” continued Dr. Yury Monczak.

Having become well acquainted with UCU’s work, he became convinced of its potential as a university of the highest world standards. “I lecture in French at the University of Montreal and in English at McGill University. I am well acquainted with the highest world standards of university education. I see the potential in UCU of achieving these standards and this is very important to me. This gives me a concrete reason to hold on to my Ukrainian roots. I was born in Montreal. I go to my mother and father’s on Christmas Eve,  place cloves of garlic and hay under the table cloth, a silver coin, a loaf of bread, candles… and it’s all well and good, but that’s not the essence of being Ukrainian. I needed a concrete reason to foster my Ukrainian roots. The Ukrainian Catholic University has given me that reason: here they nurture young people, future priests, and in time I expect, future engineers, doctors, and journalists. This is why I am proud to be a Ukrainian.”

 “In our time,” stated Fr. Boyko “it is exceptionally important to have people who can help realize projects of extreme importance for modern Ukraine and the world, for without appropriate resources it is difficult to even consider their success and quality. We have a sufficient number of specialists who completed their licentiate and doctoral work in various universities abroad. I personally want to thank the Monczak Family, who joyfully responded to the idea of creating a Department of Bioethics at UCU. I understand that a great responsibility lies on those persons who will carry it out, but I believe that, by working persistently and with devotion, great results can be achieved.”

For further information, contact the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation (UCEF), which supports various projects at UCU. The address of the UCEF in Canada: 236 Bering Ave. Toronto, ON  M8Z 3A5; tel.: 416-239-2495; ucef@ucef.ca; web site: www.ucef.ca. UCEF is registered as a charitable organization in Canada (# 82224 5098 RR0001). UCU’s web site: www.ucu.edu.ua