Irving, TX (March 2, 2022) — Joseph Meaney, Ph.D., BA ’93, president of the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), will be the commencement speaker for the University of Dallas’ 63rd Commencement on May 15 at the Irving Convention Center.

“Dr. Joseph Meaney is a leading voice in our culture today, advocating for the sanctity of life and providing clarity about the Catholic Church’s moral teachings related to medical research, health care and more,” said University of Dallas President Jonathan J. Sanford, Ph.D. “We are proud to count him as an alumnus, and I know our graduates will benefit greatly from his insights on the many pressing issues concerning the dignity of human life challenging our society today.”

“I am so grateful for my intellectual and moral education at UD. The formation and friendships from those undergraduate years have continued to be a real treasure for me,” said Meaney, who graduated magna cum laude from the University of Dallas with a B.A. in history and a concentration in international studies.

After the University of Dallas, Meaney earned his master’s in Latin American studies, focusing on health care in Guatemala, from the University of Texas at Austin. He went on to receive his doctorate in bioethics from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome. His doctoral program was founded by the late Cardinal Elio Sgreccia and linked to the Gemelli medical school and teaching hospital. His dissertation topic was “Conscience and Health Care: A Bioethical Analysis.” 

The Benedict XVI Catholic University in Trujillo, Peru, awarded Meaney an honorary visiting professorship. He is also president of the International Federation of Centers and Institutes of Bioethics of Personalist Inspiration (FIBIP). 

Meaney was director of international outreach and expansion for Human Life International (HLI) and is a leading expert on the international pro-life and family movement, having traveled to 81 countries on pro-life missions. He founded the Rome office of HLI in 1998 and lived in Rome for nine years, where he collaborated closely with dicasteries of the Holy See, particularly the Pontifical Council for the Family and the Pontifical Academy for Life. He is a dual U.S. and French citizen and is fluent in French, Spanish, Italian and English. 

Meaney was general editor of the English edition of the Pontifical Council for the Family’s Lexicon: Ambiguous and Debatable Terms Regarding Family, Life, and Ethical Questions and has published in a number of scholarly journals. He has also written many popular articles and has been interviewed by newspapers, radio and television in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe. His popular articles have appeared in the National Catholic Register, Crux, Inside Catholic, Crisis Magazine, Inside the Vatican and many other publications.

Meaney, his wife, Marie, and their daughter moved from Paris to Pennsylvania when he took on the presidency of the NCBC in 2019. The NCBC is celebrating 50 years of service to the bishops and Catholic health care in 2022. Meaney is a Knight of Malta and actively involved in the Knights of Columbus.