Governing Council
André A Morin, Canadian Association of the Order of Malta – IACB President
André Morin is the Chief Federal Prosecutor, Quebec Region, for the Public Prosecution’s Service of Canada. Mr. Morin’s professional background includes teaching criminal law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Montreal. He was Advocatus emeritus by the Québec Bar for his contribution to the law and the profession.
He is a member of the Canadian Bar Association.
In addition to a law degree, M. Morin has a Masters in Law from the University of Montreal and as well as doctorate in law from the Université de Poitiers in France.
He has given numerous presentations at conferences throughout the world. He has served with the Order internationally on governance reforms of the Order of Malta.
His volunteer work is extensive.
He became a member of the Canadian Association of the Order of Malta in 1994. He volunteered with many positions in the Order and was elected to its presidency for two terms starting in 2011 and ending in 2017. He was elected president of the International Association of Catholic Bioethics in 2016 in Lourdes
Luc Bigras, M.Sc., CPA, CGA, Canadian Association of the Order of Malta – IACB Treasurer
Luc Bigras is a senior finance and accounting professional with over twenty-five years of extensive strategic business experience, helping organizations drive innovative and sustainable solutions to business challenges.
He builds and manages collaborative teams, to meet strategic corporate goals. He specializes in M&A, restructuring and business transformation, capital raising, international and local tax planning, contract negotiations and legal and accounting regulatory requirements.
He is a Member of the Canadian Association of the Order of Malta.
Member of the Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés (CPA, CGA).
Honorary Consul of the Republic of Malta.
Didier de Broucker, French Association of the Order of Malta, Director
Professor Dr Didier de Broucker is honorary Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Medecine of the Catholic University of Lille. An internist by training, he developped paliative care activities and he organized home support networks. He is at the origin of a French interuniversity diploma in palliative care and support, and he has involved himself in the ethical dimension of medical practice.
He is a member of the French Association of the Order of Malta.
He is a Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour.
Frank J. Crothers, Canadian Association of the Order of Malta, Director
H. E. Hon Frank J. Crothers, Ambassador to The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
Mr. Crothers serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Island Corporate Holdings Ltd.
John Haas, American Association of the Order of Malta, Director
The Hon. Dr Noël Augustus Kinsella, PC, KStJ, Canadian Association of the Order of Malta, Director
The Hon. Noël Kinsella, studied at Ireland’s University College Dublin, and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas Angelicum in Rome from which he earned a Ph.L. and then a Ph.D. in 1965 with a dissertation entitled Toward a theory of personality development : a study of the works of Erik H. Erikson. He also further studied at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. His thesis was entitled, “The Moral Orientation of the Mentally Retarded”. He was a Professor for 41 years at St. Thomas University and is currently a member of its Board of Governors. He also served as Chair of the Atlantic Human Rights Centre.
Senator Kinsella was appointed to the Senate of Canada in September 1990 as a representative for New Brunswick.
Kinsella was Opposition Whip (1994–1999) and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (1999 – 2004) when he became Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. In 2006, he was named Speaker of the Senate by the Governor General on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He retired from the Senate in 2014.
His legal interests and research include work on the rights of people with disabilities.
He is a very active member of the Canadian Association of the Order of Malta and until recently, was the Chancellor.
Christoph von Ritter, German Association of the Order of Malta
Prof. Dr. Christoph von Ritter has received his MD at the Université de Lausanne, Switzerland and his PhD at the LSU Medical Center Shreveport, USA. He teaches Gastroenterology and Endocrinology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany and is head of Internal Medicine at the RoMed Klinik Prien, Germany. He is a fellow of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGAF) and member of a number of national and international societies in the field of Gastroenterology and Bioethics.
He is a Member of the German Association of the Order of Malta.
William Saunders, Federal Association of the Order of Malta (USA)
Ursula Sottong MD PhD MPH MSc, German Association of the Order of Malta, Director
Working for Malteser Germany/Deutschland. Head of the Department/Health Promotion and Prevention of Diseases. Head of the Department/Malteser Competence Center on Dementia
Dr. William F. Sullivan, MD, CCFP (COE), FCFP, PhD, Canadian Association of the Order of Malta, Director
Dr. Sullivan is a family physician and bioethicist. He has a certificate of added competency in care of the elderly and is a Fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. He teaches at St. Michael’s Hospital and is an Associate Professor of the University of Toronto. Dr. Sullivan’s medical research is primarily through the Developmental Disabilities Primary Care Program of which he is the founding director.
Dr. Sullivan also has a PhD in philosophy at the University of Toronto. He has coordinated and co-taught ethics seminars for family medicine residents at St. Michael’s Hospital. He is currently chair of the Committee on Ethics of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. As chair, he led the development of the CFPC’s Teaching Ethics in Family Medicine: A Faculty Handbook(2013) and A Guide for Reflection on Ethical Issues Concerning Assisted Suicide and Voluntary Euthanasia(2015). He is also a member of the Ethics Committees of the Canadian Medical Association and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Dr. Sullivan was the founding director of the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute and is the founding director of the International Association of Catholic Bioethics. In 2007, Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI appointed Dr. Sullivan to the Pontifical Academy for Life as a life-long Ordinary Member.
He is a Member of the Canadian Association of the Order of Malta
Dr. Ian W. Marshall, Australian Association of the Order of Malta, Director
Dr. Marshall is a recently retired medical practitioner, general practice and family medicine, with a special interest in palliative care, both organisational and practical.
He served as the President of the Australian Association, and previously the Australian Hospitaller for some five years and prior to that Queensland Chairman for fifteen years.
He is a strong supporter of Australia’s continuing involvement in both the Australian and International Associations of Catholic Bioethics.
Dr Neil Weir MD MA FRCS, British Association of the Order of Malta, Director
Neil Weir has spent his professional life as an ENT surgeon specialising in otology. In 2005 he gained an MA in Bioethics from the University of Surrey having studied at St Mary’s Twickenham. His interest in bioethics and in particular ‘end of life issues’ has been important he manages 72 care homes in four counties of England. He has sat on the ethics committee of the British Association of the Sovereign Order of Malta and the governing council of the International Association of Catholic Bioethicists.
Bernadette Tobin, Australian Association of the Order of Malta, Director
Bernadette Tobin PhD is Reader in Philosophy at Australian Catholic University and Director of the Plunkett Centre for Ethics at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.
She is Honorary Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of New South Wales. She is a member of the Clinical Staff of St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney.
She is Honorary Ethicist at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. From 2010 until 2016, she was Honorary Associate Professor in the Sydney Medical School’s Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health.
In 2014 Bernadette was appointed a member of the Pontificia Accademia per la Vita in Rome.
In 2016 Bernadette was named an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia.
In 2017 she was appointed a Dame Grand Cross in the Order of St Gregory the Great.
She is a member of the Australian Association of the Order of Malta.
International Association of Catholic Bioethics
1247 Kilborn Place, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 6K9, Phone: (613) 731-8897