Congratulations to Dr. J. Charles Davis


Dr. James Charles Davis

The Vatican has appointed Dr. J. Charles Davis of Jammu-Srinagar Diocese, Kashmir, India, as a Corresponding Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life from February 2019. Dr. J. Charles Davis has been teaching Biomedical Ethics, Social Ethics and Moral Theology and Philosophy at the Pontifical Athenaeum of Philosophy and Religion (Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth), Pune, India. He is an awardee of the Stiftung Sankt Georgen cum DAAD Promotion scholarship, the Postdoc Research Grant of the MWI Aachen and the prestigious Humboldt Research Fellowship of Germany. He submitted his habilitation thesis “Human Dignity in World Religions: Toward a Global Bioethics and Biolaw” on 21 March 2019 at the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg. By appointing Dr. Charles Davis to the Pontifical Academy for Life, the Vatican acknowledges his competence in the field of his research. It says, “Your appointment as an Academician honours this Institute and Your competence and availability will no doubt contribute to the mission of the Pontifical Academy for life in ‘scientific work of cultural research and academic education’ at the service of human life, requested of the Academy by the Holy Father.”

Dr. Charles Davis has published more than 60 research articles and presented talks in the field of bioethics and related subjects. His book "The Ethics of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Proposals for a Legal Framework for India" and his articles "Medical Ethics in India", "The Moral Status of the Preborn", "The Openness of Married Couple to Life", "Embryos: Humans or Biomaterials?", "Healing Ministry and Palliative Care", "Human Dignity: A Bridging Space for Dialogue", "The Era of Pope Francis: Break or Beginning?" "Civilization under Fire: The Burning Issues of Kashmir" are widely read. He has been instrumental and project coordinator for many pastoral and health projects in India including the reconstruction of the St. Joseph’s Hospital, Baramulla, Kashmir, co-financed by the German Doctors e.V. and the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany.

The MWI expresses hearty congratulations and wishes him all the best for his future ministry.