Ethicist and theologian John "Jack" Glaser died Jan. 19 at age 79. He was a nationally recognized moral theologian and author who cofounded the Center for Healthcare Reform, to advocate for health care reform in the United States.
"Jack was a tremendous person and friend who left a profound footprint on the community of Catholic health care," said Sr. Suzanne Sassus, CSJ, chair of the St. Joseph Health Ministry, the public juridic person formed to sponsor St. Joseph Health System of Orange, Calif.
Sr. Sassus said, "Jack really helped us understand the fundamental nature of our ministry and expressed it in a way that inspires all of us."
She quoted Glaser as saying: "We seek to be a community that serves, that speaks, that celebrates and prays in such a way that others — regardless of their religious belief — encountering this community experience a revelation of life's deepest truths . . . about human dignity, community, success, power, growth, sacrifice, love, suffering, debility, and death. Experiencing a harmony between their heart's deepest resonances and this community's character, persons go from this encounter more healed, more whole, more able to live, to love, to hope, to die."
Glaser was a Jesuit for 20 years and was a private practice psychotherapist. He held graduate degrees in philosophy, English literature, psychology and theology.
He served in the Catholic health and education ministry for more than four decades, including as director of ethics for the Sisters of Mercy Health Corporation in Farmington Hills, Mich.; a vice president at Mount Carmel Mercy Hospital in Detroit; a professor of theology and religious studies at the University of Detroit and at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Ill.
In 1986, Glaser joined St. Joseph Health System. He was St. Joseph's senior vice president of theology and ethics before becoming director of the Center for Healthcare Reform, a center he cofounded with the late Sr. Nancy O'Connor, CSJ, of the St. Joseph Health System. In 2008, he was commissioned an inaugural member of the St. Joseph Health Ministry PJP.
Glaser authored three books and numerous articles on health care ethics, including in CHA's Health Progress. He was active on nearly a dozen CHA committees, most recently a health reform committee.
"Jack was a wonderful, authentic Catholic scholar who saw the big picture and was committed to working for social change — and he did this in a way that was accessible to people," said Ann Neale, a retired bioethicist who served in the Catholic health ministry.
Glaser was a colleague, collaborator, friend and mentor to many in the ministry. Ron Hamel, CHA senior director of ethics, said of Glaser: "He is one of the greats among Catholic health care ethicists, and his presence will be sorely missed. By his example, he has taught us ethicists something about what it means to be an ethicist.
"He was a tireless advocate for the marginalized — especially the uninsured — and he never hesitated to remind his colleagues to focus on what really matters," Hamel said. "In all of this, he was humble, transparent and respectful."