(ZENIT News / Rome, 27.05.2025).- I thank Pope Leo XIV for appointing me as President of the Pontifical Academy for Life. The work carried out over these years with His Excellency Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia, and before that with His Excellency Monsignor Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, has been fascinating and stimulating, in line with the operational and thematic guidelines of the late Pope Francis.»
These are the words of Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro, former Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Life, appointed on May 27 by Pope Leo XIV as the new President of the institution beloved and founded by Saint John Paul II in 1994.
Regarding the future, Monsignor Pegoraro emphasizes the intention to «work in continuity with the themes and methodology of these years, enhancing the specific competencies of our broad and qualified group of international and interreligious academics.» I highlight particularly the topics of Global Bioethics, dialogue with scientific disciplines according to the transdisciplinary approach advocated by Pope Francis, artificial intelligence and biotechnology, and the promotion of respect for and the dignity of human life in all its phases. It will also be important to increasingly strengthen the work of all the staff at the Central Office, currently located in the Vatican complex of St. Callixtus.”
Rotation is standard practice in the Roman Curia upon reaching the age of 80. For the occasion, President Emeritus Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia received a letter from Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, stating that «at the conclusion of the service entrusted to you as President of the Pontifical Academy for Life and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute for the Sciences of Marriage and Family, the Holy Father expresses to Your Excellency his gratitude for having shared with him his concern for the entire Church. Therefore, moved by profound gratitude, the Roman Pontiff expresses his most fervent thanks for the service rendered.»
Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro (Padua, 1959) holds a degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Padua (1985). He was Ordained a priest for the diocese of Padua in 1989. He studied Philosophy and Theology in Padua and Rome, obtaining a Licentiate in Moral Theology and a Diploma in Advanced Bioethics. In 1993, he was appointed Professor of Bioethics at the Faculty of Theology of Northern Italy and Secretary General of the «Fondazione Lanza» (Center for Advanced Studies in Ethics, Bioethics and Environmental Ethics). Since 1998, he has been a member of the European Society for the Philosophy of Medicine and Health (ESPMH) and was its President from 2005 to 2007. Since 2000, he has been Professor of Nursing Ethics at the «Bambino Gesu» Children’s Hospital in Rome. He is a member of the European Association of Centers of Medical Ethics (EACME) and was its President from 2010 to 2013. He is also a member of the International Association for Ethics Education (IAEE). In 2011, he was appointed Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
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