New president named for Pontifical Academy for Life
May 27, 2025
Pope Leo XIV has named Msgr. Renzo Pegararo to be president of the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAL), succeeding the controversial Archbishop Vincenzo Paglio, who is retiring at the age of 80.
Msgr. Pegararo has been the chancellor of the PAL since 2011. A priest of the Padua diocese, he is a trained physician and a specialist in bioethics.
Archbishop Paglia, appointed by Pope Francis in 2016, presided over a transformation of the PAL, shifting its focus away from issues such as abortion and euthanasia to concentrate instead on general issues of social justice.
Msgr. Pegoraro, the new PAL president, has also given rise to controversy, with public statements suggesting that legal acceptance of assisted suicide might be preferable to euthanasia and that contraception could be permissible “in the case of a conflict between the need to avoid pregnancy for medical reasons and the preservation of a couple’s sex life.”
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