Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro is facing scrutiny after Pope Leo XIV appointed him as the leader of the church group Pontifical Academy for Life.
Newsweek has contacted the Holy See for comment by email.
Why It Matters
Leo, a Chicago native, was chosen as the new leader of the Catholic Church on May 8 after a two-day conclave. Like his predecessor, Pope Francis, who died on April 21, he has expressed concerns about the plight of the poor and immigrants.
As Leo’s views on various issues come into sharper relief, Pegoraro’s appointment may help shed some light on the new pope’s plans for the Catholic Church.
AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia
What To Know
Pegoraro is a medicine and surgery graduate who, since 2011, has been the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Life, a church society founded in 1994 that is dedicated to “the defense and promotion of the value of human life and of the dignity of the person,” according to its statutes.
On Tuesday, Leo appointed him president of the group after Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia announced his resignation from the role.
Since 2016, the group has been accused of drifting from its original mission and showing views sympathetic to Francis.
In 2022, Pegoraro told The Wall Street Journal that contraception might be acceptable “in the case of a conflict between the need to avoid pregnancy for medical reasons and the preservation of a couple’s sex life.”
That same year, he also told French publication La Croix that while assisted suicide and euthanasia do not represent “the Catholic position,” of the two options, “assisted suicide is the one that most restricts abuses” because of checks and balances put in place for those seeking it.
At the time, his comments led to backlash from other members of the Catholic Church.
What People Are Saying
Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro said in a May 27 statement that he wanted to “work in continuity with the themes and methodology of recent years, making the most of the specific competences of our large and qualified international and interreligious group of academicians.”
He added, “I would like to highlight in particular the issues of global bioethics, dialogue with the scientific disciplines according to the transdisciplinary approach indicated by Pope Francis, artificial intelligence and biotechnology, and the promotion of respect and dignity for human life in all its stages.”
Dr. Thomas Ward, the founder of the U.K.’s National Association of Catholic Families told the National Catholic Register that he didn’t recall Pegoraro “disassociating himself from any of the egregious positions and comments of Archbishop Paglia.”
He added: “Millions of Catholic parents throughout the world, whose children are threatened by the lies of the Culture of Death, urgently need to hear the unequivocal defense of Catholic truth on human sexuality and life.”
Catholic writer Chris Jackson wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the academy was “now openly run by those who oppose its very name.”
Nick Donnelly, an English Deacon and commentator said Pegoraro’s positions on assisted suicide and contraception were “hard to square” with the founding document of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
Some positions taken by the new President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro:
Support for assisted suicide, as the lesser to two evils, to avoid euthanasia (2022)https://t.co/AfzJf4Pfgp
Support for married couples using contraception to avoid… pic.twitter.com/vSp5bPzCCM
— Nick Donnelly (@ProtecttheFaith) May 27, 2025
What Happens Next
Leo is expected to make more appointments in the weeks and months to come. These appointments may prove useful in clarifying his direction for the Catholic Church.