On Monday, France became the first country in the world to enshrine the right to abortion in its basic law, a move that has been staunchly opposed by the French bishops and by the Vatican. “The Pontifical Academy for Life reiterates that precisely in the era of universal human rights, there cannot be a ‘right’ Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Pontifical Academy for Life’
Vatican on France’s abortion amendment: There cannot be a ‘right’ to take a human life
Thursday, March 7th, 2024Pontifical Life Academy archbishop criticised for euthanasia comments
Thursday, April 27th, 2023
The Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life has defended its president, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia (pictured with Pope Francis), against criticism for his recent remarks on euthanasia and assisted suicide. Speaking last week at the Perugia Journalism Festival on “The last journey (towards the end of life),” Paglia stated that the Catholic Church did not provide a Read more
Pope Francis asks Pontifical Academy for Life to study ethics of emerging technologies
Thursday, February 23rd, 2023Pope Francis told the Pontifical Academy for Life on Monday that it faces an enormous task in evaluating the ethics of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and human enhancement. The pope asked the academy on Feb. 20 to “ensure that scientific and technological growth is reconciled more and more with a parallel development Read more
Vatican theologian says contraception is open for “theological discussion, within the Church”
Thursday, August 25th, 2022
A prominent Vatican theologian says Catholic teaching on contraception is open for “theological discussion, within the Church, and even the possibility of dissent”. Father Maurizio Chiodi (pictured) made the comments in an interview conducted by Fabrizio Mastrofini, the communications and social media manager of the Pontifical Academy for Life. Chiodi, who has been a member Read more
Debate sparked over infallibility of ‘Humanae Vitae’
Monday, August 15th, 2022
The Vatican’s top body on life issues has caused a stir for suggesting that one of the church’s most influential and controversial magisterial documents, Humanae Vitae, is not covered by papal infallibility. Over the weekend, a tweet sent from the Pontifical Academy for Life’s official Twitter account suggested that St Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Read more
Speculation surrounds possible new bioetchics encyclical
Thursday, July 14th, 2022
There is speculation an encyclical focused on contraception, assisted procreation and palliative care from Pope Francis is imminent. The speculation comes from a late-2021 three-day seminar convened at the Vatican by the Pontifical Academy for Life. An essay titled “Rileggere l’etica teologica della vita” (“Re-reading the theological ethics of life”) was published on June 30 Read more
Vatican wants to move beyond a “black and white” morality
Monday, July 4th, 2022
The Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life is promoting the change of the Church’s “black and white” morality approach. Instead, it would like to see an approach where conscience and discernment go hand-in-hand with the moral norms laid down by the Church. The Academy’s reflections are influenced by infinitesimal changes to moral theology. As an example, Read more
Vatican champions elderly rights during the pandemic
Monday, February 15th, 2021
A new Vatican document warns against “lack of concern and sensitivity” towards the weak and elderly during the pandemic and its aftermath. The Pontifical Academy for Life, assisted by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, issued “Old Age: Our Future. The elderly after the pandemic” on February 9. It was signed by Archbishop Vincenzo Read more
Vatican archbishop would comfort during assisted suicide
Thursday, December 12th, 2019
A Vatican archbishop says he would “hold the hand” of someone dying from assisted suicide, even though he considers it wrong. Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia says he would offer this comfort because “no one is abandoned” by the Church. Paglia, who heads the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life, explained his views during the presentation of an Read more
Medical advances require greater wisdom, Pope says
Monday, November 20th, 2017
The intersection between medical advances and human mortality mean we now need “greater wisdom” in evaluating the good of the patient, Pope Francis says. He was speaking to the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life and European World Medical Association representatives who met last week to discuss “end of life” issues. “Greater wisdom is Read more