After more than three decades, the Pontifical Academy for Life continues its mission to promote human dignity from the beginning of oneʼs life to its end.
In 1994 Pope John Paul II established the Pontifical Academy for Life, which works with institutions of higher education, scientific societies, and research centers that deal with life-related issues.
Today, the academy is at the forefront of discussions about artificial intelligence, end-of-life care, and public bioethics.
In March, Pope Leo XIV promulgated new statutes for the Pontifical Academy for Life, recalling that its objective is “the defense and promotion of the value of human life and the dignity of the person.”
The academyʼs mandate is to have a center of studies to “research about the new challenges” and “the new problems concerning human life,” Archbishop Renzo Pegoraro, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said in an interview with “EWTN Pro-life Weekly.”
There is an “important … interdisciplinary dialogue involving biologists, doctors, but also philosophers, theologians, lawyers — all people that could help to analyze the new questions, the new problems, sometimes very urgent and very complicated issues,” he said.
The Pontifical Academy for Life is composed of a presidency, a central office, members, also called academicians, and supporters. Pegoraro has been serving as the president for nearly a year, following his appointment by Pope Leo XIV on May 27, 2025.
Prior, Pegoraro was the chancellor of the academy. He is also a bioethicist who earned a medical degree before entering the seminary.
Pegoraro and the team work to tackle issues that often stem from “the development of medicine” and “the development of science or biology.”
They find ways “to define the ethical responsibilities to protect human life and to promote human life with the respect of the dignity of all human beings — from the beginning of life to the end of life,” Pegoraro said.
Changes and advances at the academy
Prior to 2016, those who wanted to work at the academy had to sign a declaration stating that they were pro-life. Since 2016 they no longer need to sign a statement, but the people who work for the academy still need to conform to Church teachings on matters of human dignity.
“We realized the last 10 years, to have members that are not Catholic,” Pegoraro said.
The academy has a “presence of members coming from other religions,” including two Jewish members, one Muslim member, and two Greek Orthodox members, Pegoraro said.
“But they confirm to agree with the basic values concerning human life, and they agree with the teaching of the Catholic Church about these topics,” he said.
Pegoraro addressed some of the specific projects at the academy including one, “neuroscience.“ It addresses the “problems [and] risk of enhancement or manipulation of the human being,” he said.
There is “an interesting project about … neonatal care,” Pegoraro said. It focuses on “before the delivery and immediately after the delivery — particularly for premature children.” It addresses “how to guarantee good care of the baby” and “good care for the mother,” he said.
“There is also an interesting working group now about ethics and disability,” he said.
In the changing times, the academy works to address updated technologies with some of its other projects on artificial intelligence and robots.
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