CV NEWS FEED // Pope Leo XIV appointed the vicar general of Rome, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, as the new grand chancellor of the Pontifical “John Paul II” Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences, according to the Holy See Press Office.
Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the former grand chancellor, came under serious criticism for his support of a law depenalizing euthanasia in Italy, as CatholicVote previously reported.
Under Archbishop Paglia’s leadership, the Pontifical Academy “betray[ed] the intention of the saint and scholar who founded it,” according to Pope John Paul II’s biographer George Weigel.
The new grand chancellor, Cardinal Reina, has shown his support for the sanctity of life through his investigation into the holy life of Servant of God Chiara Corbella Petrillo, an Italian mother of three who sacrificed her life for her baby, according to the College of Cardinals Report.
As CatholicVote previously reported, Petrillo refused abortions for her first two babies, both of whom were seriously disabled. Tragically, each child died within an hour of birth, but Petrillo and her husband welcomed them with joy and ensured they were baptized soon after birth.
Petrillo’s third child, Francesco, was a healthy baby, but Petrillo was diagnosed with cancer during her pregnancy with him. She refused treatment until after his birth, and succumbed to the cancer a year later. Francesco is now a healthy teenager.
“We commit ourselves to imitating Chiara, because we are all called to holiness in our daily lives, in difficulties, in problems, in illnesses,” Cardinal Reina said at the closing session of the diocesan inquiry into Petrillo’s life, virtues, and reputation for sanctity. “Chiara teaches us, together with an infinite host of men and women, that holiness is a possible path. It is the only path that makes us happy.”
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