Mariana Mazzucato, an influential pro-abortion economist, has been appointed to the Pontifical Academy for Life for a term of five years after being nominated personally by Pope Francis. Robert P. George, a noted Catholic academic, has called Mazzucato’s appointment “shocking and scandalous”.
The Pontifical Academy for Life was created in 1994 for the “promotion and defence of life” according to “Christian morality and the directives of the Church’s Magisterium”.
But in a “shocking” move, this month, the Holy See has appointed Mariana Mazzucato, an economist who has previously voiced pro-abortion views, to the Pontifical Academy for Life. When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade earlier this year, Mazzucato praised an anti-Christian, pro-abortion tweet by commentator Ana Kasparian on Twitter.
Mazzucato also retweeted several other pro-abortion posts on Twitter, including one by Scottish First Minister Nicolo Sturgeon, who tweeted that the overturning of Roe v. Wade was “one of the darkest days for women’s rights in my lifetime”.
Mazzucato also reshared a tweet by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stating that abortion “saves lives”.
Although Pontifical academicians can be ejected for a “statement manifestly contrary to said principles, or seriously offensive to the dignity and credibility of the Catholic Church”, Pope Francis lifted the requirement for members of the Academy for Life to be pro-life in 2016.
A year later, Nigel Biggar, a pro-abortion theologian, was appointed to the academy.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “Mariana Mazzucato’s appointment is incomprehensible. It is profoundly concerning that an academy dedicated to the defence of life has appointed a person so avowedly anti-life. The Academy’s mission, ethics and reputation have been seriously undermined.
“At a time when pro-abortion rhetoric is becoming more extreme and often results in violence, including attacks on at least 69 Catholic churches in the United States in recent months following the repeal of Roe v. Wade, it is more important than ever before that the Catholic Church stands by its pro-life principles and not endorse the anti-life views of Mazzucato.”
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