Rome, Italy, Jun 5, 2019 / 11:01 am
Cardinal Elio Sgreccia, a bioethicist and president emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life, died in his home in Rome Wednesday afternoon, one day before his 91st birthday.
Sgreccia had been hospitalized recently, but expressed the desire to return home, where, according to a statement from the Pontifical Academy for Life, "he died peacefully" June 5 at 12:15.
Called the father of Italian bioethics, in his retirement the cardinal was an honorary member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, which he led as vice-president from its foundation in 1994 until 2005, and as president from 2005 to 2008.
Sgreccia also served the Italian government as a member of the Italian National Bioethics Committee from 1990 to 2006.