One NCBC board member told CNA that Cardinal Cupich’s pressure has created internal tension in the Church, and that some bishops in the US can soon be expected directly to contradict recent statements from the bishops in Colorado and South Dakota supporting religious or conscience exemptions from coronavirus vaccine mandates. bishops have issued varied statements on whether there is an obligation to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. In a television interview in January, Pope Francis said, “I believe that, ethically, everyone has to get the vaccine.” The matter of conscientious objections to Covid vaccine requirements is quickly emerging as a source of intensifying conflict among Catholic leaders and institutions, particularly so in the United States where pressure is mounting against those who have not been vaccinated. “Those who, however, for reasons of conscience, refuse vaccines produced with cell lines from aborted fetuses, must do their utmost to avoid, by other prophylactic means and appropriate behavior, becoming vehicles for the transmission of the infectious agent,” the congregation wrote. It said that the morality of vaccination depends on both the duty to pursue the common good and the duty to protect one’s own health, and that “in the absence of other means to stop or even prevent the epidemic, the common good may recommend vaccination.” In a December 2020 note, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated that “vaccination is not, as a rule, a moral obligation” and “therefore, it must be voluntary.” The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has stated that the use of the vaccines with connections to the questionable cell lines is “morally acceptable,” but that Catholics should seek “ethically irreproachable Covid-19 vaccines” when available. Those not receiving vaccines should do “everything in their power to make sure that they’re keeping others safe,” he added. “It’s more like a permission,” he said, “it’s a reluctant permission.”Ī conscience exemption should not function like a “‘get out of jail free’ card,” Meaney cautioned, noting the responsibility of Catholics to form their consciences and make well-founded judgements. “To a certain extent, people have taken the statements that have come out … to be kind of an endorsement,” he said. Trump romps in Iowa, a traditional stronghold for social conservatives Read article The center’s statement highlighted that the Church has consistently pointed out the ethical problems with vaccines produced and/or tested using abortion-derived cell lines, and that mandates exert severe pressure that can undermine the best ethical decision-making. The NCBC wrote in a July 2 statement that it “does not endorse mandated COVID-19 immunization” with any of the three approved vaccines, citing a December 2020 note from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which says, in part, that “practical reason makes evident that vaccination is not, as a rule, a moral obligation and that, therefore, it must be voluntary.” Located in Philadelphia, the NCBC is a bioethics think tank, the mission of which is “to provide education, guidance, and resources to the Church and society to uphold the dignity of the human person in health care and biomedical research.” Its board of directors, chaired by Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans, includes bishops, a deacon, and lay persons. One of the board members said that Cardinal Cupich has been applying "a tremendous pressure" on the NCBC to retract its support for conscience or religious exemptions from coronavirus vaccine mandates, and to argue in favor of such mandates.ĬNA understands that the center sees no reason to retract its guidance, and that its episcopal board members have expressed that it is not problematic. There are legal precedents in which the state has mandated vaccines in extreme circumstances, but the conscience of religious people should be respected.” One of the board members told CNA, “I think everyone should be vaccinated, and Catholics should be the first to give a good example.
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