New York archdiocese: “Covid-19 vaccines are morally acceptable” upsetting Colorado argument

“Catholic bishops must not turn vaccines into a culture war issue”

… bishops are not permitted to give “religious exemption”

Catholic bishops in America are continually ignoring the teachings of Jesus Christ and of the church itself in a number of areas. 

For instance, let us go back to the book of Matthew and determine why some bishops are saying that vaccines should be avoided by Catholics,

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Matthew: 22: 37-39

The Catholic bishops are okay with the first part about loving “the Lord your God.” That is the essence of Christianity. It is the second part that is problematic for them. They have exhibited behavior that shows that they do not love their neighbor — which is defined as everyone in this world. 

We do not have to like everyone, but we have to love them. Sounds like an oxymoron, but Jesus often spoke that way. 

Colorado bishops 

In the state of Colorado, many Catholics are outraged that the four bishops in that state issued a letter that insisted that the vaccines may be “morally unacceptable” in certain situations. 

These are the same people who hate homosexuals who were created in the image of God because they were born with that sexual orientation. Yes, I used the word “hate” because the bishops who engage in culture wars instead of passing on Jesus’ love to others are in my mind, reprehensible. 

So, what is their argument against taking the vaccine that can save people from death and serious illness from Covid? Religious freedom.

Religious freedom justifies not taking the vaccine?

The four bishops stated that a religious exemption announced by the city of Denver as part of its vaccine mandate “is appropriate under the laws protecting freedom of religion.”

“We understand that some individuals have well-founded convictions that lead them to discern they should not get vaccinated,” the prelates said. “We are pleased to see that in the case of the most recent Denver vaccine mandate there is accommodation for sincerely held religious beliefs.”

“We always remain vigilant when any bureaucracy seeks to impose uniform and sweeping requirements on a group of people in areas of personal conscience,” they said. “Throughout history, human rights violations and a loss of respect for each person’s God-given dignity often begin with government mandates that fail to respect the freedom of conscience.

“In the case of the COVID-19 vaccine, we are convicted that the government should not impose medical interventions on an individual or group of persons. We urge respect for each person’s convictions and personal choices.”

“Colorado bishops oppose vaccine mandates and welcome Denver’s 

religious exemption,” Catholic News Service, August 10, 2021

“Incomplete reading of the Catholic moral tradition”

The unfortunate part of this is that it feeds the insane idea that people should not take the vaccine despite the fact that they may infect others and continue a pandemic in the process. 

In fact, this is a misreading of the foundations of the Catholic Church’s teachings, according to one Jesuit priest,

 I wrote about the controversy then, arguing that the objections to the vaccines were “more focused on abortion as a front in the culture war than they are on the common good during the pandemic.”

It is dispiriting to see how much of that piece from back in March still works today as an analysis of the statement from the Colorado bishops. The main difference is that the Colorado statement, rather than trying to establish a moral ranking among the vaccines, instead aims to build a Catholic “safe space” for vaccine skepticism and refusal. 

Unfortunately, that space is based on an incomplete reading of the Catholic moral tradition regarding an informed conscience and a lack of engagement with the Catholic moral tradition on the common good.

The Colorado statement and template letter will likely contribute to vaccine misinformation among Catholics, as Matthew Schneider, L.C., has pointed out, through misleading language and selective quotations from Vatican guidance that suggest the vaccines’ very remote connections to abortion are a greater cause for concern than the church actually says they are. (Father Schneider also points out that the Colorado bishops’ statement fails to distinguish between a universal mandate for vaccination and more particularized mandates, such as for an organization’s employees or for workers who will have extensive contact with the public, including vulnerable individuals in health care settings.)

But even if the statement were more careful to protect against contributing to vaccine misinformation, it would still end up misleading Catholics by its selective emphasis on Catholic moral teaching. Put simply, while it is the teaching of the church that individuals must generally be free to accept or reject medical interventions according to their consciences, a properly formed and informed Catholic conscience would not generally reject these vaccines. 

Sam Sawyer, S.J., “Catholic bishops must not turn vaccines into a 

culture war issue,” America Magazine, August 11, 2021

Pope Francis, Dolan, agree that vaccines are morally acceptable

One of the most conservative of America bishops issued a directive in New York that indicated that pastors should not allow Catholics to use the religious exemption excuse to avoid taking the vaccine,

“Pope Francis has made it very clear that it is morally acceptable to take any of the vaccines and said we have the moral responsibility to get vaccinated,” reads a July 30 memo that the Archdiocese of New York confirms that it sent to its priests. (The confirmation came after a correspondent for The Epoch Times shared an image of the memo on Twitter over the past weekend.) “[New York] Cardinal [Timothy] Dolan has said the same.”

“There is no basis for a priest to issue a religious exemption to the vaccine,” it continues. “By doing so he is acting in contradiction to the directives of the Pope and is participating in an act that could have serious consequences to others.”

Michael J. O’Loughlin, “Do not give religious exemptions for Covid vaccines, New York archdiocese tells its priests,” America Magazine, August 3, 2021

Thus, there is not reason for Catholics to avoid taking the vaccine, though there is not evidence that they are following anything the bishops say any more. 

Catholic ethicists agree on morality of vaccines

While the number of bishops is still small, they are developing a following among anti-vaxxers in the U.S.,

Earlier this year, a handful of Catholic bishops cast doubt on the morality of the vaccines by citing their remote connection to cell lines derived from aborted fetuses. But Catholic ethicists, both at the Vatican and in the United States, said church teaching was clear when it came to the vaccines, with some going so far as to say Catholics had a moral obligation to be vaccinated.

Even the head of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, stated in March that the vaccines are “morally acceptable to use.”

Michael J. O’Loughlin, America Magazine, August 3, 2021

The Colorado bishops did not explicitly disagree with the use of the vaccines, but they are focusing on a remote argument that maybe some tissue from aborted fetuses may have been used to develop the vaccine, something that is coming from right-wingers opposed to the vaccines. 

However, they have clearly muddied the waters by using some remote argument that is not very convincing according to Catholic dogma.