![]() ![]() “The Catholic Church teaches that some persons may have conscientious objections to the taking of the COVID vaccines, and that these conscientious convictions ought to be respected,” Bishop Paprocki added. While we encourage vaccination, we cannot and will not force vaccination as a condition of employment or the freedom of the faithful to worship in our parishes.” Therefore, vaccine participation must be voluntary and cannot be forced, as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under the authority of Pope Francis, indicated last December. “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.īishop Thomas Paprock of Springfield in Illinois recently wrote that “while the Church promotes vaccination as morally acceptable and urges cooperation with public health authorities in promoting the common good, there are matters of personal health and moral conscience involved in vaccines that must be respected. However, he directed his clerics to provide accompanying letters that support individuals' own requests for religious or conscientious exemption. Their own letter or the completion of an organization's form applying for exemption,” he noted. “Such a conscience right’s request for exemption must come from the individual themselves by way of The bishop said that “on the basis of conscience, it is not possible for anyone to act or speak on behalf of another person seeking an exemption.” “Many organizations and institutions are beginning to require the vaccine, and so in understanding conscience rights objections, we as leaders of our congregations, may be asked to assist Catholics in our parishes to pursue an exemption,” Bishop Byrne wrote. ![]() He cited documents from the US bishops' conference, the National Catholic Bioethics Center, and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which indicate that the vaccines may be taken, but that their reception is not a moral obligation and must therefore be voluntary. The bishop wrote his letter to assist his clerics who are receiving requests from parishioners seeking “religious exemption” from mandatory vaccination for COVID-19. We can do this by attesting to their Sacramental Baptism and the ‘practicing’ of their Catholic faith, as a separate letter or statement, to support their letter or request for religious exemption, but not to compose or sign a letter or form ourselves.” “In charity as priests and deacons, we should help to support the conscience rights of our Catholic faithful on this and all matters. 14 to clerics of the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts. “It is important for us to recognize and encourage the well-formed consciences of those who both desire the vaccine for themselves and the common good, as well as those who for health concerns or other reasons, may desire not to receive the vaccine,” Bishop Byrne wrote Sept. If most people in a church have been inoculated against polio and mumps and are only raising concerns about the COVID-19 vaccination, “that is going to raise an index of suspicion about their claim,” Mello said.Bishop William Byrne of Springfield in Massachusetts said Tuesday that clerics in the diocese should support Catholics who themselves seek conscientious exemption from COVID-19 vaccine mandates by attesting to their baptism and practice of the faith. ![]() Mello said courts recognize “bona fide” and “sincere” religious exemptions but tend to be skeptical about personal objections cloaked in religious language. For example, a nurse can move from the intensive care unit to the claims office. Some employees who refuse the vaccination can be reassigned to other duties without losing their jobs, Mello said. In most workplaces, federal law already requires employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for people with valid religious objections to vaccinations by offering alternatives like testing, she said. Mello calls Fairrington’s letters “irrelevant.” In his statement, Fairrington said the church has “received thousands of phone calls from doctors, nurses, educators, and first responders, in tears, fearing that their livelihoods hang in the balance because of their religious convictions.” ![]() “The exemption is only issued to individuals who have a sincere belief in religious conviction stated in the document, so we cannot distribute it to the media,” he said.Īn application form on the church’s website asks congregants to select the industry they work in, then confirm whether they are “a born again Christian who believes in the validity of Scripture.”ĭi Bella said he could not provide the number of letters the church has issued. His spokesperson, Tanner Di Bella, declined to share a copy of the letter with The Times. ![]()
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