![]() There is a concerning subjectivism inherent in such absolutist calls for conscience exemptions in the current circumstances. One of the church's highest doctrinal authorities, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has affirmed unequivocally that one may receive any of the currently available COVID-19 vaccines in good conscience. However, Camosy neglects to note Dignitatis Humanae's further stipulation: "In the formation of their consciences, the Christian faithful ought carefully to attend to the sacred and certain doctrine of the Church." There is an evident "culture war" ideology underlying Meaney's position and that of the Colorado bishops.įordham University theologian Charles Camosy provides more informative support for this view by citing the Second Vatican Council's declaration Dignitatis Humanae, which stipulates that conscience should not be coerced. Invoking the concept of the "common good" immediately raises red flags for those, such as National Catholic Bioethics Center President Joseph Meaney, who emphatically assert each person's right and obligation to follow their own conscience in deciding whether to be vaccinated. COVID-19 vaccination is thus an appropriate means of fulfilling our moral obligation to promote the common good, as stressed by recent requests by New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan and San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy that priests not sign conscientious exemption forms. … Therefore, one is bound to nourish his body, and we are bound likewise with respect to all other things without which the body cannot live.Įpidemiological data clearly shows that the best way to fulfill this moral duty is through vaccination and, further, that the currently available vaccines are proportionately safe and effective even if they have not yet (but will likely soon be) fully approved by the FDA. ![]() It is prescribed that a human being sustains his body, for otherwise he murders himself. Paul's Second Letter to the Thessalonians: Thomas Aquinas exhorts in his commentary on St. Insofar as loving oneself entails a moral obligation to use proportionate means to safeguard one's own life and health, Christians are called to love others by taking proportionate means to safeguard their lives and health. Such an obligation is fundamentally grounded in the Gospel's call for each of us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves ( Mark 12:31). ![]() Furthermore, as Pope Francis has affirmed, there may be a moral obligation to be vaccinated for COVID-19 unless one has a medical contraindication. There is, however, no sufficient moral reason for Catholics to request such an exemption. These statements either critique the mandates themselves, casting them as a form of authoritative overreach, or call for wide allowance of religious/moral exemptions. ![]() Concerns regarding recently instituted or expected mandatory vaccination policies for COVID-19 by various governmental and institutional authorities, including Catholic health care systems and universities, have been voiced by the Catholic Medical Association, the National Catholic Bioethics Center and the bishops of Colorado. ![]()
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