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San Diego’s Bishop Says Catholic Church Does Not Condone Religious Exemption to COVID Vaccines
The Times of San Diego ^ | August 13, 2021 | Chris Jennewein

Posted on 08/13/2021 2:19:19 PM PDT by ebb tide

San Diego’s Bishop Says Catholic Church Does Not Condone Religious Exemption to COVID Vaccines

San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy said Thursday the Catholic church supports COVID-19 vaccinations and priests must “caringly decline” any requests from parishioners seeking a religious exemption.

“Such a declaration is particularly problematic because the Holy See has made it clear that receiving the COVID vaccine is perfectly consistent with Catholic faith, and indeed laudatory in light of the common good in this time of pandemic,” wrote McElroy in a letter on Wednesday to priests.

The Diocese of San Diego said there have been reports from California and around the country of priests being pressured to sign a form prepared by the Colorado Catholic Conference suggesting that there is a basis in Catholic teaching that justifies a religious exemption to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI received their COVID-19 vaccinations in January. McElroy received his in February. 

San Diego Auxiliary Bishop John Dolan participated in the drug studies that resulted in the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

“My greatest worry is that signing this declaration [from the Colorado Catholic Conference] thrusts our priests into the impossible position of asserting that ‘the Catholic Church’s teachings may lead individual Catholics…to decline certain vaccines’ when those priests recognize that Catholic teaching proclaims just the opposite,” said McElroy.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego runs the length of California’s border with Mexico and serves more than 1.3 million Catholics in San Diego and Imperial counties. It includes 98 parishes and 49 elementary and secondary schools


TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; Moral Issues
KEYWORDS: francisbishop; homofascism; infanticide; mcelroy; robertmcelroy; scamdemic; sexualpredator
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To: ebb tide

You clearly don’t know what rationalize means. You can’t call something a sin without there being a concept of truth.


81 posted on 08/13/2021 8:13:35 PM PDT by Bayard
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To: Bayard

Remote or proximate cooperation with evil is still cooperation with evil. It’s been excused because it’s remote but some people still don’t want anything to do with supporting abortion, even indirectly.


82 posted on 08/13/2021 8:14:05 PM PDT by Marchmain (have a nice day)
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To: Bayard

Small point: ethics are man-made and based on rationality. The moral law is God’s.


83 posted on 08/13/2021 8:17:56 PM PDT by Marchmain (have a nice day)
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To: Marchmain

Yet it definitely depends on context there.

When we’re talking about remote, were already in a contextual case. Some vaccinations are simply not in the same realm as others, ergo there simply cannot be a blanket religious exemption without due consideration for what the Church teaches there.


84 posted on 08/13/2021 8:21:18 PM PDT by Bayard
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To: Marchmain


Small point: ethics are man-made and based on rationality. The moral law is God’s”

Follow on point.
God’s truth does not contradict reason genuinely seeking the truth which is God.


85 posted on 08/13/2021 8:24:32 PM PDT by Bayard
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To: ebb tide

What are your thoughts on this?


86 posted on 08/13/2021 8:25:47 PM PDT by Jane Long (America, Bless God....blessed be the Nation.)
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To: Bayard

True, and that’s the trap of defining it as a ‘religious’ exemption. Instead there should be a category of ‘conscientious objectors’ who may object based on their own beliefs irrespective of what church they may or may not belong to. A Catholic bishop has no authority to mandate the faithful get vaxxed.


87 posted on 08/13/2021 8:26:25 PM PDT by Marchmain (have a nice day)
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To: Bayard

Of course, yes!


88 posted on 08/13/2021 8:27:30 PM PDT by Marchmain (have a nice day)
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To: ebb tide

San Diego’s Bishop Says Catholic Church Does Not Condone Religion


89 posted on 08/13/2021 8:30:04 PM PDT by NWFree (Somebody has to say it)
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To: Bayard

False witness.
It’s not a vaccine.
It hasn’t been tested on humans sufficiently.
It’s not 95% effective.
Those who got the jab are spreading variant strains (leaky vaccine, see Marek chickens).
The most jabbed countries in the world are having the most severe outbreaks (Johns Hopkins) and are put on US “Do Not Travel” list.

These people started with lies (”When he lies, he is only doing what is natural to him...”)
and are just doubling down.


90 posted on 08/13/2021 8:30:55 PM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change with out notice.)
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To: Bayard

I have no problem with the truth. I have a well formed conscience, unlike Biden and Fauci. That’s why I won’t participate, nor support the murder of babies.


91 posted on 08/13/2021 8:34:14 PM PDT by ebb tide (We have a rogue curia in Rome.)
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To: Jane Long

I think McElroy is a heretic.


92 posted on 08/13/2021 8:35:35 PM PDT by ebb tide (We have a rogue curia in Rome.)
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To: Bayard
Abortion is murder.

Where do you think HEK-293 came from? A plant?

93 posted on 08/13/2021 8:39:38 PM PDT by ebb tide (We have a rogue curia in Rome.)
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To: mrobisr

The science on masks is out there. They do not totally prevent transmission. They do reduce viral load in and out, which decreases severity of disease while slowly building natural immunity. Better than nothing and probably better than Mrna vaccines.


94 posted on 08/13/2021 8:56:01 PM PDT by amihow (It is Western Civilization that confers privilege, not whiteness. Ask Carson, MLK, Sowell.)
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To: Bayard
It simply is not against Catholic teaching. The faith is not a rubberstamp for exemption. Treating it like one will make it will build resentment to accommodate other important practices.

Just about every ChinaVirus "vaccine" is tainted by abortions, except the Johns Hopkins candidate and maybe 1-2 others. That there is enough for a real Catholic to claim an exemption.
95 posted on 08/13/2021 8:56:44 PM PDT by Svartalfiar
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To: Bayard

Odd, my priest disagrees. And he gave me a letter explaining his belief that refusing the vaccine is a moral duty.


96 posted on 08/14/2021 5:52:17 PM PDT by narses (Censeo praedatorium gregem esse delendum. (The gay lobby must be destroyed))
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To: grey_whiskers
"False witness. It’s not a vaccine. It hasn’t been tested on humans sufficiently. It’s not 95% effective. Those who got the jab are spreading variant strains (leaky vaccine, see Marek chickens). The most jabbed countries in the world are having the most severe outbreaks (Johns Hopkins) and are put on US “Do Not Travel” list.

These people started with lies (”When he lies, he is only doing what is natural to him...”) and are just doubling down."

The vaccines might indeed be these things, untested, lied about, prone to spreading variant strains, and or being ineffective. But that doesn't argue that there is a Catholic Religious exemption there per se.

It can and should be in terms of universal human rights, but under that umbrella there would need to be a cogent argument.

97 posted on 08/15/2021 3:03:39 PM PDT by Bayard
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To: Bayard
It can and should be in terms of universal human rights, but under that umbrella there would need to be a cogent argument.

Chinese Bioweapon. China is Asshoe. QED.

98 posted on 08/15/2021 3:04:52 PM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change with out notice.)
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To: grey_whiskers
Chinese Bioweapon. China is Asshoe. QED.

Its a good self defense and freedom angle but its not exactly a religious argument. The issue is these being issued on grounds of religious exemption, but that is not entirely clear whether there is a Catholic exemption.

Participation in some remote way with immoral vaccine research and benefitting from a COVID Vaccine might be a case of real conscience exemption, but the Vatican already states there is a countervailing necessity to take the vaccine. Such as taking the vaccine being important to fight a "deadly" virus (99% survival rate if healthy and under 40).

A proximate and material cooperation with the immoral research is warranted a religious exemption. But merely taking the vaccine for ones health in a pandemic may not be. Our taxes should not have been used to fund this method of research.

99 posted on 08/15/2021 4:00:21 PM PDT by Bayard
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To: Bayard

Be not overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.
Sod off, sophist.


100 posted on 08/15/2021 4:21:12 PM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change with out notice.)
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