Pope, Bishop advocate for COVID-19 vaccine as moral choice

January 11, 2021 at 5:57 p.m.
Pope, Bishop advocate for COVID-19 vaccine as moral choice
Pope, Bishop advocate for COVID-19 vaccine as moral choice


Pope Francis has urged people to register and take a COVID vaccine as soon as possible, revealing in a new interview that he expects to get his own first dose this week. "I believe that, morally, everyone must take the vaccine … because it is about your life but also the lives of others." 

The Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have declared that vaccines currently in use – Pfizer and Moderna, in particular – are morally acceptable and permissible for use by all the Catholic faithful. 

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M. received his vaccination at St. Francis Hospital in Trenton on Monday, January 11.  “Because of all the many people in the Diocese with whom I have direct contact and given my age and diabetes, I thought it advisable and important that I take my turn and receive the vaccine once it was available to me.”


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Pope Francis has urged people to register and take a COVID vaccine as soon as possible, revealing in a new interview that he expects to get his own first dose this week. "I believe that, morally, everyone must take the vaccine … because it is about your life but also the lives of others." 

The Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have declared that vaccines currently in use – Pfizer and Moderna, in particular – are morally acceptable and permissible for use by all the Catholic faithful. 

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M. received his vaccination at St. Francis Hospital in Trenton on Monday, January 11.  “Because of all the many people in the Diocese with whom I have direct contact and given my age and diabetes, I thought it advisable and important that I take my turn and receive the vaccine once it was available to me.”

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