The Allentown diocese joined other Roman Catholic leaders on Wednesday in advising Catholics that the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, which has just been approved for use in the US, is “morally compromised” because it is produced using a cell line derived from an aborted fetus. .
There are other vaccinations available that are morally acceptable, Bishop Alfred Schlert said in an article posted by the diocese’s AD Today.
The advice to the Lehigh Valley faithful voices is similar to that given by Catholic leaders in St. Louis. Louis and New Orleans.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans says the decision to receive a vaccine is an individual conscience. In its statement late last week, the council did not advise Catholics not to take the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but added that Catholics should choose coronavirus vaccines made by Moderna or Pfizer – if available.
The Archdiocese of St. Louis on Tuesday urged Catholics to detect the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines and avoid the Johnson & Johnson version if possible. As in the statement from the Archdiocese of New Orleans, in the St. Louis’ statement called the Johnson & Johnson vaccine “morally compromised”. The St. Louis’ statement said, however, that Catholics can “get the vaccine with a clear conscience if no other alternative is available.”
Later Tuesday, a statement was issued by chairmen of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committees on Doctrines and Abortions, reiterating the moral concerns. The vaccines Pfizer or Moderna are said to be preferable “if one can choose the vaccine.”
Johnson & Johnson issued a statement on Tuesday stressing that there is no fetal tissue in the vaccine, although church officials’ argument that a cell line used by abortions is not disputed.
Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine is manufactured using a harmless cold virus, called an adenovirus, the same technology that used it to produce a successful Ebola vaccine. The adenovirus is cultured using a required cell line, and the virus is then extracted and purified.
Several types of cell lines created decades ago using fetal tissue exist and are widely used in medical manufacturing, but the cells in them today are clones of the early cells, not the original tissue.
The American Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a January statement that ‘lines of abortion’ had been used to test the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, but not in their development or production.
The archdiocese rulings renewed religious discussions about the vaccine and the use of abortion cells. In December, the Vatican said that ‘it is morally acceptable to receive COVID-19 vaccines that have used aborted fetal cell lines’ in the research and production process when ‘ethically irrevocable’ vaccines are not available to the public.
Pope Francis spoke regularly about the need to ensure that vaccines are widely available, especially for the poor and marginalized. Last month, a decision signed by the governor of the Vatican City said that Vatican employees who choose to be vaccinated without proof of medical reasons may be subject to sanctions, including dismissal.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans posted its statement Friday, the day before the Food and Drug Administration cleared the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for use in the United States.
Asked Tuesday about the New Orleans Archbishop’s statement, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards – a rare anti-abortion Democrat – stressed that people should use any of the approved vaccines to stop the spread of the virus.
Edwards said he spoke to Archbishop Gregory Aymond on Sunday about the statement. “I do not read his statement so that people who are Catholic or do not otherwise want to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine,” Edwards said.
“I encourage everyone to take the first vaccine available to them.”
He takes note of a statement issued Monday by Bishop Michael Duca of Baton Rouge.
Duca acknowledges ‘moral concern’ over the newly approved vaccine. But, he added, “if you are only able to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, feel free to do so for your safety and the common good.”
This is similar to the guidelines issued by the American Bishops’ Conference in January. “Because the COVID-19 virus can pose serious health risks, it may be morally acceptable to receive a vaccine that uses cell lines used by abortion if there are no other available vaccines that are comparable in safety and efficacy, and has nothing to do with abortion, “the January leadership said. said.
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Associated Press and reporter Kurt Bresswein contributed to this report. Reach him out [email protected].