Catholic Bishops Support Mandatory Covid Jabs

The Austrian Catholic Church became the first in Europe to support mandatory vaccinations nationwide, ahead of their implementation there in February.

“Compulsory vaccination represents a serious attack on physical integrity and individual liberty – it is only allowed if all other options to protect the population have been exhausted, taking into account proportionality,” the conference said. bishops in a press release.

“It is the responsibility of our leaders to assess whether the preconditions for this are met and whether a temporary vaccination obligation now offers the appropriate means to protect the common good within reasonable limits … The objective must be to protect the health and freedom in equal measure. “

The statement was released before tens of thousands of people gathered in Vienna and other cities for the fourth weekend in a row against a government decree making vaccination against Covid-19 mandatory from February for every over 14 years.

Strict movement restrictions remain in place for the still smooth third of the 8.9 million population in this traditionally Catholic country, which has killed 13,000 since early 2020.

The bishops added that public attitudes were “dangerously polarized” and urged the Austrians to agree to a “healthy disarmament of words and deeds”.

The pope had described the vaccination as an “act of charity”, the statement continued, while the center-right government, currently headed by Chancellor Karl Nehammer, made it a “temporary legal obligation” after concluding that “the previous calls were not enough “. .

Other European religious leaders have refused to approve mandatory vaccinations but have strongly supported government anti-Covid campaigns. In Greece, where Orthodox priests have been indicted for spreading “false information” about vaccines, Orthodox leaders have warned that the clergy could be secularized for questioning the vaccination program.

In the Czech Republic, the president of the episcopal conference, Archbishop Jan Graubner of Olomouc, said in an open letter over the weekend that he was against forced vaccinations, but felt that citizens should “willingly sacrifice some of their freedom out of charity for the common good ”.

Catholic bishops in East Africa have urged people to get vaccinated. Bishop John Oballa Owaa, chairman of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Kenya Catholic Bishops‘ Conference, said: Strengthen their immunity.

The vaccination rate in East Africa and most of Africa has been low in part due to limited access. Covid cases were also low with a total of 8,660,000 reported in November.

The bishops want increased access to treatment and vaccines and at the same time call on governments to respect rights and freedoms. The Jesuit Institute of South Africa has hailed “a significant increase in vaccination” as the Omicron variant spreads.

Dr Annemarie Paulin-Campbell of the Institute said: “We have a moral and spiritual responsibility to get vaccinated. [as an] act of love. Meanwhile, parishioners at St Agnes Church in San Francisco have asked Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone to postpone his visit to their parish after revealing he had not been vaccinated.