St. Paul Catholic Church

Please welcome the new parish administrators of the EIM program here at St.Paul: Gina Rollman and Ricardo Luna.  If you have any questions or want to know your current status please send them an email at: EIM@saintpaulaustin.org

March 2, 2021

WASHINGTON – On March 2, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Doctrine, and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, issued a statement on the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine recently approved for use in the United States.

“The approval of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in the United States again raises questions about the moral permissibility of using vaccines developed, tested, and/or produced with the help of abortion-derived cell lines.

Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines raised concerns because an abortion-derived cell line was used for testing them, but not in their production. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, however, was developed, tested and is produced with abortion-derived cell lines raising additional moral concerns. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has judged that ‘when ethically irreproachable Covid-19 vaccines are not available … it is morally acceptable to receive Covid-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research and production process.
However, if one can choose among equally safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, the vaccine with the least connection to abortion-derived cell lines should be chosen. Therefore, if one has the ability to choose a vaccine, Pfizer or Moderna’s vaccines should be chosen over Johnson & Johnson’s.

While we should continue to insist that pharmaceutical companies stop using abortion-derived cell lines, given the world-wide suffering that this pandemic is causing, we affirm again that being vaccinated can be an act of charity that serves the common good.

For further details, we refer people to our earlier December 2020 statement, to our Answers to Key Ethical Questions About COVID-19 Vaccines, to the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith’s Note, and to the statement of the Vatican Covid-19 Commission in collaboration with the Pontifical Academy for Life.

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Media Contacts:
Chieko Noguchi or Miguel Guilarte 202-541-3200
 

To the Faithful of the Diocese of Austin:
 
I join my brother bishops and the many leaders of other religious faiths in opposing the Equality Act (H. R. 5). This legislation further erodes the freedom and rights of people of good will, as well as the rights of faith-based charities and health-care workers with conscience objections. 

The Church boldly proclaims that we are created in the image and likeness of God.  With that, we possess an inestimable human dignity flowing from God’s divinity that must be acknowledged and respected. While the Church holds that all persons must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity, this legislation significantly contradicts the broader principles of religious liberty and the precious rights to life and conscience.

I invite you to read the full statement of the chairmen of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committees on Religious Liberty, Pro-Life Activities, Marriage, Catholic Education, and the Subcommittee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.   Within the statement there is a link to a letter sent to Congress by the bishops expressing their opposition to the legislation warning that it poses legal and social threats to the populace.

You can help by taking action now! Go here to tell your elected officials to oppose it! 

Please join me in asking for the intercession of St. Joseph, patron of the Universal Church, that God will infuse our civil leaders with wisdom and holiness.  

Sincerely in Christ, 

Most Reverend Joe S. Vásquez
Bishop of Austin