The U.S. bishops have divided over whether to grant religious exemptions to Catholics seeking to avoid mandated Covid-19 vaccines. While some bishops like Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York have forbidden priests from granting the religious exemption that various laws allow to vaccine mandates, others have encouraged their clergy to consider and grant the requests. In a joint letter published Aug. 6 on the Archdiocese of Denver website, Colorado’s four Catholic bishops upheld the right of Catholic laypeople to refuse a vaccine on the grounds of conscience. Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver, Bishop Stephen J. Berg of Pueblo, Bishop James R. Golka of Colorado Springs, and Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez of Denver said that while some of the vaccines remain “morally acceptable under certain circumstances,” nevertheless “the government should not impose medical interventions on an individual or group of persons.” “We understand that some individuals have well-founded convictions that lead them to discern they should not get vaccinated,” the bishops wrote in their statement. “We are pleased to see that in the case of the most recent Denver vaccine mandate there is accommodation for sincerely held religious beliefs. This is appropriate under the laws protecting freedom of religion.”
Bishops Divided On Religious Exemption for Vaccines – CatholicVote org
Bishops Divided On Religious Exemption for Vaccines – CatholicVote org
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