Roma Locuta Est

May 5, 2021 (Edward J. Barr) – Many Catholics have reported hearing homilists thanking God for the abortion tainted ‘vaccines’ that are being pushed upon church members.  Maybe you have heard them too.  This is not surprising.  Church leaders from the Vatican on down to the parish level have been urging their flock to take the shot(s).  Pope Francis even declared on January 10 that he believes that “morally everyone must take the vaccine.” The US Conference on Catholic Bishops (USCCB) provides a good deal of guidance on the use of vaccines (which also include the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA experimental therapies). Quoting from the Vatican, the USCCB notes that “vaccination is not, as a rule, a moral obligation and that, therefore, it must be voluntary.”  Yet, Church leaders also note that the common good must be considered when making the decision.  Strong proclamations urging compliance with government guidance and enticements to inoculate cause many to think there is no decision to discern. Some parishes try to shame their congregants into getting the shots and claim that policies such as mandatory mask use and denying communion on the tongue is done out of the love of neighbor.  Getting jabbed seems like Church doctrine. So, while most political leaders completely ignore the Church’s moral teachings, Church leadership hugs tight to embrace the faith of the secular elites concerning vaccines. 

Pope Francis has come out strongly in favor of COVID inoculations.  In the same interview noted above to Italy’s TG5 News he claimed that “I do not understand why some say that this could be a dangerous vaccine.”  In short, everything coming from the Vatican strongly promotes Catholics taking ‘vaccines’.  (Problems with the inoculations themselves are beyond the scope of this article, but LifeSite News does a good job of covering many of these issues). From May 6-9 the Vatican is scheduled to host a health conference titled, “Unite to Prevent and Unite to Cure.”  It has been widely reported that most of the attendees, sponsors, and speakers are strong proponents of vaccines.  Many from the US have benefited from the law that grants immunity to vaccine manufacturers in cases where their product causes injuries (a moral issue that will not be addressed).  Some are leaders of the pharmaceutical industry, such as the CEOs of Pfizer and Moderna, whose ‘vaccines’ are experimental and have never been used in humans (a moral issue that will not be addressed).  Most of the notable guests (government and private sector) have a vested interest in expanding vaccines and not finding alternatives.  If any of the existing drug ‘cures’ for Covid-19 were accepted by US authorities, the emergency use authorizations would have to be canceled, costing these companies billions (a moral issue that will not be addressed).

The vaccine and inoculation manufacturers are careful to post accurate legal data on their websites, even though they are immune from any harm their products may cause.  For example, the Moderna website notes that their “Covid-19 vaccine has not been approved or licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)…” They also state that there is no FDA-approved vaccine for Covid-19.  All they claim is that their product may lessen some symptoms of COVID; they specifically state it doesn’t protect the recipient from acquiring the virus. The fact that the Vatican is promoting unapproved, unlicensed, and experimental ‘vaccines’ will not be addressed at the conference. 

Many of the attendees of the conference are notably pro-abortion.  This makes sense since all of the ‘vaccines’ used abortive baby cells in either the testing or manufacturing of their products.  The Vatican’s promotion of these pro-abortion speakers is in line with its decision that taking Covid-19 vaccines is remote cooperation with evil, and therefore permissible.  Their reasoning may be that since the COVID inoculations are permissible, it is equally permissible to invite promoters of vaccines and COVID inoculations, even if they publicly oppose Church teaching on most moral issues.  The invited pro-abortion speakers generally favor population control.  Anything that lessens the number of people in the world is seen as a plus, whatever the means.  

The moral issue of taking vaccines or COVID inoculations is rarely discussed in church circles. From the pulpit, the faithful are told that the Vatican has approved the use of abortion tainted COVID inoculations since it is only remote cooperation with evil.  No other option is mentioned.  The message is, “if you care about others, you will get jabbed.” The moral issue of how remote cooperation with evil compares with no cooperation with evil will not be addressed at the conference.

The approval from the Vatican is based on 4 generally accepted moral criteria.  If all criteria are met the Catholic can take the vaccine with no moral culpability. To licitly take an abortion tainted vaccine or inoculation, the Catholic must, 1. Be significantly removed from the evil action, 2. Not share in the evil purpose of the main actors (manufacturers/distributors), 3. Have sufficiently grave reasons to cooperate, and 4. Protest against the ethically problematic situation (here, the use of aborted baby cell lines).  The first criterion probably applies to most Catholics, other than those involved in the manufacturing of the vaccines.  The second criterion probably applies to between 30-50 percent of Catholics (based on Pew Polls of Catholic support for abortion).  If they agree with abortion (50%) a good portion would probably agree with the use of aborted baby stem cell lines to support the “common good.” These people could not be absolved from moral responsibility for taking the vaccines.  The third criterion is even more problematic than the second.  What is a grave reason to cooperate? Reading Vatican and USCCB documents it seems they both believe that Covid-19 is a devastating illness.  It is for many. Yet, it is not a grave threat to a greater percentage of the population (the young, those without underlying conditions, etc.).  The death rates by age for Covid-19 are nearly identical to those of the flu.  The elderly are far more likely to succumb to viruses.  The young and healthy are far more likely to survive.  Examining what is a grave reason to cooperate with evil will not be discussed at the conference. 

The fourth criterion seems pretty simple.  If you meet the first three criteria and decide to take an unapproved, unlicensed, and morally tainted ‘vaccine,’ you are required to protest vehemently.  Have you ever heard a homilist mention this mandate from the pulpit?  Neither have I.  Nor have we heard it from the Vatican.  Instead, the Holy See is hosting an international conference highlighted by pro-vaccine and pro-abortion zealots.  Morality is carefully nuanced to give Catholics the impression that there is nothing wrong with abortion-tainted vaccines.  Nearly all senior Church leaders ignore the requirement to protest the evil thrust upon them by Caesar.

The USCCB does warn against complacency on abortion.  However, it is buried under a mound of cheerleading and theological gymnastics that gives the general impression that an unapproved, unlicensed, experimental, abortion-tainted vaccine is the salvation of mankind. Pope Francis is the head cheerleader.  Is it any wonder why the clergy are giving thanks to God?

Edward J Barr is a Catechist, an attorney, an intelligence officer, a Marine, and a university faculty member. He earned a Master of Theology degree from the Augustine Institute. Mr. Barr is a contributing writer for the Roma Locuta Est blog (www.RomaLocutaEst.com)