Catholic Bishops: Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 Vaccine 'Morally Compromised'
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Catholic Church leaders are telling parishioners that the newly approved Johnson & Johnson <a href="http://coronavirus" rel="noopener" target="_blank">coronavirus vaccine is "morally compromised," because it is linked to cells obtained from aborted fetal tissue.
In a statement, the leaders of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops said people should choose vaccines made by Pfizer or Moderna instead if they are available.
The Archdiocese of Miami agrees.
"If you had a choice between the three vaccines we recommend either Pfizer or Moderna, which are cleaner ethically. But if you have no choice, due to material cooperation, you should still be able to take the vaccine in good conscience."
The stance contradicts the Vatican, which earlier this year said it was acceptable for Roman Catholics to get "any" COVID-19 vaccine, even one derived from aborted fetuses.
Here is what Catholic bishops had to say about the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine earlier this week:
"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- suffering that this pandemic is causing, we affirm again that being vaccinated can be an act of charity that serves the common good."