Add your nameChristians support COVID-19 vaccines for the common good

Posted: March 5, 2021

FDA authorization of a third COVID-19 vaccine is welcome news for the common good -- something for every Christian to celebrate.

Like wearing masks, taking the first vaccine we can is how we love our neighbors during a pandemic. That's why most faith leaders are speaking out in favor of the Johnson & Johnson shot, including Catholic bishops in Kentucky, San Diego, New England, and beyond.

Unfortunately, the Washington Post reports that some televangelists are calling vaccines a satanic "mark of the beast." Meanwhile, because the Johnson & Johnson shot has loose ties to 40-year-old stem cells, the Archbishop of New Orleans is dangerously speaking out against it. He's asked Catholic clinics not to distribute the life-saving third vaccine, and inspired similar rhetoric from other bishops.

Nationally, the bishops' conference can't seem to get its message straight, vacillating between telling Catholics to reject Johnson & Johnson if they have a choice in vaccines and acknowledging that most Americans don't have that choice. It's a whiplash that top Catholic ethicists say spreads confusion and risks lives.

Let's show the media that the anti-vaccine rhetoric does not speak for Christianity, and encourage our neighbors to take the first available COVID-19 vaccine they can!

Sign the petition:

As Christians striving to love our neighbors and follow a healer, our faith teaches us to do justice and uphold the common good. Driven by the love and message of Jesus Christ, we each pledge to get vaccinated as soon as we can, and urge our neighbors to do the same.

We support every authorized COVID-19 vaccine, including Johnson & Johnson, and we give thanks for the work of every theologian, ethicist, and clergy member working to build trust in these life-saving medications.

That list includes -- but is hardly limited to -- Pope Francis; Catholic bishops like John Stowe, Robert McElroy, and Leonard Blair; Dr. Francis Collins at the NIH; Sojourners; and faith-based distribution centers giving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine such as the University of Notre Dame and Trinity Health of New England, among many others. We also thank God for the scientists who developed the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines; the public officials and manufacturers racing to produce enough doses for all humankind; and the frontline medical workers risking their own health to administer these life-saving shots.

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