Posted: Nov. 24, 2020
More than 280,000 Americans have already died from COVID-19 -- yet instead of instructing churches to help stop the spread, at least two bishops are recklessly telling Catholics not to take potential new vaccines.
[Update, 12-4-2020: We are delighted to share the news that Bishop Brennan has changed course and now supports the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines! We are grateful whenever any leader corrects their errors, and we pray that Bishop Strickland will follow Bishop Brennan's humble example.]
Bishop Joseph Brennan of Fresno, CA, has released a video telling Catholics to avoid vaccines made with stem cells, specifically mentioning Pfizer. Bishop Joseph Strickland, the notoriously right-wing bishop of Tyler, TX, likewise tweeted that Moderna's vaccine should be rejected because it's somehow "not morally produced."
Except that's simply not true. Neither the Pfizer nor Moderna vaccines -- both of which are 90% effective -- were made with stem cells. The National Catholic Bioethics Center, the anti-abortion Charlotte Lozier Institute, and even the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops support both vaccines.
That's right: Their own fellow bishops reject Brennan and Strickland's deadly, uninformed rhetoric. But such prominent leaders can still cause enormous damage, harming thousands of people by spreading disinformation and risking innocent lives in Jesus's name.
Christians follow a healer and care for the sick. Let's send Brennan and Strickland 15,000 signatures calling on him to recant, apologize, and join other bishops in encouraging Catholics to take the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines once available.
Sign the petition:
Love thy neighbor.