It is a serious disappointment that some pharmaceutical companies like Johnson &
Johnson elected to use cell lines that originate in the use of fetal tissue taken from aborted babies. Moreover, given that there are viable alternative cell lines, the decision to do so is puzzling. We encourage the choice where possible to use vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer, which are more morally acceptable, and I urge that individuals be permitted to make the appropriate choices according to their convictions, especially the poor who often are not given many choices. That said, all the Church documents make it clear that at the level of the recipient, it is morally permissible to accept such vaccinations when alternatives are not available especially given the gravity of the COVID-19 Coronavirus. We encourage people to be vaccinated for their own health but also for the protection of the greater community

+ Bishop Robert J. Brennan

Communications Office
Phone: 614.241.2555
E-Mail: [email protected]