PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia said it will not grant religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine.
It made the decision after several archdiocesan priests were asked by parishioners to provide a letter or sign a form in support of a religious exemption.
Some Catholics have objected to COVID-19 vaccines because they were tested or produced using cellular lines derived from fetuses aborted decades ago.
The archdiocese said it "strongly recommends" that Catholics get vaccinated in line with guidance from the Vatican and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"Individuals may wish to pursue an exemption from vaccination based on their own reasons of conscience. In such cases, the burden to support such a request is not one for the local Church or its clergy to validate," said archdiocesan spokesperson Kenneth Gavin.
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The Vatican, citing the grave threat posed by COVID-19, has said that it is "morally acceptable" to use a COVID-19 vaccine "when ethically irreproachable COVID-19 vaccines are not available."
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called getting vaccinated an "act of charity toward the other members of our community."
The five-county Philadelphia archdiocese is home to about 1.3 million Catholics.