(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The head of Chicago's Roman Catholic Archdiocese is urging priests not to sign forms from parishioners requesting religious exemptions to getting the coronavirus vaccine.
A growing number of employers and government agencies are requiring workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 but providing exceptions on religious or medical grounds.
In a letter to priests, Cardinal Blase Cupich is advising them to decline if any parishioner asks for their help in getting a religious exemption. The Catholic Church does not support that stance, Cupich said; in fact, church leadership has indicated “receiving the Covid vaccine is unquestionably in keeping with Catholic faith,” the Cardinal said.
“Parishioners surely can determine their own actions,” Cupich said, “but it would be important to clarify that they cannot use the teaching of the church to justify such decisions, which in their essence, are a rejection of the church's authentic moral teaching regarding Covid vaccines.”
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