Updated Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 3:40 p.m. to include statements from Surgeon General of the Army Lt. Gen. R. Scott Dingle.<\/em><\/p>\n Catholic U.S. troops should be allowed to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine based solely on conscientious objection and regardless of whether abortion-related tissue was used in its creation or testing, the archbishop for the military declared in a new statement supporting service members who are seeking religious exemptions.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one should be forced to receive a COVID-19 vaccine if it would violate the sanctity of his or her conscience,\u201d said Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy P. Broglio,\u00a0in a statement<\/a>\u00a0released Tuesday.<\/p>\n Broglio previously has supported President Joe Biden\u2019s mandatory vaccination order for U.S. troops, citing the church\u2019s guidance that permits Catholics to receive even vaccines derived from fetal tissue, when no other vaccine option is available. In his new statement, the archbishop said that while he still encourages followers and troops to get vaccinated, some troops have questioned if the church\u2019s permission to get vaccinated outweighed their own conscious objections to it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does not,\u201d Broglio wrote.<\/p>\n The Archdiocese for the Military Services, created by the church in 1985, claims responsibility for\u00a01.8 million<\/a>\u00a0service members and their families at 220 installations. Broglio was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007.<\/p>\n In August, Broglio was quoted by Catholic News Agency, a publication of Eternal Word Television Network, supporting the Pentagon\u2019s then-forthcoming vaccine mandates,\u00a0saying<\/a>\u00a0the church, including Pope Francis, \u201chad recognized the morality of the vaccine.\u201d But, the article added, \u201cThe archbishop said that while a person could object from the mandatory vaccine due to their personal conscience, \u2018even that should be formed by the teaching of the Church.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Broglio\u2019s Tuesday letter appears to formalize that exemption. It begins with an explanation of how the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines that were tested using an \u201cabortion-derived cell line\u201d\u00a0 are still not\u00a0<\/em>considered sinful by the Catholic church because it is \u201cremote material cooperation with evil.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith examined these moral concerns and judged that receiving these vaccines \u2018does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion,\u2019 and is therefore not sinful,\u201d Broglio\u2019s letter reads.<\/p>\n The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, however, \u201cwas developed, tested, and is produced, with abortion-derived cell lines,\u201d the archbishop said. Catholics still may accept that vaccine, but only if no others are available and they make known their moral objections.<\/p>\n
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Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, right, who leads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the military services, confirms service members into the Catholic faith at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, in 2014. CPL. JOSHUA YOUNG<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
\u201cNo one should be forced to receive a COVID-19 vaccine if it would violate the sanctity of his or her conscience,\u201d Broglio wrote.<\/h2>\n\nELIZABETH HOWE<\/span><\/span>
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ELIZABETH HOWE<\/span><\/span>
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