On April 12, Archbishop Schnurr sent the following letter to priests and deacons of the archdiocese.

 

April 12, 2021

Dear Brothers in Holy Orders,

On December 3, 2020, I wrote to you outlining some of the most important principles regarding the application of the Church’s moral teaching to the production, distribution and reception of COVID-19 vaccines. There have been several developments since then, so I take this opportunity to provide you with a brief update.

The vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer to combat COVID-19 may be taken without moral reservation. As indicated previously, the Chairmen of the U.S. Bishops’ doctrine and pro-life committees said in a November 23, 2020, statement that it is not immoral to be vaccinated with the vaccines being developed by Moderna and Pfizer given the seriousness of the health risk. They went on to say, “Neither the Pfizer nor the Moderna vaccine involved the use of cell lines that originated in fetal tissue taken from the body of an aborted baby at any level of design, development, or production… They are not completely free from any connection to abortion, however, as both Pfizer and Moderna made use of a tainted cell line for one of the confirmatory lab tests of their products. There is thus a connection, but it is relatively remote… at the level of the recipient, it is morally permissible to accept vaccination when there are no alternatives and there is a serious health risk.”

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is ethically more problematic than either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, but may be taken if neither of the other two is available. While an abortion-derived cell line was used only for testing of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was developed, tested and produced with abortion-derived cell lines. The USCCB’s doctrine and pro-life committees said in a statement on March 2, 2021, “If one can choose among equally safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, the vaccine with the least connection to abortion-derived cell lines should be chosen. Therefore, if one has the ability to choose a vaccine, Pfizer or Moderna’s vaccines should be chosen over Johnson & Johnson’s.”

There is no moral obligation to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith noted on December 21, 2020, that “vaccination is not, as a rule, a moral obligation and that, therefore, it must be voluntary. In any case, from the ethical point of view, the morality of vaccination depends not only on the duty to protect one’s own health but also on the duty to pursue the common good.” For a vaccine to be effective in protecting society, including the weakest and most vulnerable, most people must be vaccinated in order to break the chain of person-to-person disease transmission. This should be taken into serious consideration when discerning whether or not to be vaccinated.

Catholics have an ongoing obligation to advocate that vaccine development and distribution be done in a morally acceptable manner throughout every stage. This remains true even when, for the common good and lack of an available alternative, we feel compelled to receive a vaccine, the production of which is in some way linked to morally unacceptable means. Morally acceptable development means development that respects all human life, created in the image and likeness of God, from conception to natural death. Taking innocent human life to harvest such cells and create cell lines which can be scientifically propagated over time is morally unacceptable. Catholics are likewise obliged to advocate for the just distribution of any vaccine so that those most vulnerable, including our poorest communities, may have access.

If you are interested in exploring this topic more deeply, I would point you to resources from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (www.usccb.org/prolife/biomedical-research), the National Catholic Bioethics Center (www.ncbcenter.org) and the Charlotte Lozier Institute (www.lozierinstitute.org/category/genetics).

We pray that the Lord will guide us as we strive for the common good of all and a return to general health and wellbeing.

 

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr

Archbishop of Cincinnati

 

PDF of Letter: Update on COVID Vaccines 4 12 2021

Alleluia! He is risen!

The word “Alleluia” is Hebrew for “Praise the Lord.” It is a particularly appropriate exclamation during the Easter season as we celebrate Christ’s triumph over sin and death.

For many of us, the continuing restrictions designed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 have made the last 12 months seem like one long Lent. In some cases, just to be able to hug our loved ones again someday will be a kind of resurrection. At the same time, the unexpected loss of family members and others we know to the pandemic – some of them young and apparently healthy – has inevitably prompted reflections on our own mortality.

Death and sin entered the world together in the garden of Eden.  Those are realities that we all face. But death is not the end of the story. Christ’s resurrection paves the way for our own. That is what we celebrate for the seven weeks of the Easter season, the longest season in the Church calendar except for Ordinary Time.

With appropriate health and safety procedures in place, this year we are fortunately able to again observe this wonderful season as a Eucharistic community of faith, despite the persistence of the health crisis.  In 2020, by contrast, there were no publicly celebrated Masses in Ohio from mid-March until May 25. Therefore, on the Fifth Sunday of Easter last year we were not present to hear proclaimed the comforting reassurance of Christ in the Gospel for that day:

“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.’” (Jn 14:1-6)

Eternal life is a promise from Christ, the way and the truth and the life, and there is nothing surer. That is the “sure and certain hope of the resurrection” that we speak of in prayers for the dead. However, we still need to prepare for our physical death, on both the practical and spiritual levels. This issue of The Catholic Telegraph will help you do that.

Many people have told me that the deaths and disruption related to COVD-19 have been something of a “wake up call,” causing them to closely examine and reprioritize their lives. The purpose of the Lenten penitential season is not to punish us but to change us. And it should be a permanent change, a reset button that helps prepare us to meet Christ at the end of our lives and go with Him to the dwelling place He has prepared for us.

Do you make time every day to encounter Christ in prayer? Is the Eucharist the center of your spiritual life?  Does your relationship with Christ direct your decisions and actions, especially the way your treat others? Do you remember in difficult times that Christ is suffering with you and wants to support you?  If you have not pondered such questions as these during Lent, it is not too late.

As I noted in my bicentennial pastoral letter, Radiate Christ, “Christ constantly offers the invitation to live in relationship with Him and eagerly hopes that we will respond.” He wants to be with us in all our joys and sorrows, in all our successes and failures. Although human beings and human institutions may fail us, Christ never will. Alleluia!

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Since the onset of the pandemic just a year ago, the Bishops of Ohio have worked together during this unprecedented time with the assistance of government and health professionals to lead and protect all those entrusted to our pastoral care.   By the grace of God and the painstaking efforts by so many to follow Covid- 19 protocols, coupled with the expanding availability of vaccines, we are making progress in our fight against this deadly scourge.  What a blessing it will be for us to be in person in our churches this year to celebrate the Paschal Mystery, culminating in the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday.

In our shared hope of eradicating this virus and encouraging ongoing return of the faithful to Holy Mass and the Sacraments each week, you are invited to continue to follow all the essential protocols of hand sanitizing, wearing masks and social distancing.  These efforts are working to the point that we are in a much more hopeful place than we were even a few months ago.

At the same time, you are encouraged to receive a vaccine.  To reiterate the teaching of the Church with regard to the vaccine options: if you have the opportunity to choose a vaccine, you should choose Pfizer or Moderna.  While the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is made from cell lines originating from an aborted human fetus, it should be taken only if it is the only option available.

As we move toward herd immunity, notwithstanding a spike in the virus, it is our sincere hope that soon we can return to the regular celebration of Mass with full capacity in our churches, and thus lift the dispensation of the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. We are advised that parish festivals likely can take place this summer, preferably outdoors, following the necessary protocols.  Nevertheless, we all need to remain vigilant.

We look forward with eager longing to when we can all be together around the altar of the Lord without any restrictions.  In the meantime, let us continue to do all that we need to do to overcome the virus, and rely upon the guidance of government and health officials so that we can return to some sense of normal.

Have a blessed Holy Week!

Sincerely in Christ,

 

The Most Rev. Dennis M. Schnurr

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

 

The Most Rev. David J. Bonnar

Diocese of Youngstown

The Most Rev. Robert J. Brennan

Diocese of Columbus

The Most Rev. Daniel E. Thomas

Diocese of Toledo

The Most Rev. Bohdan J. Danylo

Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of

St. Josaphat in Parma

The Most Rev. Edward C. Malesic

Diocese of Cleveland

The Most Rev. Jeffrey M. Monforton

Diocese of Steubenville

The Most Rev. John Michael Botean

St. George Byzantine Catholic Diocese

 

 

Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr

The comfortable illusion that the turn of a calendar page makes everything new again was shattered for Americans in early January. After a year marked by a global pandemic, civil disruption and millions of lost jobs, 2021 began with an appalling, deadly riot at the seat of our national government.

Our country is wounded and its citizens are hurting. It is only natural at a time like this that we look to our civic leaders to make things right. In his new encyclical, Fratelli tutti (“All Brothers and Sisters”), Pope Francis recognizes the crucial role of politics in democratic societies.

“It is true that religious ministers must not engage in the party politics that are the proper domain of the laity,” he writes, “but neither can they renounce the political dimension of life itself, which involves a constant attention to the common good and a concern for integral human development” (FT 276). He calls for “a better kind of politics, one truly at the service of the common good” and laments that “Sadly, politics today often takes forms that hinder progress towards a different world” (FT 154).

Indeed, a bi-partisan incivility has marred political discussion in the U.S. for many years now and has only escalated. It is easy to say politicians are responsible because so many of them have led by bad example. However, politicians are not known for doing what is unpopular or likely to lose them votes. The hateful rhetoric members of both parties direct at their opponents is as much a symptom of the national mood as it is a cause.

We are a very divided country. And from where does all division ultimately come? Pope Francis reminds us in a reflection on the Lord’s Prayer. He writes: “We all know that the devil is ‘nettlesome,’ the one who always tries to divide persons, families, nations and peoples.” It is Satan who divides, while God unites.

The basis of unity among people who disagree – even over such important issues as religion, morality and the proper role of government – is our common humanity: We are all created in the same divine image. Based on that, the life and dignity of the human person is the foundational principle of Catholic social justice teaching from which all others follow. The toxic political environment in our country is a violation of that principle.

As Catholics, part of our responsibility as faithful citizens of our country is to hold our elected leaders accountable for displaying civility, decency and integrity, in addition to providing for the common good. At the same time, we need to display those traits in our own behavior.

As Catholics, part of our responsibility as faithful citizens of our country is to hold our elected leaders accountable for displaying civility, decency and integrity, in addition to providing for the common good. At the same time, we need to display those traits in our own behavior.

As Catholics, part of our responsibility as faithful citizens of our country is to hold our elected leaders accountable for displaying civility, decency and integrity, in addition to providing for the common good. At the same time, we need to display those traits in our own behavior.

As Catholics, part of our responsibility as faithful citizens of our country is to hold our elected leaders accountable for displaying civility, decency and integrity, in addition to providing for the common good. At the same time, we need to display those traits in our own behavior.