Pope Suggests Getting COVID Vaccine Is A 'Moral Obligation'

[hlthe2b]

IMO, you can be atheist, agnostic, lapsed Catholic or annoyed Protestant, but Pope Francis is the best we could hope for right now. He faces lots of backlash from the Hard RW factions of the Catholic church, aided by the likes of Steve Bannon and populist foes in Italy and the Opus Dei types in the US. His voice is needed, so on this--his clear and considerably courageous support of Public Health COVID measures, I back him fully.

Pope Francis lamented that ideological divides were discouraging people from getting vaccinated.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pope-suggests-getting-covid-vaccine-is-a-moral-obligation_n_61dc5e10e4b061afe3b60fc6

On Monday he went a step further, saying that individuals had a responsibility to care for themselves “and this translates into respect for the health of those around us. Health care is a moral obligation,” he asserted.

He lamented that, increasingly, ideological divides were discouraging people from getting vaccinated.

“Frequently people let themselves be influenced by the ideology of the moment, often bolstered by baseless information or poorly documented facts,” he said, calling for the adoption of a “reality therapy” to correct this distortion.

“Vaccines are not a magical means of healing, yet surely they represent, in addition to other treatments that need to be developed, the most reasonable solution for the prevention of the disease,” he added.

[blm]

1. I so agree with you

[hlthe2b]

2. I worry for his safety against his avowed opponents.

[keep_left]

8. You should worry. They hate him. On Reddit, 8chan/8kun/whatever-the-hell-they-call-it-now...

...these people are just execrable. I think the American church is headed for a schism, and probably worse, in fact. A state of de facto schism has already existed for at least a decade, and it's been building since the late '80s.

[moondust]

3. Paging Senator Johnson (Lunatic-WI)

Pope says get the vax, RoJo.

Who ya gonna call, Vax Busters?

[dflprincess]

4. There goes the "religious belief" excuse for Catholics

Last edited Tue Jan 11, 2022, 01:40 AM - Edit history (1)

Actually, the Pope made it clear several weeks ago that there was no reason for Catholics to refuse the vaccination. It was at that point that the company I work for switched from accepting religous exemptions to "deeply held belief" exemption. It makes me wonder if there is some pro-life crackpot in the corporate suite that's worried about stem cells.

[keep_left]

10. Yes, Pope Francis forbade his bishops from allowing any vax exemptions.

Antivaxxers in the Church are disobeying a direct order, more or less.

[FakeNoose]

5. I don't know any Catholics who use "religious beliefs" as an excuse for anti-vax

As a matter of fact, during the lockdown last year, all Catholic worship had to cease and desist.

It's true that churches of every faith shut down last year during the lockdown, but Catholics are taught to believe it's a "mortal sin" to miss Mass on Sunday. Every Sunday and every holy day. So re-opening the churches and going back to Mass meant every Catholic had to be vaccinated in order to attend Mass. How does that translate into "religious beliefs" against getting vaccinated? It's pure BS.

The only belief anybody has against getting vaccinated is Repuke/Faux Noise/ChumpHumper bullshit.

Apologies to anyone who cannot get vaccinated due to health reasons. I don't lump you in with the deliberately ignorant.

Sincere appreciation to Pope Francis - an enlightened man - for making this point brilliantly.

[hlthe2b]

6. There is the equivalent of the fundy mega church, but Cathlolic near me--enormous...

I understand they allowed only 10% of their congregation to come in person throughout COVID, having produced high-quality internet mass instead.

I may not agree with them on abortion, but at least they are consistent on capital punishment, so, I do admire them for that and especially Pope Francis--who chose the name of St. Francis-- a figure to be admired in my life given his reverence for animals that echoes my own.

[FakeNoose]

9. Yes the televised Masses are a good thing, especially for senior citizens

I may have been slightly roundabout in saying this. But if any Catholics are anti-vax - and some are - it's not because of their religion. It's because they're Repukes, and they think it's a handy excuse.

[BigmanPigman]

7. I think it is political, not religious.

In fact I KNOW this BS is political. A 100,000 people in France protest over the weekend and it wasn't based on clashing theologies, it was all about political "freedom" crap just like in the US. Even in Rome citizens aren't concerned with religion when it come to masks and vaxxes. It is purely political.

[KS Toronado]

11. Now if Pope Francis would make every Priest saying mass,

that their sermons should be about vaccines, masks and looking out for your neighbor, I'd be happy.

[hlthe2b]

12. K&R

[orleans]

13. too bad he didn't say this sooner nt

[hlthe2b]

15. He has encouraged the vaccine all along. He's spoken out against those who claimed

it was the product of abortion or that fetal cell lines were used to test it and he required vaccination early on in the Vatican.

You are mistaken on this.

[orleans]

18. glad i'm mistaken. glad he's done all that. nt

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

14. SCOTUS are you listening?

[Kingofalldems]

21. Lots of Catholics on the court.

[70sEraVet]

16. The "Healthcare is a moral obligation" line needs to be repeated.

Maybe the Pope has been listening to Bernie!

[Act_of_Reparation]

17. Well shit.

Problem solved.

Now that Pope Francis has defeated COVID he can get back to important stuff like calling me selfish for not having kids.

[librechik]

19. Thanks Frank! You're the best! n/t

[librechik]

20. Thanks Frank! You're the best! n/t