(SAN DIEGO) – Bishop Robert W. McElroy, head of the Catholic Diocese of San Diego, issued the following statement today indicating that the use of any of the approved COVID-19 vaccines is “morally legitimate” and that receiving this vaccination is “ truly showing love for our neighbors and our God.”
The full statement:
“We live in a complicated world, therefore Catholic moral teaching is often highly complex and nuanced in its reasoning about how to navigate the questions of balancing good and evil in facing ethical decisions.
“But on the moral and pastoral question of whether to receive the Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson or Astra-Zeneca vaccines, I want to make clear to the Catholic communities of San Diego and Imperial Counties that in this time of pandemic, when we have limited vaccine options available to bring healing to our nation and our world, it is morally legitimate to receive any of these four vaccines, and to recognize, as Pope Francis has noted, that by receiving them we are truly showing love for our neighbor and our God.”