The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released a statement on March 2 encouraging Catholics to avoid getting the latest adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson if alternatives are available. In Thursday’s statement, Bishop Kevin Rhoades, chairman of the conference’s Committee on Doctrine, and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, chairman of the conference’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, recommended Catholics get the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer or Moderna over Johnson & Johnson, if possible, because the latter adenovirus vector vaccine was developed with the help of abortion-derived cell lines. “The approval of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in the United States again raises questions about the moral permissibility of using vaccines developed, tested, and/or produced with the help of abortion-derived cell lines,” the Bishops wrote in their statement. “Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines raised concerns because an abortion-derived cell line was used for testing them, but not in their production. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, …
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released a statement on March 2 encouraging Catholics to avoid getting the latest adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson if alternatives are available. In Thursday’s statement, Bishop Kevin Rhoades, chairman of the conference’s Committee on Doctrine, and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, chairman of the conference’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, recommended
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