Dear Friends,
Last weekend, a disruption occurred in the normal life of the parish. During a funeral Mass on Friday morning at St. Mary’s, an accident occurred that cut power to the church and the rectory. A young woman, driving north on Gulf Street, hit the pole that supports the electrical and telephone lines into the church and the rectory. As a result, there was no electrical power or telephone service in either the church or the rectory from Friday morning through late Saturday night. Happily, I understand that the driver was not seriously injured, and the disruption in our parish life was shortlived. Thanks to the hard work of Bob Lynch and his crew as well as our regular electrical contractors and United Illuminating, power was restored by 10:00 PM Saturday. Thankfully, the rectory has a generator that allowed life for me and Bruce to go on normally. I thank all of you for your understanding, cooperation and flexibility in what was a very unusual set of circumstances.
The hard and diligent work of so many over the past several months, due in no small part to the encouragement and drive of President Trump, has led to the production of two approved vaccines for COVID19, one from Pfizer, the other from Moderna. Two additional vaccines, I understand, are in the pipeline and may well be approved in the very near future. I myself eagerly await the possibility of receiving the vaccine, and I will do so when I am eligible. Since I am only 60 years old and in reasonably good health, I am not first in line, but it is my fervent hope to be vaccinated very soon.
There are some, perhaps more than a few, who are hesitant to take the vaccine, be out of the fear of side effects, or for moral reasons. As for the first concern, there are often side effects from vaccines, be they for the flu or for other purposes. Unless you have a serious health condition, there should be little concern about taking the vaccine. Of course, one should discuss this with your physician and weigh the risks and the benefits. I did so myself.
Regarding any moral concerns centered on the production of vaccines using abortionderived stem cell lines, in a recent letter to the priests of the Archdiocese, Archbishop Blair stated that (and I quote): “When all the moral considerations are weighedas they have been by both the Holy See in Rome and the USCCB [United States Conference of Catholic Bishops] Committee [the Secretariat of ProLife Activities]even when there is no choice of vaccine to receive, ‘one may receive any of the clinically recommended vaccines in good conscience with the assurance that reception of such vaccines does not involve immoral cooperation in abortion.’ It should also be noted that the two vaccines being administered in the United States (Pfizer and Moderna) are ‘very remote from the initial evil of abortion.’”
A further moral consideration to take when weighing the possibility of being vaccinated is found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2288, where it teaches that “life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good.” Included in this notion of the common good is the importance of “herd immunity” which can be attained when a sufficient number of the populace is properly vaccinated.
I offer these insights with the hope that they will help you make a decision, if you have not done so yet, to do what is best, not only for your own health and wellbeing, but also for that of your loved ones and those in the wider community.
As an additional help and by way of further information, I will make available on the parish website a series of answers to key ethical questions about COVID19 vaccines provided from the Secretariat of ProLife Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Have a good week!