Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland signs open letter against vaccination
An open letter by Catholic bishops against vaccination has appeared online. Of course, the letter of 12 December bears the signatures of only a small group of far-right Catholic figures, yet not only the church leadership but perhaps even some secular authorities ought to look closely at this démarche. Among the signatories are loudmouths removed from ministry, serial dissenters and plain charlatans whose careers rest on nothing but self-promotion, but there is also the name of Joseph Strickland of Texas, a regular contributor to Catholic Answers magazine and a longtime opponent of Pope Francis. He is, let us not forget, a sitting diocesan bishop, possessed of real ecclesiastical power and of the authority to impose this or that obligation on the faithful of his diocese. His statements can therefore do direct harm to the health of his parishioners, and not only spiritual but physical harm, and what is more, endanger the lives of a far wider circle of people outside the church.
What is the substance of the protest? The letter states that Catholics cannot accept the coronavirus vaccine because it was developed with the use of fetal, that is, infant, cells. Consequently, distributing the vaccine and encouraging vaccination would amount to approving the sinful practice of abortion. What is there to say? It is one thing when these same people refuse to recognise Biden's victory or espouse some vaguer conspiracy theories, but when they contradict the findings of authorities within their own institution and brazenly lie, it is simply stupid and dishonourable.
The matter concerns not only the fatal consequences of the decline of common sense, the rejection of science and the erosion of Catholic morality, but, quite elementarily, the letter's disagreement with the findings of Catholic bioethics commissions and moral theology committees, which accord with official science, which shows that no cells from aborted infants were used in the production of any of the vaccines.
Naturally, the protesters also ignore the rulings of the Vatican and of the American episcopate that participation in vaccination is rightly to be regarded as charity towards one's neighbour, responsibility for the common good, and a show of love and compassion for the weakest and least protected.
Let me remind you that earlier Strickland and company marched in the ranks of the “Christmas Uprising”, calling on Catholics around the world to attend Christmas services regardless of the restrictions imposed by civil and church authorities. In the spring the same people energetically promoted a similar Easter initiative. He signed a manifesto denouncing the destruction of centuries of Christian civilisation by public health under the cover of a fictitious pandemic. Alongside such well-known lunatics as Professor Denis Rancourt, the Covid dissident Andrew Wakefield and Dr Andrew Kaufman, Strickland is one of the principal speakers of a rather influential anti-vaccination force in the United States.
Still, it is gratifying that paranoid moods and anxiety over a worldwide conspiracy grip only the marginalised members of the clergy, while sensible pastors offer up prayers for the enlightenment of Bishop Joseph Strickland, whose delusions and alarming views inflict real damage on the body of the church.
