In recent months, this column has considered on a number of occasions the importance of a rightly formed conscience. For us as Catholics, this means that we seek to align our conscience with the will of Christ. In so doing we seek to think and act with the Church He established.

 

The Second Vatican Council taught that in the formation of conscience, “We are assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the witness or advice of others and guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church.” (Dignitatis Humanae, 14).

 

These considerations are helpful to us as we assess developments in the fight against the corona virus. Specifically, there is recent news that vaccines may very soon be made available in the United States. Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna have announced that they will soon be ready to release vaccines with a high measure of effectiveness against the virus.

 

Along with this news, however, have come some questions of conscience about the permissibility of using these vaccines. The response to such questions requires faith, study and the application of the Church’s teaching developed over many centuries.

 

Fortunately, in recent days guidance has come from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) through the chairmen of its committees on Doctrine and Pro-Life Activities. Their guidance states, “Neither the Pfizer nor the Moderna vaccine involved the use of cell lines that originated in fetal tissue taken from the body of an aborted baby at any level of design, development, or production. They are not completely free from any connection to abortion, however, as both Pfizer and Moderna made use of a tainted cell line for one of the confirmatory lab tests of their products. There is thus a connection, but it is relatively remote.”

 

The guidance from the USCCB goes on to cite Vatican documents from 2005, 2008 and 2017, that is from the last three pontificates, which address the issue of vaccines and tainted cell lines. The USCCB chairmen note, “These documents all point to the immorality of using tissue taken from an aborted child for creating cell lines. They also make distinctions in terms of the moral responsibility of the various actors involved, from those involved in designing and producing a vaccine to those receiving the vaccine. Most importantly, they all make it clear that, at the level of the recipient, it is morally permissible to accept vaccination when there are no alternatives and there is a serious risk to health.”

 

In short, the guidance of the Church is that in good conscience it is permissible to receive the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

 

As people of faith committed to the common good, we are moved to thank God that there is hope for prevention and eventual eradication of the virus. Our commitment to that common good should also encourage us to receive the vaccine and to ensure its availability to the needy both in this country and throughout the world where people with little or no health care are suffering from the devastation of the virus.

 

It should, of course, be our goal that tainted cells from aborted fetuses not be utilized in any fashion in the development of such vaccines. However, as the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life notes, “The burden of this important battle cannot and must not fall on innocent children and on the health situation of the population.”

 

How grateful we should be for the guidance of the Church for our consciences, especially in such important and complicated matters.