The Robert H. Spitz Foundation, administered by the Scranton Area Community Foundation, supported Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton with a $20,000 grant for a project titled “Reviving a Core Model for Self-Sufficiency: A Return To Evidence-Based Relief Assistance.”
The grant is helping Catholic Social Services provide relief assistance in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties in a manner that has measurable impact on recipients’ lives. Clients who receive relief assistance, for example, are tracked in their progress toward achieving individualized goals, such as maintaining stable housing, obtaining or retaining employment or repairing family finances through better credit management.
“It has always been our goal to show that clients who benefit from our services have achieved meaningful milestones in their lives as a result,” said Mary Theresa Malandro, diocesan secretary for Catholic human services and CEO of Catholic Social Services. “This grant is helping us to revive a service delivery model with proven reliability as we strive to continue to measure impact even as client numbers greatly increase during the pandemic.”
Relief assistance, especially via case management, has always been a hallmark of Catholic Social Services’ work.
“We are especially grateful to the Robert H. Spitz Foundation and to the Scranton Area Community Foundation for their continued partnership during these particularly troubling times,” Malandro said.
For more information about Catholic Social Services’ relief assistance program, call (570) 207-3808.
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SCRANTON (Dec. 22, 2020) – PenFed Credit Union of Scranton supported Saint Francis Commons in Scranton with a $6,000 donation on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020. The money will support programs and services for local homeless veterans.
Saint Francis Commons, located at 504 Penn Avenue, is an affordable, transitional housing facility for homeless veterans operated by Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton. The facility is currently home to 25 veterans. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Saint Francis Commons has enacted safety protocols to keep all veterans living at the facility safe and comfortable. To date, there have been no reported COVID-19 cases at Saint Francis Commons.
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VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican’s doctrinal office said that when alternative vaccines are not available, it is morally acceptable to receive COVID-19 vaccines developed or tested using cell lines originating from aborted fetuses.
However, “the licit use of such vaccines does not and should not in any way imply that there is a moral endorsement of the use of cell lines proceeding from aborted fetuses,” said the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
“Both pharmaceutical companies and governmental health agencies are therefore encouraged to produce, approve, distribute and offer ethically acceptable vaccines that do not create problems of conscience for either health care providers or the people to be vaccinated,” it added in a note published Dec. 21.
The note “on the morality of using some anti-COVID-19 vaccines” had been reviewed by Pope Francis Dec. 17 and he ordered its publication, the doctrinal office said.
As vaccines against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 are being distributed in some parts of the world, the doctrinal office said it has been receiving requests for guidance regarding the use of vaccines which, “in the course of research and production, employed cell lines drawn from tissue obtained from two abortions that occurred in the last century.”
The “diverse and sometimes conflicting pronouncements in the mass media by bishops, Catholic associations, and experts have raised questions about the morality of the use of these vaccines,” the congregation said.
Even though there are already some notes and instructions by the doctrinal office and the Pontifical Academy for Life regarding vaccines prepared from such cell lines, it said, “this congregation desires to offer some indications for clarification of this matter.”
The Catholic Church teaches that there are differing degrees of responsibility of cooperation with evil. That means that the responsibility of those who make the decision to use cell lines of illicit origin is not the same as those “who have no voice in such a decision,” the doctrinal office said, quoting from its 2008 instruction, “Dignitas Personae.”
“When ethically irreproachable COVID-19 vaccines are not available — e.g. in countries where vaccines without ethical problems are not made available to physicians and patients or where their distribution is more difficult due to special storage and transport conditions or when various types of vaccines are distributed in the same country but health authorities do not allow citizens to choose the vaccine with which to be inoculated — it is morally acceptable to receive COVID-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research and production process,” the doctrinal congregation wrote in the new note.
Using these vaccines is morally licit when the “passive material cooperation” with the evil of an abortion “from which these cell lines originate is, on the part of those making use of the resulting vaccines, remote.”
“The moral duty to avoid such passive material cooperation is not obligatory if there is a grave danger, such as the otherwise uncontainable spread of a serious pathological agent — in this case, the pandemic spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19,” it said.
Therefore, in such a case, “all vaccinations recognized as clinically safe and effective can be used in good conscience with the certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion,” it said.
However, the doctrinal congregation emphasized that “the morally licit use of these types of vaccines, in the particular conditions that make it so, does not in itself constitute a legitimation, even indirect, of the practice of abortion, and necessarily assumes the opposition to this practice by those who make use of these vaccines.”
The congregation repeated the Vatican’s call on pharmaceutical companies and governmental agencies to produce, approve and distribute ethically acceptable vaccines, that is, without using morally compromised cell lines at all.
The doctrinal office also said that “vaccination is not, as a rule, a moral obligation and that, therefore, it must be voluntary.”
From an ethical point of view, “the morality of vaccination depends not only on the duty to protect one’s own health, but also on the duty to pursue the common good,” it added.
If there are no other means to stop or prevent an epidemic, the congregation said, “the common good may recommend vaccination, especially to protect the weakest and most exposed.”
Those who wish, for “reasons of conscience,” to refuse vaccines produced with cell lines from aborted fetuses, “must do their utmost to avoid, by other prophylactic means and appropriate behavior, becoming vehicles for the transmission” of the virus.
They must avoid putting at risk the health of those who cannot be vaccinated for medical or other reasons and who are the most vulnerable, it said.
Lastly, the congregation said it is “a moral imperative for the pharmaceutical industry, governments and international organizations to ensure that vaccines, which are effective and safe from a medical point of view, as well as ethically acceptable, are also accessible to the poorest countries in a manner that is not costly for them.”
Otherwise, this lack of access would become yet another sign of discrimination and injustice “that condemns poor countries to continue living in health, economic and social poverty.”
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SCRANTON (Dec. 21, 2020) – The Paul “Hook” O’Malley Ancient Order of Hibernians Division #4 made a $500 donation to Saint Francis of Assisi Kitchen in Scranton on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. The money will support the kitchen’s ongoing daily effort to provide a hot, nutritious meal to individuals and families in need seven days a week. This is the second donation the organization has provided to the kitchen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, the group provided a separate $600 donation to the kitchen.
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Statement of Bishop Joseph C. Bambera
As Bishop of the Diocese of Scranton, I am delighted to extend prayerful congratulations to Bishop-elect Larry J. Kulick, who has been appointed by our Holy Father, Pope Francis, to become the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Greensburg.
As a native of the Greensburg Diocese, Bishop-elect Kulick has proven to be a humble servant of the Lord Jesus. He will undoubtedly continue serving the faithful with a genuine and caring heart as he assumes his new ministry.
I join with the faithful of the Diocese of Scranton in praying for Bishop-elect Kulick.
Pope Francis Names Monsignor Larry Kulick of Diocese of Greensburg as Bishop of Greensburg
December 18, 2020
WASHINGTON—Pope Francis has appointed Monsignor Larry James Kulick as the Bishop of Greensburg. Monsignor Kulick is a priest of the Diocese of Greensburg who has been serving as Diocesan Administrator of the diocese since September 2020.
The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on December 18, 2020 by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. The Diocese of Greensburg has been a vacant see since July 2020 following the appointment of Bishop Edward C. Malesic to Cleveland.
Bishop-elect Kulick was born on February 24, 1966 in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania, and ordained to the priesthood on May 16, 1992 for the Diocese of Greensburg. Monsignor Kulick graduated from Saint Joseph High School in Natrona Heights. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy (1988) and a Master’s degree in Theology (1992) from Saint Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and a Licentiate in Canon Law (JCL) from The Catholic University of America in Washington in 2012.
After ordination, Father Kulick was assigned to Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Greensburg as parochial vicar where he served until 1995; he was assigned as parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception parish in Irwin from 1995-1997. In 1997, he was named pastor at Parish of the Good Shepherd in Kent, where he served until 2004, and pastor at St. Joseph parish in New Kensington from 2004-2008.
From 1996-2001, Father Kulick served on the diocesan Priests’ Council as a consultant on priestly vocations. From 2008-2012, he served as co-episcopal master of ceremonies, co-director of the Office of Clergy Vocations and co-director of the Permanent Diaconate Office for the Diocese of Greensburg.
Since 2012, Bishop-elect Kulick has been pastor of Saint James parish in New Alexandria, while also serving as a judge, defender of the bond, and advocate in the diocesan tribunal. During the same period, he has also served as vicar general, moderator of the curia, and acting chancellor for the diocese. He received the title of Monsignor by his office as Vicar General of the Diocese of Greensburg on May 21, 2014. Bishop-elect Kulick has also served as a member of the Administrative Board for the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference and as chaplain for the Council of Catholic Women.
The Diocese of Greensburg is comprised of 3,334 square miles in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and has a total population of 659,596 of which 126,649 are Catholic.
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Statement of Bishop Joseph C. Bambera
As Bishop of the Diocese of Scranton, I am delighted to extend prayerful congratulations to Bishop-elect Larry J. Kulick, who has been appointed by our Holy Father, Pope Francis, to become the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Greensburg.
As a native of the Greensburg Diocese, Bishop-elect Kulick has proven to be a humble servant of the Lord Jesus. He will undoubtedly continue serving the faithful with a genuine and caring heart as he assumes his new ministry.
I join with the faithful of the Diocese of Scranton in praying for Bishop-elect Kulick.
Pope Francis Names Monsignor Larry Kulick of Diocese of Greensburg as Bishop of Greensburg
December 18, 2020
WASHINGTON—Pope Francis has appointed Monsignor Larry James Kulick as the Bishop of Greensburg. Monsignor Kulick is a priest of the Diocese of Greensburg who has been serving as Diocesan Administrator of the diocese since September 2020.
The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on December 18, 2020 by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. The Diocese of Greensburg has been a vacant see since July 2020 following the appointment of Bishop Edward C. Malesic to Cleveland.
Bishop-elect Kulick was born on February 24, 1966 in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania, and ordained to the priesthood on May 16, 1992 for the Diocese of Greensburg. Monsignor Kulick graduated from Saint Joseph High School in Natrona Heights. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy (1988) and a Master’s degree in Theology (1992) from Saint Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and a Licentiate in Canon Law (JCL) from The Catholic University of America in Washington in 2012.
After ordination, Father Kulick was assigned to Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Greensburg as parochial vicar where he served until 1995; he was assigned as parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception parish in Irwin from 1995-1997. In 1997, he was named pastor at Parish of the Good Shepherd in Kent, where he served until 2004, and pastor at St. Joseph parish in New Kensington from 2004-2008.
From 1996-2001, Father Kulick served on the diocesan Priests’ Council as a consultant on priestly vocations. From 2008-2012, he served as co-episcopal master of ceremonies, co-director of the Office of Clergy Vocations and co-director of the Permanent Diaconate Office for the Diocese of Greensburg.
Since 2012, Bishop-elect Kulick has been pastor of Saint James parish in New Alexandria, while also serving as a judge, defender of the bond, and advocate in the diocesan tribunal. During the same period, he has also served as vicar general, moderator of the curia, and acting chancellor for the diocese. He received the title of Monsignor by his office as Vicar General of the Diocese of Greensburg on May 21, 2014. Bishop-elect Kulick has also served as a member of the Administrative Board for the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference and as chaplain for the Council of Catholic Women.
The Diocese of Greensburg is comprised of 3,334 square miles in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and has a total population of 659,596 of which 126,649 are Catholic.
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In liturgical terms, the coronavirus pandemic the world currently finds itself in the unrelenting grip of began with the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord in March.
Fast forward nine months and Christianity finds itself on the eve of the Miracle of Christmas — the Nativity of the Lord foretold by the Angel Gabriel to a virgin named Mary in the obscure town of Nazareth.
Now the question becomes: How do pastoral ministers throughout the Church of Scranton answer the challenging call to offer messages of joy, peace and hope to their scattered flocks for Christmas 2020?
For Father Carmen Perry, a Diocesan priest of 43 years who serves as pastor of Saint Luke Parish in Stroudsburg, the answer came recently while praying the Liturgy of the Hours as he was touched more deeply by one of the readings he has perused so often in the past.
“Perhaps it is because, during this dark time of the pandemic, as we journey through the holy season of Advent, we are reminded to welcome and open our lives to the Light of God and follow the Light,” Father Perry said.
The seasoned pastor was referring to a meditation from Saint Augustine in which the great Doctor of the Church reminds us:
“God, who is faithful, put Himself in our debt, not by receiving anything, but by promising so much to us. Through the prophets, He committed to writing those promises so we could see the way in which He would discharge them.”
Quoting the saint’s writings, Father Perry explained, “(God) promised us eternal salvation, everlasting happiness with the angels, an immortal inheritance, endless glory, the joyful vision of His face, His holy dwelling in heaven, and after resurrection from the dead, no further fear of dying.”
“God not only made a written contract,” Father continued, “but also established a Mediator — not a prince or angel or archangel, but His only Son.”
Hearkening words from the popular Christmas carol O Little Town of Bethlehem — “where meek souls will receive Him, still the dear Christ enters in” — Father Perry offered, “As we celebrate the miracle of Christmas, and even though we are in this dark world of sin and death, Jesus has come to raise us in God’s own Eternal Life.”
“May the Light of Christ shine within you in the Christmas season — and always,” he concluded.
Referring to the fact that his Christmas congregations will be comprised of those in attendance in church and those participating through closed circuit television or virtual broadcasts in the comfort of their own homes, Father Brian J.W. Clarke stated, “The celebration of Christmas Mass will be no less of a celebration of the birth of Christ.”
Ordained in 2002, Father Clarke shepherds the parish faith communities of Holy Rosary in Hazleton and Holy Name of Jesus in West Hazleton.
“As discussions began regarding Christmas preparations,” Father said, “people asked about decorating the church. Originally we planned to scale back quite a bit. As people heard this, they asked if we could decorate as before. They offered to help and make sure everything was prepared.”
Regarding his faithful, the Hazleton pastor indicated that it did not matter to them if they were physically in the pews or watching the Mass virtually online. They expressed strong sentiments to be able to experience the season’s familiar festiveness in order to help them enter into the celebrations.
“This year, even more so, the message will focus on the true celebration of Christmas, the birth of Christ,” Father Clarke expressed. “We are reminded that whether we are in a pandemic or facing some other crisis, it does not change the fact of Christ’s birth and the reason to celebrate. We pray that no matter the situation, all will be open to receive the joyful spirit of Christmas during this blessed season.”
As the pastor of Saint Peter Parish, Wellsboro, and Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish, Elkland, Father David Bechtel plans to convey his Christmas message on the true meaning of the Incarnation by way of hypotheticals: What if all the trappings we associate with Christmas — Santa Claus, toys, festive dinners, decorations and presents under the tree — were suddenly absent from our celebrations? What if we cannot gather with loved ones due to sickness, death or even a global pandemic?
“If we believe Christmas is all of those things, that if we don’t have those things we cannot have Christmas, then we have a problem,” he remarked. “All of these have little to do with Christmas. The real meaning of Christmas is that God has come among us and God is with us.”
The youthful pastor continued by stating that many wonder why a loving God would not suddenly eradicate the pandemic or allow it to happen in the first place.
“God most certainly can take it from us,” he said of the ongoing health crisis, “but it is in times of adversity that we grow. It is in times of adversity that we find out who we really are. Times of adversity become times for the power of good to reveal itself.”
Such a pandemic, he suggested, allows for the opportunity of personal and spiritual growth and to utilize the God-given gifts and talents at our disposal to overcome life’s challenges.
“God is with us in this pandemic just as He has been with His people during times of crisis throughout history,” Father Bechtel offered. “The gift of Christmas serves as a reminder that God is with his people. God walks with his people. God will never leave us or forsake us. He is united with us and can never be divided from us.”
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DICKSON CITY – Thousands of children across northeastern Pennsylvania will have presents under the tree this Christmas, thanks to an ongoing partnership between Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton and the Friends of the Poor.
On Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, more than 500 families picked up gifts as part of the annual Gifts for Kids holiday toy distribution.
“It’s a privilege to be able to serve those in need. It’s the mission of Catholic Social Services and what better time than Christmas to be able to reach out and help, particularly children, celebrate the Christmas and holiday season,” Mary Theresa Malandro, Diocesan Secretary for Catholic Human Services and Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Social Services, said.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the distribution process changed significantly this year. Instead of being held at the University of Scranton’s Byron Center, where parents could select their own toys from tables, this year’s distribution was held by drive-thru in an effort to promote social distancing.
“They (families) registered and we took the information and spent four days putting all of the gift bags together,” Malandro explained.
Parker Hill Church generously donated space for volunteers to sort and package all of the gifts. The parking lot of the Church also provided ample room for families to wait in line during the distribution process.
“It’s a wonderful feeling. It’s a blessing, it’s a privilege to be able to help everybody in the community,” Tracey Mulrain, Director of Catholic Social Services’ Offices in Lackawanna & Luzerne County, said.
In the Scranton-area, approximately 530 families registered for assistance. That translated to more than 10,000 gifts for roughly 1,800 children.
Catholic Social Services and Friends of the Poor received 7,700 toys from the Marine Corps ‘Toys for Tots’ programs and supplemented that with gifts provided by community members, Diocesan parishes, schools and other organizations.
“Our biggest age range was 9-11,” Meghan Loftus, President and CEO of Friends of the Poor, said. “We try to make sure that each child has one large and one or two small toys, along with stocking stuffers like animals, puzzles, books, that sort of thing.”
Because of the pandemic, many families registered for help for the first time.
“It has been challenging in the middle of the coronavirus,” Malandro explained. “Many families and parents have become unemployed and cannot give to their children as they would like to, so I think this year, more than ever it is a real privilege to be able to help those that wouldn’t have a Christmas.”
While organizers of the toy distribution say they’re happy to be able to bring some holiday cheer just before Christmas, they are unfortunately well aware of the need and poverty in this region.
“Our poverty rate in this area is 25-percent, compared to the state and federal level that is only 12 or 12 and a-half percent,” Loftus said. “One in four people in our area live in poverty and need some sort of assistance. That is what our agencies do 365 days a year.”
In addition to the toy giveaway in Scranton, Catholic Social Services also sponsored several other toy distributions this week. Nearly 400 families in Carbondale and another 400 families in Hazleton received toys as well in separate distributions. Families involved in youth programs through Catholic Social Services in Wilkes-Barre also received toys from the agency this holiday season.
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WASHINGTON (CNS) – The “gravity” of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and “the lack of availability of alternative vaccines,” are “sufficiently serious” reasons to accept the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, the chairmen of the U.S. bishops’ doctrine and pro-life committees said Dec. 14.
“Receiving the COVID-19 vaccine ought to be understood as an act of charity toward the other members of our community,” they said. “In this way, being vaccinated safely against COVID-19 should be considered an act of love of our neighbor and part of our moral responsibility for the common good.”
The bishops addressed the moral concerns raised by the fact the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have some connection to cell lines that originated with tissue taken from abortions.
However, this connection to morally compromised cell lines is so remote and the public health situation is too grave to reject the vaccines, said Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
Late Dec. 11, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave emergency-use approval to the Pfizer vaccine, with approval expected for Moderna the week of Dec. 14. UPS and FedEx began shipping the doses across the country Dec. 12, with the first shipments arriving Dec. 14.
Each state has a distribution plan for administering them. National guidelines call for health care workers and those in nursing homes and long-term care facilities to be first in line to get immunized.
On Dec. 8, The Lancet medical journal reported that four clinical trials of a third vaccine, being developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca “appears to have moderate efficacy in preventing symptomatic illness, and may significantly reduce hospitalization from the disease.” Astra Zeneca is expected to apply to the FDA for emergency use of its vaccine in the coming weeks.
Bishop Rhoades and Archbishop Naumann said they found the AstraZeneca vaccine it to be “more morally compromised” and concluded this vaccine “should be avoided” if there are alternatives available.
“It may turn out, however, that one does not really have a choice of vaccine, at least, not without a lengthy delay in immunization that may have serious consequences for one’s health and the health of others,” the two prelates stated. “In such a case … it would be permissible to accept the AstraZeneca vaccine.”
Shortly after Pfizer and Moderna announced Nov. 11 and Nov. 16, respectively, that their vaccines were 95% effective against COVID-19, critics claimed the vaccines have been produced using cells from aborted fetuses, leading to confusion over “the moral permissibility” of using these vaccines.
Bishop Rhoades and Archbishop Naumann addressed this issue in a Nov. 23 memo to their fellow bishops and addressed it again in their 2,400-word statement Dec. 12. In the memo, they noted some were “asserting that if a vaccine is connected in any way with tainted cell lines, then it is immoral to be vaccinated with them. This is an inaccurate portrayal of Catholic moral teaching.”
In their new lengthy statement, the two committee chairmen emphasized that any such cell lines were derived from tissue samples taken from fetuses aborted in the 1960s and 1970s and have been grown in laboratories all over the world since then.
“It is important to note that the making of the rubella vaccine – or that of the new COVID-19 vaccines – does not involve cells taken directly from the body of an aborted child,” Bishop Rhoades and Archbishop Naumann said. “Cells taken from two abortions in the 1960s were replicated in a laboratory to produce two cell lines that can be reproduced again and again, indefinitely.”
“To make the rubella vaccine, cells from these cell lines are stimulated to produce the chemicals necessary for the vaccine,” they explained. “It is not as if the making of the vaccine required ever more cells from ever more abortions.”
The two committee chairmen said the Vatican, through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Pontifical Academy for Life, “has offered guidance on the question of whether it is morally acceptable to receive a vaccine that has been created with the use of morally compromised cell lines.”
Both the congregation and the academy “emphasize the positive moral obligation to do good,” they said, “and in so doing to distance oneself as much as possible from the immoral act of another party such as abortion in order to avoid cooperation with someone else’s evil actions and to avoid giving scandal, which could happen if one’s own actions were perceived by other people to ignore or to minimize the evil of the action.”
“Our love of neighbor should lead us to avoid giving scandal, but we cannot omit fulfilling serious obligations such as the prevention of deadly infection and the spread of contagion among those who are vulnerable just to avoid the appearance of scandal,” the two prelates said.
At the same time, the bishops also cautioned Catholics against complacency about the moral issue of abortion and ethical issues surrounding the development of some vaccines.
“While having ourselves and our families immunized against COVID-19 with the new vaccines is morally permissible and can be an act of self-love and of charity toward others, we must not allow the gravely immoral nature of abortion to be obscured,” Bishop Rhoades and Archbishop Naumann said.
“It is true that one can receive benefits from an evil action in the past without intending that action or approving of it. The association with the evil action that comes with receiving benefits from that evil action, however, can have a corrupting influence on one’s perception of the evil action, making it more difficult to recognize it as evil,” they explained.
“One might become desensitized to the gravely evil nature of that action. One might become complacent about that action and ignore the obligation to do what one can to oppose the evil action,” they said, adding that others might see “one’s acceptance of benefits from an evil action” and feel the action isn’t really evil, feel less urgency “to oppose that evil” or even miss opportunities to do what they can “to oppose it.”
“We should be on guard so that the new COVID-19 vaccines do not desensitize us or weaken our determination to oppose the evil of abortion itself and the subsequent use of fetal cells in research,” Bishop Rhoades and Archbishop Naumann said.