Pope Francis’ motu proprio on the usus antiquior defeats its own stated purposes
By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman on Aug 12, 2021 09:47 pmPope Francis new motu proprio on the traditional liturgy of the Roman Rite is, as so many commentators have already observed, a shockingly draconian exercise of papal authority, one that strikes at the heart of [...]
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Lima archbishop proposes replacing priests with laity as pastors
By Catholic News Agency on Aug 12, 2021 06:00 pmArchbishop Carlos Castillo of Lima. / ANDINA / Norman Córdova. Lima, Peru, Aug 12, 2021 / 16:00 pm (CNA). The Archbishop of Lima last month presented his proposal to replace priests with lay people in parishes in the Peruvian capital.Archbishop ... [...]
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Will the Supreme Court’s religion-friendly actions continue?
By Russell Shaw on Aug 12, 2021 12:19 pmHas the Supreme Court sold out to religion? You could be excused for thinking so if all you had to go on was the hue and cry protesting things the court did last term. And [...]
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Ex-seminarian’s lawsuit resurrects ‘orgy’ allegation against Omaha Archbishop George Lucas
By Catholic News Agency on Aug 12, 2021 08:12 amOmaha Archbishop George Lucas in a 2011 photo. Rome Newsroom, Aug 12, 2021 / 06:12 am (CNA). Recent affidavits in a lawsuit brought by a former seminarian against administrators of Rome’s Pontifical North American College major seminary have res... [...]
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Responding to the “Mass” Exodus
By Dr. R. Jared Staudt on Aug 12, 2021 02:59 amThe Catholic Church, along with every major Protestant denomination, has witnessed a precipitous decline in Church attendance. This slide, set off during the 1960s, has accelerated with the rapid rise of the “nones,” Americans claiming no religious affiliation. We could wonder, has the bottom fallen out with this [...]
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A paradoxical and Catholic discussion of faith and reason
By Brian Welter on Aug 11, 2021 04:58 pmTheology: Mythos or Logos consists of a series of letters between two Catholic thinkers with distinctive stances on the reason- or faith-based approaches to the faith. These stances are somewhat artificial given the Church’s long [...]
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The most important job interview you’ll ever have
By Nick Olszyk on Aug 11, 2021 03:32 pmMPAA Rating: R USCCB Rating: NA Reel Rating: 3 out of 5 reels Most films contain a standard three act/eight sequences structure that is easy to discern and even easier to digest. Occasionally, however, filmmakers [...]
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Catholic seminaries requiring vaccines, with exemptions, for fall semester
By Catholic News Agency on Aug 11, 2021 02:03 pm
Washington D.C., Aug 11, 2021 / 12:03 pm (CNA).
Catholic seminaries in the northeast are requiring COVID-19 vaccination for their seminarians before the coming semester begins.
Mt. Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland is one of the colleges requiring students and seminarians to be vaccinated before coming to campus in August 2021.
Students were given at least a few months to apply for a religious or medical exemption to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, but the deadline was July 30, Donna Klinger, director of public relations and communications for the university, told CNA in a phone call
Students still seeking an exemption will not be allowed to physically return to campus, Klinger told CNA, but they will have the opportunity to work with the university administration to attempt online learning. Not all university classes are offered online.
At St. John’s Seminary in Boston, vice rector Fr. Thomas Macdonald said seminarians are “expected” to be vaccinated.
The job of a priest requires being close to the people, Macdonald noted, telling CNA that a priest needs access to places that house vulnerable people such as nursing homes. St. John’s is allowing seminarians to opt out of vaccination, but in such cases the seminarian must explain his reasoning for doing so.
Most of the seminarians are already vaccinated, according to the vice rector.
Macdonald told CNA that requesting religious exemptions to the vaccine also raises “theological questions,” as the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has already clarified that the use of COVID-19 vaccines with connections to cell lines derived from abortions is not immoral.
According to the same December 2020 doctrinal note of the congregation, the Vatican also stated that “vaccination is not, as a rule, a moral obligation” and “therefore, it must be voluntary.” The note went on to recognize conscientious refusal of vaccines, explaining that those who refuse COVID-19 vaccines with connections to cell lines derived from abortions, “for reasons of conscience,” must take appropriate precautions to avoid transmitting the virus.
Seton Hall University is requiring its students and seminarians to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as well. These students may still opt-out “while COVID-19 vaccines are authorized on an emergency-use basis.”
Although the three vaccines authorized for use in the United States have only an emergency use authorization of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the administration reportedly might issue full approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine within weeks.
“We do recognize the legitimate concerns of individuals in the Seton Hall community around COVID-19, and there are exemptions for religious beliefs, pre-existing health conditions or personal reasons while COVID-19 vaccines are authorized on an emergency-use basis,” said the university’s director of media relations, Laurie Pine, to CNA in an email statement.
An emergency use authorization allows the FDA to expedite its approval of a medical product during public health emergencies.
In its July 2 statement on vaccine mandates, the National Catholic Bioethics Center cautioned against mandates, especially when the COVID vaccines have yet to be fully approved by the FDA. The center said “it would be a radical departure from past practice to impose a mandate involving an unapproved vaccine available only under an Emergency Use Authorization.”
It is unclear whether Seton Hall will no longer allow exemptions after COVID-19 vaccines are fully approved.
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Pope Leo XIII and contemporary Catholic contentions
By George Weigel on Aug 11, 2021 03:01 amGiven everything else going on these days, it may seem strange that a 129-year-old encyclical by Pope Leo XIII, founding father of modern Catholic social doctrine, should have become a shuttlecock in the volleys exchanged [...]
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“Mission is interpersonal, not virtual”
By Paul Senz on Aug 10, 2021 04:37 pmIn many ways, in most places, things are starting to get “back to normal”. While the threat of further shutdowns and restrictions hangs over our heads like the Sword of Damocles, when the opportunity arises [...]
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Eucharistic Incoherence
By Amy Welborn on Aug 10, 2021 02:25 pmIt’s a dilemma, isn’t it? You have to wonder if anyone ever really thought this through. Let’s look at this. Let’s consider the concrete, material reality of Catholic life before, say 1965. What aspects of [...]
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Despite millions in Catholic residential schools reparations, critics seek to end church tax exemptions
By Catholic News Agency on Aug 09, 2021 10:22 pmThe former Kamloops Indian Residential School / Bruce Raynor/Shutterstock Ottawa, Canada, Aug 9, 2021 / 18:22 pm (CNA). Catholic entities had committed tens of millions of dollars in legal settlements for their involvement in the Canadian govern... [...]
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Telling the World’s Greatest Story with seven simple points
By Fr. Charles Fox on Aug 09, 2021 04:00 pmAt some point on life’s journey, every person should get to meet a gifted storyteller. Every family, workplace, and pretty much every group of any kind should come equipped with one. Some cultures hold storytelling [...]
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Opinion: Vatican II, dialogue with the world, and natural law
By Jack Gist on Aug 09, 2021 03:32 pmPope Francis’ recent apostolic letter on the use of the traditional Latin Mass, Traditionis Custodis, presumably written in the spirit of unity, has produced a firestorm of reactions—some positive, some negative, others seeking a middle [...]
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Report: Envelope with three bullets addressed to Pope Francis intercepted
By Catholic News Agency on Aug 09, 2021 09:00 amPope Francis delivers his Angelus address at the Vatican, Aug. 8, 2021. / Vatican Media. Rome Newsroom, Aug 9, 2021 / 07:00 am (CNA). An envelope addressed to Pope Francis and containing three bullets was intercepted in Milan late on Sunday nigh... [...]
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New exhibit offers glimpse into everyday life of the Setons
By John Tuttle on Aug 09, 2021 12:48 amThe National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton opened its latest exhibition beginning July 1. “Seton Family Treasures”, as the exhibit is called, showcases various former belongings of the Setons. The beautiful shrine, dedicated to [...]
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Saint Dominic de Guzman’s gift to women
By Dawn Beutner on Aug 08, 2021 09:01 pmThe 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Dominic de Guzman in Bologna, Italy, was celebrated on August 8, 2021.1 His spiritual sons and daughters will surely tell us about the many blessings that he [...]
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Learning and loving the music of Christendom
By Paul Senz on Aug 08, 2021 12:38 amThe history of Western art, music, and literature is intimately intertwined with the Catholic Faith and the Catholic Church. Between Catholic patrons supporting the arts, and Catholic artists putting their faith on canvas or plaster [...]
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Bishop Zanchetta faces trial on sexual abuse charges in October
By Catholic News Agency on Aug 07, 2021 06:40 amBishop Gustavo Zanchetta. / ACI Prensa. Salta, Argentina, Aug 7, 2021 / 04:40 am (CNA). Argentine Catholic Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta will go on trial on sexual abuse charges in October.The public prosecutor’s office of the Argentine province of S... [...]
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Does Traditionis Custodes pass Liturgical History 101 ?
By Dom Alcuin Reid on Aug 07, 2021 12:40 amIn the brouhaha following the promulgation of the Motu Proprio Traditionis custodes on July 16th we have been treated to a torrent of commentary from the victors that often betrays such a distortion of liturgical [...]
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Spiritual hunger and the Bread of Life
By Carl E. Olson on Aug 06, 2021 05:49 pmOn the Readings for Sunday, August 11, 2018 [...]
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Bishops in Colorado back conscientious exemption for coronavirus vaccines
By Catholic News Agency on Aug 06, 2021 04:27 pmBall Lunla/Shutterstock Denver, Colo., Aug 6, 2021 / 16:27 pm (CNA). The Catholic bishops in Colorado have emphasized the need to respect those with conscientious objections to the COVID-19 vaccines and have provided a template letter for any Ca... [...]
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