Nurse Savanah Crull receives the Pfizer COVID -19 vaccine from Clinical Practice Coordinator Hannah Harrison at OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington on Dec. 18. (OSF HealthCare photo)

The Diocese of Peoria released the following statement on Dec. 22, 2020:

As you have most likely been made aware, the United States Bishops have approved the use of the Moderna and Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccines for Catholics (see The Catholic Post, Sunday, December 20, 2020, page 5) as an “act of charity” in light of the public health risks of the pandemic. In response to the vaccines, the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life and Doctrine stated this, “People may in good conscience use the vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna, which made only limited use of those unethical cell lines (for lab testing of the vaccine).” Moral theologians refer to this as “remote material cooperation.” The Vatican has agreed with this position as outlined in the U.S. Bishops’ statement.

We must encourage the continued development of non-morally compromised cell lines for future vaccines from all drug-manufacturing companies. At this time the Church allows the use of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to combat Covid-19 if you choose to be vaccinated. If you would like to read the complete statement of the U.S. Bishops on the “Moral Considerations Regarding the New COVID-19 Vaccines” go the USCCB website
at https://www.usccb.org/moral-considerations-covid-vaccines. The Statement issued by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith can be found at their website: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20201221_nota-vaccini-anticovid_en.html.