Dear Bishops… Stand Up For Conscience Rights

By DEACON MIKE MANNO

I have been writing this column since September of 2017 and have hosted a radio program, Faith On Trial, since May of 2013. Of all that I have written and broadcast, there is one common theme that runs through it all: threats to religious liberty.
Now sometimes it may seem that we’ve gone a little beyond that simple platform, but I think if you reread or listen to our prior broadcasts you will always see some type of nexus to a potential threat to religious liberty.
My first columns here were about slanted media, frozen embryos, and free speech issues; on the radio they were about babies killed after surviving a botched abortion, young teen girls in school gender inclusion workshops being told to kiss one another, and the Obama administration banning prayers in national cemeteries.
We have seen bakers, florists, and photographers being excoriated, sometimes losing businesses they have built over a professional career simply for refusing to participate in a wedding ceremony they consider a violation of God’s order. We have seen foster care and adoption agencies fined and closed when they refuse to place children in the homes of same-sex couples.
And now our schools and colleges are foisting a gender fluid ideology upon our children, many times telling them not to share any of this with their parents.
While these topics seem eclectic, there still is that theme running through each of them. Infringements on parental rights, limitations on speech, mandating cooperation with evil are all threats to religious liberty, as is a media that covers only stories that promote a secular message.
Today, whether or not you think things have gotten worse — (they have gotten worse) — we are dealing with a blatant version of anti-Christianity in secular America fostered by the government itself.
But of all the issues of religious liberty in which I have dealt there is one that now stands out as the most serious. It is the vaccine mandate, and the reluctance of those in charge to approve religious and conscience exemptions. Needless to say, but important to acknowledge, is the fact that many Christians are rejecting the vaccine because of its connection to the cell lines of aborted babies.
In my opinion this is deliberate and it is designed to do two things: make those refusing the vaccine for any reason the enemy of the people (“this is an epidemic of the unvaccinated”) and to expose and isolate those men and women of faith for later intimidation.
And one of the reasons why those exemptions are not granted is because it is said that the Pope and the U.S. bishops have said that the vaccines present no moral issue to Catholics.
[Editor’s Note: A January 2021 statement from the USCCB makes this distinction about the vaccines: “Neither Pfizer nor Moderna used an abortion-derived cell line in the development or production of the vaccine. However, such a cell line was used to test the efficacy of both vaccines. Thus, while neither vaccine is completely free from any use of abortion-derived cell lines, in these two cases the use is very remote from the initial evil of the abortion. The AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccines raise additional moral concerns because an abortion-derived cell line is used not only for testing, but also in development and production.”]
Two examples of the above-cited problem: The vice chancellor at the University of Massachusetts has ruled that no Catholic is entitled to an exemption due to his reading of documents the USCCB has promulgated. And, one of my parishioners who was denied a religious exemption, said it was because the Pope took the vaccine.
Both are incorrect interpretations of the law, which replaces religion with a “deeply held belief” held regardless of the religion or non-religion of the individual, which is why the term “conscience exemption” fits the issue better.
But beyond this, many are now being forced out of jobs, or the military, because they are making a decision of conscience not to take an abortion-tainted vaccine, and many others are making the same decision because they refuse to allow their bodily integrity to be violated by a governmental edict.
Just recently the head football coach at Washington State University, Nick Rolovich, was fired when his request for a religious accommodation against the vaccination was denied by the school. We’ve seen this play out in other venues with athletes, entertainers, reporters, police and fire personnel, just to name a few, who are being terminated, sometimes from long careers, because of their refusal to break faith with their consciences.
In addition to losing their jobs, many are facing retaliatory action, such as loss of pension and retirement benefits and denial of unemployment payments.
Consider this issue in the military. The Department of Defense has issued orders for all military personnel to take the vaccine. First Liberty, which represents 40 U.S. Navy SEALs, says they are being threatened with punishment, involuntary separation, or court-martial because they are seeking a religious accommodation to the vaccine mandate — which, by the way, is guaranteed under both federal and military law.
According to Mike Berry, senior counsel with First Liberty who specializes in military matters, no religious exemptions are being issued. And those who might receive one are still going to be kicked out of the SEALs and forced to repay the Navy for their cost of training. Additionally, military service members’ families and dependents are not allowed to travel until vaccinated.
And I could go on and on. Unfortunately in many cases this hits close to home. Many of us know someone who refuses the vaccine as a matter of conscience and has put their finances and livelihoods, and that of their families, in jeopardy because our society, along with many government officials, do not respect their beliefs.
And, in part, it is due to an intentional or unintentional misinterpretation of statements made by high-ranking Church officials on the subject. They twist the statements of our bishops to endorse vaccination much like some Catholic politicians take our teachings out of context to allow them to turn their heads to the evils of abortion.
And this is all done as the larger community is kept in the dark about the Church’s true teaching on conscience and bodily integrity rights.
In the past few weeks I’ve quoted Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kans., and chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, who, while reaffirming his belief in the vaccine, opines that some “could reasonably choose” to reject it to give “prophetic witness” against abortion and condemned those who would require vaccination as a predicate for holding or keeping their jobs.
“A society that fails to respect the rights of conscience lacks a key element of the common good,” he said.
So why rehash all of this now? It is because the bishops are meeting this month (November 15-18) in Baltimore for their Fall General Assembly. And when they meet they are going to have a lot on their agenda, including a discussion of the place of the Eucharist in the Church as well as a number of other topics that will probably remain somewhat controversial even after the meeting adjourns.
But they will review again, and possibly update the “USCCB Guidelines for Socially Responsible Investment.” If they can take time to discuss this, shouldn’t they have time to stand up for conscience rights in the vaccine debate?
Thus my plea to the bishops: Stand Up for the Conscience Rights of Your Faithful. Condemn the indiscriminate use of the mandates for what it really is: an attack on religious liberty and condemn those with enforcement responsibilities for not recognizing the conscience rights of those seeking them. State clearly, specifically to the government, and its allies in business, that they cannot lawfully discriminate against a person because of their deeply held religious or conscience beliefs.
Then release a comprehensive statement defending those rights that are being trampled and demand that it be followed. And maybe throw around a few “anathemas” while you’re at it.
Bottom line: Do the right thing and make a historic statement for religious liberty. In this time of confusion, misunderstanding, and downright bigotry, your faithful deserve nothing less.
(You can reach Mike at: DeaconMike@q.com and listen to him Thursdays at 10 a.m. CT on Faith On Trial on IowaCatholicRadio.com.)