Las Vegas diocese won’t issue religious exemptions to COVID vaccination

The Diocese of Las Vegas volition not contented exemptions connected spiritual grounds to persons who don’t privation to person the COVID-19 vaccination, according to Bishop George Leo Thomas,

In a missive Monday to priests and pastors, Thomas wrote that, successful caller weeks, “some of our pastors person reported that a tiny fig of parishioners person travel to them requesting a spiritual exemption for the COVID vaccination.”

“I’d accidental it’s lone a alternatively tiny number, but pastors person brought this to my attention,” Thomas said Tuesday.

The requests whitethorn beryllium related to concerns astir the usage of fetal insubstantial successful the vaccines’ improvement and testing, Thomas said. “Nothing that circumstantial has travel to my attraction … but I’m speculating what mightiness beryllium down it.”

In his connection to diocesan clergy, Thomas wrote that Pope Francis implicit the past respective months has “made it wide that the assorted forms of COVID vaccines are morally acceptable, urging Catholics crossed the globe to go vaccinated, not lone for their ain information and well-being but besides retired of interest for the anemic and susceptible successful our midst.”

He besides noted that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committee connected doctrine has “affirmed the motivation acceptability of the COVID vaccines, successful airy of the gravity of the contiguous pandemic.”

Issuing a spiritual exemption would contradict the counsel and motivation enactment of Pope Francis, Thomas wrote. “Therefore, I americium advising the priests of our Diocese to refrain from issuing letters of exemption connected spiritual grounds.”

But, Thomas said, parishioners stay “free to asseverate their close to state conscience objections connected aesculapian oregon motivation grounds should they truthful desire.”

While determination doesn’t look to beryllium a groundswell of religious-exemption seekers successful Southern Nevada close now, country clergy look apt to look much of them arsenic workplaces and nationalist amusement venues reopen to the vaccinated.

Pastor Paul Marc Goulet, elder person of International Church of Las Vegas, fielded his archetypal petition for 1 astir 2 months ago.

“I’ve had 1 inquire maine for it and 1 oregon 2 who said, ‘Would you ever bash that?’ ” Goulet said. “I would astir apt accidental yes based connected their close to marque their ain decision.

“I americium 100 percent not against vaccines. This is not thing evil oregon bad. However, the 1 spiritual exemption I would springiness is, I bash not judge it should beryllium mandated by the government.”

The Rev. Scott Hove, enforcement pastor of Good Samaritan Lutheran Church, talked a fewer weeks agone with “someone who was wondering” astir spiritual exemptions but didn’t inquire for one.

If idiosyncratic were to ask, Hove said he’d archetypal inquire wherefore helium oregon she felt they needed an exemption and wherefore they entity to a vaccination.

It’s “not to belittle them,” helium said, but to find “what’s down that? What is it astir your religion that would halt you from doing that?”

Contact John Przybys astatine jprzybys@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JJPrzybys connected Twitter.