In the past I’ve republished statements put out by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, which appear to have been, essentially, issued to the world at large. The following statement by a retired Swiss bishop seems to be along those lines as well, so I’m offering it here because of its very direct message. Of course, the bishop’s words are his own.
The following remarks on COVID-19 vaccines and conscience have been sent to LifeSiteNews by Bishop Marian Eleganti, the former auxiliary in the Diocese of Chur, Switzerland.
These vaccines do not deliver what they promise, on the contrary: They are harmful to health, for many even deadly. They have been produced in an unethical way by people who obviously have no conscience. They are also propagated and imposed by such in many places. The truth is suppressed everywhere. That is why there is no more freedom. But the truth will prevail.
The decision whether or not to accept this vaccination is a judgment of prudence on the one hand (there are strong medical reasons against it) and an ethical question on the other hand: The vaccines are connected to cell lines from aborted children who had to be alive in order to yield valuable cells. The vaccines have been produced or tested with such. How can you force such an industry to develop its products in an ethical way? Answer: By not buying and using them!
Answers given by church leaders in interviews are not part of the infallible magisterium of the Church.
The personal conscience must form itself according to the teaching of the Church, but it cannot be bypassed and it will have to decide, in the end, alone before God. That is why Cardinal Newman has subordinated the papacy to the conscience.
Church documents have their strengths and weaknesses. They are very helpful to arrive at one’s own judgment of conscience. But one must also see their weaknesses — especially in recent times — and judge accordingly.
The narrative of this pandemic is not in the truth. Therefore, it should not be believed. There was never any excess mortality and overloading of the intensive care units. Intensive care beds were even significantly reduced in the same period. The lockdown measures have done more harm than good and have hardly influenced the viral events. But they have destroyed many livelihoods, burned billions of taxpayers’ money in an irresponsible way, and led to a fatal division of society right down to the families. Who can take the responsibility for this? The vaccination of the larger population (especially young people and children) which defeats this disease with normal flu symptoms with their own natural immune system is irresponsible.
There are medically proven treatments for SARS-CoV-2, including Ivermectin. They are harmless and effective.
The Pope and bishops have also allowed themselves to be deceived, in my opinion. They have become health experts instead of witnesses to the faith. They have accepted that the faithful are deprived of the sacraments or can receive them only with great difficulty. This is a historical failure and will also turn out to be one.
The state has massively violated the rights of citizens, and the Church has not stood up against it. It was fixated more on the health of the faithful than on their salvation, an unprecedented event in the history of the Church. The empty St. Peter’s Square with the lonely Pope demonstrated it.
Let us pray that the plans of the powerful will be put to shame and that Christ, the Lord, our only hope, will triumph!
The Bishop's words are very eloquent and very well support the Christian faith. Thank you Mark for sharing them. I only have this to add:
To me, what the Bishop characterizes as the prudent and the ethical intersect. If you believe from the Bible that your body is a temple of God and is rightfully to be respected as such, you believe knowingly harming it is a sin. If you then believe that taking a COVID-19 Vax is harmful to your body (or at least more harmful than not taking it given whatever other precautions you may take), you will believe that taking it is a sin. If you believe in religious liberty, being coerced to take it against your will is also a sin. Acceding to that coercion and to the harm of your body are both then sins in your sight. This violation of conscience is wholly apart from the issue of aborted fetal tissue being used for testing of the vax (an isssue that provides its own basis for objection). I have been disappointed to see how little this argument has been referenced in this controversy - especially given that it is my own argument.
The other point I would like to make is that although "church documents" may have their strengths and weaknesses, the Bible as the inerrant word of God can be depended on to be true (as is written in many verses within it). As long as faith rests in the Word of God, faith can rest assured.
Another Voice Of Conscience, Angelo Codevilla, has apparently died in a drunk-driver car crash, according to NRO etc.