the Catholic Bishops of the Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference, They issued yesterday, Tuesday, a decree in which they welcome the importance of vaccination against COVID-19 and the measures under which their respective dioceses and parishes must be governed are established.
First, they reported that they will be reserving a space for the unvaccinated in the Eucharist and other liturgical celebrations, such as a measure “for the safety of priests and religious.”
Besides, suggest that unvaccinated people refrain from other activities face-to-face community meetings in churches.
Another of the provisions of the decree states that from September 15, all priests and deacons participating in the liturgies must be vaccinated or at least have received the first dose.
“Priests, deacons or agents of the Church are not allowed in our dioceses to appear before notaries to declare exemptions under oath for religious reasons.. We will also not be accepting affidavits stating that the teachings of the Church are the basis for rejecting vaccination, “they said.
These were expressed about the faithful who have gone to priests to get exempted from vaccination for religious reasons. Faced with this, they have assured that the “pastoral agents of the Church we must not declare under oath these exemptions as there is no foundation in the moral teaching of the Church to reject vaccination requirements “.
According to the document, they understand Governor Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia’s requirement to require the vaccine from public and private employees. “it does not contradict the teachings of the Church or the expressions and actions of Pope Francis in relation to vaccination against COVID-19 “.
The Bishops referred to the expressions of the highest ecclesiastical authority on the moral and ethical validity of being vaccinated, and the fact that this does not constitute an “objection neither moral, nor ethical, nor of conscience.”
“The Catholic Bishops of the Dioceses of Puerto Rico here signatories,
like Pope Francis, we have given personal testimony of having been inoculated against COVID-19 for not finding moral, ethical or conscientious objection in these vaccines, ”the decree reads.