Columbus Catholic bishop disappointed with new vaccine
The Columbus Catholic bishop said it is a “serious disappointment” that the latest COVID-19 vaccine to get FDA approval, Johnson & Johnson’s, used cell lines from aborted fetuses in its production.
“Moreover, given that there are viable alternative cell lines, the decision to do so is puzzling,” Bishop Robert Brennan said in a statement released Monday.
Brennan is one of several Roman Catholic leaders who have commented on the new vaccine, first distributed in Ohio on March 2.
That day, leaders of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released a statement saying that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine raises questions about the “moral permissibility” of using vaccines “developed, tested and/or produced with the help of abortion-derived cell lines.”
Johnson & Johnson vaccine is ‘morally permissible’
Brennan and the USCCB encouraged people to choose the previously approved vaccines – from Moderna and Pfizer – when available, calling them “more morally acceptable.”
“I urge that individuals be permitted to make the appropriate choices according to their convictions, especially the poor who often are not given many choices,” Brennan said.
Still, it is “morally permissible” to accept the Johnson & Johnson vaccine when no alternatives are available, he said, “especially given the gravity of the COVID-19 Coronavirus.”
“We encourage people to be vaccinated for their own health but also for the protection of the greater community,” Brennan said.
National Catholic leaders’ thoughts on Johnson & Johnson vaccine
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, like Brennan, said it is still acceptable to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine if no others are available.
The statement, from USCCB chairmen Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-south Bend in Indiana and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, labels Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines as “ethically irreproachable,” though it also notes that they, too, raised Catholics’ concerns because they were tested on an abortionderived cell line, though not produced using one.
The difference, the statement says, is that Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine was developed, tested and produced with abortion-derived cell lines, raising “additional moral concerns.”
“While we should continue to insist that pharmaceutical companies stop using abortion-derived cell lines, given the world-wide suffering that this pandemic is causing, we affirm again that being vaccinated can be an act of charity that serves the common good,” said the USCCB statement.
Pope Francis was vaccinated in January.
How it’s made
On March 2, Johnson & Johnson said in a statement that there’s no fetal tissue in the vaccine.
Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine is made using a harmless cold virus, called an adenovirus. The adenovirus is grown using what’s called an immortalized cell line, and the virus then is pulled out and purified.
Several types of cell lines created decades ago using fetal tissue exist and are widely used in medical manufacturing, but the cells in them today are clones of the early cells, not the original tissue.
In December, the Vatican said that “it is morally acceptable to receive COVID-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses” in the research and production process when “ethically irreproachable” vaccines aren’t available to the public.
Information from the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Associated Press was used in this story. dking@dispatch.com @Danaeking
Like most contemporary corning recipes, this one calls for a nitrate salt to help tenderize the meat and give it a bright red hue.
1 brisket, about 4 pounds, preferably marbled with fat
3 quarts distilled or spring water 1⁄2 cup canning/pickling salt
1⁄2 cup tenderizing salt (it has nitrate in it)
1 cup sugar 2 tablespoons pickling spices 2 bay leaves 8 whole peppercorns 2 minced garlic cloves
Add everything but the brisket to a gallon pot and heat to a boil. Turn it off and let cool to room temperature. Place the meat in the pot with a weight on top to keep the meat submerged. Let it brine, refrigerated, for about a week.
Irish borscht (corned beef with roots and cabbage)
1 corned beef, prepared as above
2 pounds medium-sized potatoes, uncut, unpeeled
1 large onion, sliced in half end to end
1 pound carrots, cut into 1⁄2-inch-thick rounds
1 whole green cabbage, cut into 8 wedges
Drain the corned beef and replace the water. Bring to a simmer and replace the water again, to remove the salt. Bring to a simmer again and cook, covered, until tender, about 3 hours. Add the potatoes and onion and cook until the potatoes are tender. Add the carrots and keep cooking until the carrots are tender. Add the cabbage wedges and simmer for another 15 minutes. Slice the meat and serve in a bowl with vegetables and broth.