Unvaccinated clergy in Lexington, Kentucky barred from ministering to the sick and homebound elderly

null / Halfpoint/shutterstock Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 14, 2021 / 08:10 am (CNA). Priests of the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 may not minister to the sick, elderly, and homebound, Bishop John Stowe has directed. The policy was announced during a Saturday vigil Mass Sept. 11 that Bishop Stowe celebrated at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Lexington.at the end of the liturgy, Deacon Tim Weinmann read a statement from the cathedral’s rector, Father John

is not clear from the announcement Saturday whether other priests in the diocese must publicly disclose that they have not received a COVID-19 vaccination. A spokesperson for the diocese was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.on. Aug. 17 Bishop Stowe mandated that all employees of the Catholic Center, the diocese’s administrative headquarters, be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 1 as a condition of employment.“this is an urgent matter of public health and safety,” Bishop Stowe said in a statement detailing the Aug. 17 mandate.“there is no religious exemption for Catholics to being vaccinated, and Pope Francis has repeatedly called this a moral obligation,” he said. “The health care system is now overwhelmed by a crisis caused primarily by those who refuse to protect themselves and others by getting vaccinated. This is unacceptable, and our diocese now joins those employers who have already made this basic commitment to the common good a requirement.”the mandate does not apply to clergy not working at the Catholic Center, though Bishop Stowe