In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right. In fact, the Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs that following one’s conscience is following Christ Himself: The judgment of therapeutic proportionality must be made by the person who is the potential recipient of the intervention in the concrete circumstances, not by public health authorities or by other individuals who might judge differently in their own situations.Īt the core of the Church’s teaching are the first and last points listed above: vaccination is not a universal obligation and a person must obey the judgment of his or her own informed and certain conscience. It can also extend to the good of others and the common good, which likewise entail spiritual and moral dimensions and are not reducible to public health. Therapeutic proportionality is an assessment of whether the benefits of a medical intervention outweigh the undesirable side-effects and burdens in light of the integral good of the person, including spiritual, psychological, and bodily goods. More generally, a Catholic might refuse a vaccine based on the Church’s teachings concerning therapeutic proportionality. An individual Catholic may invoke Church teaching to refuse a vaccine developed or produced using abortion-derived cell lines.
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It is not a decision-making guide and does not address all legal, medical, and moral considerations.
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It is intended for Catholics who have made a sure judgment in conscience to refuse a vaccine and should be adapted to fully reflect their beliefs and reasoning.
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This resource explains how the Catholic Church’s teachings may lead individual Catholics to decline certain vaccines.