KUALA LUMPUR – It is “morally acceptable” for Catholics to be administered the Covid-19 vaccine, even though it is developed using aborted foetal cell lines.
A moral theologian from the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese, Fr Clarence Devadass, said foetal cell lines are used only to “accomplish” a certain stage during the vaccine’s production.
“The end product, the vaccine itself, does not contain cell lines or bits and pieces of DNA that are recognisable as belonging to a human,” he told The Vibes.
Devadass was asked to provide clarification on the matter, following a pastoral letter, titled “The Catholic Position on Covid-19 Vaccines”, issued by the Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei on February 4.
He said the current vaccine candidates are tested using foetal cell lines, which are biological materials developed from cells extracted from foetuses aborted in the 1960s and 1970s.
“The original production of these cell lines through abortion definitely constitutes a grave moral wrongdoing, but the connection of those original cell lines to those that are used for testing the efficacy of modern vaccines today is fairly remote.”
The director of the archdiocese’s Catholic Research Centre said over the decades, the original cell lines have been cultured multiple times, and what is being used today in vaccine testing is not the same as cells or tissues taken directly from aborted foetuses.
“Foetal cell lines are therefore not the same as foetal tissue. Foetal cell lines are cells that are grown in a laboratory.
“They descend from cells taken from elective abortions in the 1960s and 1970s. These individual cells from the past have since multiplied into many new cells over the last few decades, creating newer foetal cell lines.”
The current foetal cell lines are thousands of generations removed from the original tissue, he said.
“In no way do these vaccines have any incipient foetal tissue or other foetal parts. These cell lines are used only for the purpose of determining the efficacy of some vaccines, and they serve only as a form of biological seed pit.”
Taking vaccines that have been tested on foetal cell lines, as has been done in the production of Covid-19 jabs, does not in any way signal the Church’s legitimisation of abortion, he said.
“The licit use of such vaccines do not and should not imply that there is a ‘moral endorsement’ of the use of cell lines proceeding from aborted foetuses for developing vaccines.
“All vaccines recognised as clinically safe and effective can be used in ‘good conscience’ with the certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute ‘formal cooperation’ with the abortion from which the cells were derived.
“It is not a sin to accept a vaccine that was either developed or researched using foetal cell lines from the past and those that have long multiplied.
“Based on Catholic moral ‘principles of cooperation’, the Church teaches that for ordinary citizens, who have no direct say in how vaccines are produced, our connection with the past wrongdoing is ‘remotely distant’.
“Therefore, it is morally acceptable to use a vaccine either developed or researched using foetal cell lines when there is a grave reason (to do so) and there is no other available alternative.”
Devadass said the Catholic Church stands to protect every life and the health of all, and teaches that one must not do harm to others.
“Therefore, the Catholic position is that vaccination is a ‘moral good’ and a ‘moral principle’.”
He added that the Church calls on those in authority to not only ensure rigorous education and outreach campaigns are in place to address vaccine hesitancy, but also that there is vaccine accessibility, especially for the most vulnerable in society, within a climate of accountability and transparency. – The Vibes, February 13, 2021
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