Catholic bishops tell Florida AG there’s no theological reason for school vaccine exemptions

Catholic bishops in Florida are warning the state’s attorney general to respect their religious liberty when it comes to parochial schools’ approach to vaccine exemptions.

Florida’s Catholic schools do not accept religious exemptions for vaccines. In a letter to Attorney General James Uthmeier, made public last week, the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops said Florida bishops don’t have to justify their position, but are doing so “out of respect for you and your office.”

The letter goes on to say that the position against religious exemptions for vaccines is rooted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states that, “Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good.” 

The bishops’ letter follows a July 31 letter from Uthmeier, in which he told the bishops there is “no legitimate religious reason” to refuse religious exemptions for vaccines and that the church should “comply with Florida law.” On the social media platform X, Uthmeier posted the letter and warned that Catholic schools could be disqualified from state scholarships and vouchers. 

In their response, the bishops reminded Uthmeier that it is they, not the government, who decide how to interpret Catholic principles and theology.

“Any insinuation that a government official can dictate to the Catholic Church (or any religion) how to apply her tenets and dogma, violates well-established constitutional religious freedom rights,” wrote the organization’s executive director Michael B. Sheedy.

Catholic teaching supports vaccination

Uthmeier’s letter offers an interesting role reversal at a time when religious institutions are increasingly at loggerheads with governments over the right to seek exemptions from school vaccine requirements. Here, the state, via the attorney general, is arguing with religious leaders in favor of religious exemptions from vaccines, citing that some immunizations were developed using fetal cell lines.

“As a Catholic, I am confident that the teachings of the Catholic Church do not require Catholic schools to compel students to take vaccines derived from the tissue of aborted children,” Uthmeier wrote.

Vaccines do not contain fetal cells. As the American Academy of Pediatrics explains, some vaccines involve growing viruses in human cell cultures originally developed from two aborted fetuses in the 1960s: “These cell lines are still going, so no new aborted fetuses are ever needed. Purification processes filter the vaccine during production, and no fetal tissue remains.”

The Catholic Church says it’s morally permissible to receive these vaccines and that people who choose to vaccinate their children can do so with a clear conscience because, as the Florida bishops note, “the parent is not cooperating with the original immoral act.” 

Additionally, in 2021, Pope Francis told people to get the COVID-19 vaccine, calling it an “act of love,” even though fetal cell lines were used to develop both the Moderna and Pfizer shots. 

A threat to religious liberty

It’s “extraordinary” that Uthmeier’s letter lectures bishops on Catholic teachings, said Francis J. Beckwith, PhD, an expert in church-state studies and resident scholar in Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion.

In his op-ed in America, the Jesuit monthly magazine, Beckwith said that Uthmeier not only misrepresents how the Church approaches theological issues, but that his attempt to use political power to shape church policy should trouble champions of religious liberty.

“If you oppose the government forcing the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide birth control to their employees, you surely must see the wrong in the attorney general of Florida using the denial of a public benefit to compel Catholic bishops to alter the internal church policy of diocesan schools,” wrote Beckwith.

If parents still feel it’s morally objectionable to vaccinate, the Florida bishops said they should feel free to exercise their conscience and choose a different educational path for their children. 

“The bishops cannot ignore the safety of children and staff in our Catholic schools,” said the letter.

The letter notes that some kids can’t get vaccinated because of medical conditions, meaning that Catholic schools provide “one of the few safe havens for such children.” 

The bishops add that while they appreciate the opportunity to share their rationale for school vaccine policies with Uthmeier, “We wish we could have met and discussed these concerns with your office and perhaps avoided all the public and legal posturing created by your correspondence.”