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Church in the WorldCatholic to sue over ‘foetus’ vaccineUnited States Timothy Lavin - 19 January 2008A CATHOLIC officer is to sue the United States Coast Guard after claiming that his religious rights have been violated, following orders forcing him to receive a vaccination developed from the tissue of an aborted foetus, writes Timothy Lavin. Lieutenant Commander Joseph Healy filed a legal case earlier this month to obtain an exemption from being required to have a hepatitis A vaccination, which the Coast Guard, part of the US military, requires of its officers. The vaccine is derived from lung cells of a foetus aborted at 14 weeks some 40 years ago. "Lt Cdr Healy has a sincerely held religious belief, based on ... Catholic doctrines and tenets, that if he receives either of the available hepatitis A vaccines he would be impermissibly participating in the evil of abortion, and in societal structures that facilitate abortion, in violation of his conscience," according to his legal deposition." Lt Cdr Healy asked for a religious exemption from being vaccinated, which has been granted to members of other denominations, after the Coast Guard in May 2006 asked all personnel to have the jab. He cited a 2005 document from the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life, but last May his commanding officer denied the request, saying that the Vatican "does not state that these immunisations are against the religious tenets of the Catholic Church". The legal suit argues that the military's definition of Catholic theology is both factually wrong and discriminatory, and asks a judge to grant Commander Healy an exemption from the vaccine requirement.
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 In this week’s issueMaking markets moral Iron and velvet Love in a Catholic climate Someone to talk to A good Lent takes planning South American surprise Is the Church too slow in recognising that academies are the future for Catholic schools? Christopher Lamb Goodwin the scapegoat Elena Curti The pain of being a coeliac Catholic Sr M, guest contributor Why the Benedictine family will survive Christopher Lamb The Church's moral obligation to victims of clerical sexual abuse Speeches from this week's conference in Rome This week in Rome bishops and religious superiors met at the first Vatican-backed symposium devoted to forging a global response to the crisis of clerical sexual abuse that has disgraced ... Archbishop voices 'shame and sorrow' after priest's abuse trial Longley to visit parishes 'damaged' by Walsh Today, Tuesday 7 February, Bede Walsh, who served as a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, has been convicted by a jury, following a 10-day trial at Stoke-on-Trent ...
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