Austria’ Catholic Church has become Europe’s first to support compulsory nationwide vaccinations, ahead of their enforcement there in February.
“Compulsory vaccination represents a serious encroachment on physical integrity and individual freedom – it is only permissible if all other options to protect the population have been exhausted, taking proportionality into account,” the bishops’ conference said in a statement.
“It is the responsibility of our rulers to assess whether the prerequisites for this are met and whether a temporary vaccination requirement now offers the appropriate means for protecting the common good within reasonable limits … The goal must be to protect health and freedom in equal measure.”
The statement was issued before tens of thousands rallied in Vienna and other cities for the fourth weekend running against a government decree making Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory from February for all over-14s.
Tight movement restrictions remain in place for the third of the population of 8.9 million still without jabs in the traditionally Catholic country, which has seen 13,000 deaths since early 2020.
The bishops added that public attitudes were “dangerously polarised” and urged Austrians to acquiesce with a “salutary disarmament of words and gestures”.
The Pope had described vaccination as an “act of charity”, the statement continued, while the centre-right government, currently headed by Chancellor Karl Nehammer, had made this a “temporary legal obligation” after concluding that “previous calls were not enough”.
Other European church leaders have declined to endorse compulsory vaccinations but have strongly backed government anti- Covid campaigns. In Greece, where Orthodox priests have faced charges for spreading “false information” on vaccines, Orthodox leaders warned clergy could be laicised for questioning the vaccination programme.
In the Czech Republic, the bishops’ conference president, Archbishop Jan Graubner of Olomouc, said in a weekend open letter he was against forced vaccinations, but believed citizens should “voluntarily sacrifice part of their freedom out of charity for the common good”.
Catholic bishops in eastern Africa urged people to take the vaccine. Bishop John Oballa Owaa, the chairman of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, said: “We continue to encourage the faithful and other people of goodwill to not only take the vaccine but also abide by established practices and lifestyles to enhance their immunity.”
Vaccine uptake in eastern Africa and most of Africa has been low due partly to limited access. Covid cases have also been low with a total of 8,660,000 reported in November.
Bishops want access to treatments and vaccines increased, and at the same time are calling on governments to respect rights and liberties. The Jesuit Institute South Africa has welcomed “significantly increased uptake on vaccination” as the Omicron variant spreads.
The Institute’s Dr Annemarie Paulin-Campbell, said: “We have a moral and spiritual responsibility to be vaccinated [as an] act of love.” Meanwhile parishioners at St Agnes church in San Francisco asked Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone to reschedule his visit to their parish after he revealed he had not been vaccinated.
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