International Conference on Christians facing COVID-19 vaccines.

ACI press editorial

Image referencing. Credit: Unsplash.

Should a Christian get vaccinated? Is it safe to get vaccinated? these  are some of the issues that were discussed at the international conference organized by the Latin American Academy of Catholic Leaders on January 19

The Latin American Academy of Catholic Leaders is an international training centre in 10 countries in Europe and Latin America, whose mission is to train leaders from a Catholic point of view, to transform the social, political and economic world in the light of the social doctrine of the Eglise.

"Christians facing Covid-19 Vaccines" is the name of the conference attended by Cardinal Sean O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston and President of the Pontifical Council for the Protection of Minors; Katerina the White, Swedish scientist and immunologist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm; and Enrique Garcia Rodriguez, former treasurer of the Inter-American Development Bank, chairman of the Council on International Relations for Latin America (RIAL) and chairman of the board of directors of the Trust for the Americas.

A press release explains that "like Pope Francis who invited us to support global vaccination against COVID 19," the experts discussed the current health situation from the point of view of theology, the social doctrine of the Church, medicine and social sciences.

The Director General of the Academy of Catholic Leaders, José Antonio Rosas, said that “thousands of lives are at stake. If people are not vaccinated, they endanger not only their lives, but also their families; and in this way, we will never be able to get out of this enormous crisis that humanity is going through.”

“We are convinced that a Christian has a moral obligation to promote vaccination and clarify many of the fake news and absurd theories circulating on social networks,” he added.

“What could be better than doing it with one of the most prestigious pastors of the Catholic Church, a Swedish scientist internationally recognized for his research and one of the most important Latin American leaders of recent years,” he said.

The conference was introduced by the primate archbishop of Mexico, Cardinal Carlos Aguiar.

(Document received from Goyita Boyd, ex-Continental Coordinator for Latin America)