The John-Henry Westen Show - December 15, 2021


Ontario Catholic hospital invokes Pope Francis to deny Catholic nurse religious exemption for COVID jab


Episode Stats


Length

21 minutes

Words per minute

158.19183

Word count

3,391

Sentence count

232


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this episode of the John Henry Weston Show, we talk with Nurse Agnes Zabiga about her courageous decision to join a protest in support of the nurses who refused to take the controversial anti-abortion pill, COVID.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
00:00:00.000 Hello and welcome to this episode of the John Henry Weston Show.
00:00:03.300 You know, over the past two years, our first responders have been incredible.
00:00:07.460 They have gone right into the heart of what many consider grave danger
00:00:11.300 in sacrificing themselves to serve people who had come down with COVID
00:00:16.220 to go out to them to pick them up from hospital.
00:00:18.640 The nurses have especially been there to treat them while everyone was so, so scared.
00:00:25.320 These were the great frontline workers who were hailed,
00:00:29.160 who were celebrated, and all of a sudden the tide has turned
00:00:33.540 so that they are being cancelled, they are being fired,
00:00:36.140 they are being suspended without pay,
00:00:37.940 all because they refuse to take the COVID jab.
00:00:42.100 This jab, which is so harmful, which many have religious qualms with taking,
00:00:47.860 and yet hospitals, even Catholic hospitals, are refusing religious exemptions,
00:00:54.060 refusing health exemptions, refusing it all.
00:00:56.800 It is unbelievable.
00:00:58.020 We're going to talk with one of those heroes right now, so stay tuned.
00:01:02.300 This is the John Henry Weston Show.
00:01:22.800 Agnes Zabiga, welcome to the program.
00:01:25.120 Welcome, John Henry.
00:01:26.060 Let's begin, as we always do, with the sign of the cross.
00:01:29.400 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
00:01:33.540 Amen.
00:01:35.840 Agnes, thank you for being with us.
00:01:37.800 Thank you especially for what you're doing,
00:01:40.620 for both having worked the pandemic, as it's called,
00:01:46.000 and also standing up for freedom, standing up for your rights,
00:01:50.320 especially your rights as a Catholic, as someone who objects to the COVID abortion-tainted COVID jab.
00:01:58.760 Yes.
00:01:59.360 Well, thank you.
00:02:00.080 You've had support from your community.
00:02:03.960 Nearly a couple months ago now, there was already a demonstration.
00:02:07.660 There is a small town in the area where your hospital is,
00:02:13.080 Berries Bay, Ontario.
00:02:14.200 Probably about 1,500 people in the town, 150 people showed up for the demonstration.
00:02:21.920 It was absolutely unbelievable.
00:02:24.160 Here's some photos from that.
00:02:25.540 We have one of the organizers of it, a Gudrun Wagner,
00:02:29.120 explained that there were many of the nurses being fired, not fired, suspended without pay,
00:02:37.620 which is actually worse for them, because then they're unable to get even EI.
00:02:42.500 So if you can tell us a bit about your story, how this started for you, and where you're at now.
00:02:47.520 It came as a surprise to me, because I didn't think there was anything that was going to be organized.
00:02:51.840 And I came across Gudrun in the church parking lot, and she heard my story, and she said,
00:03:00.340 well, we have to do something, and we need to support all the nurses and all the healthcare workers.
00:03:06.480 And she just went to work.
00:03:08.840 She went to work.
00:03:09.600 She started to make signs.
00:03:11.260 She started to organize this.
00:03:13.640 And in no time, there was a date, and the protest was being organized.
00:03:18.880 So I did spread the news to my colleagues, and I was the only one who came.
00:03:24.940 And it felt a bit strange, but I thought that, no, this is the right thing to do,
00:03:32.800 and I'm not afraid to have my name out there,
00:03:36.680 because I knew there were going to be interviews from the local newspapers.
00:03:41.440 And obviously, my household would know this, but I was not afraid.
00:03:44.900 I knew what I was doing, and I felt strong about this.
00:03:49.520 So thank you, Gudrun.
00:03:51.520 Like, you did great, and you organized this, so this was a blessing.
00:03:56.700 And it was a relief, because to see people supporting us, it meant a lot.
00:04:03.580 It meant a lot that there are people in the community who are standing for our freedom,
00:04:10.520 freedom of choice, and they were providing that support, that community support.
00:04:18.540 It was a beautiful day.
00:04:19.520 The sun was shining, and it was a relief to me.
00:04:23.820 I felt good about doing this.
00:04:26.860 And obviously, my name was put in the paper,
00:04:28.720 so the hospital ended up having that paper everywhere,
00:04:32.900 and everybody read a lot of comments that I provided.
00:04:37.300 And it was interesting, because my last day was 31st of October, which was Halloween,
00:04:43.540 and that paper article actually was released that weekend.
00:04:47.660 So people were coming to me and saying,
00:04:49.600 well, I read the story in the paper, and I support you.
00:04:54.140 This is not a good thing what hospital is doing.
00:04:57.740 So nurses were actually very supportive,
00:05:01.320 and nobody gave me any negative comments in the hospital, which was good.
00:05:05.700 So I left on good terms.
00:05:07.760 And nurses who did take the vaccine, who obviously made their choice,
00:05:13.840 were actually expressing their thoughts about this,
00:05:17.560 that this was not a good thing, what hospital was doing,
00:05:20.120 that nobody thought it would come to it.
00:05:22.860 And I also spoke with some doctors, and they were surprised,
00:05:26.260 and they were really shocked that hospital would make that move.
00:05:30.500 If you don't mind backing up with us,
00:05:32.340 where did this start from you?
00:05:34.640 How, you know, what exactly happened step by step?
00:05:37.940 And, you know, when you came to it, what did you do?
00:05:41.560 If you could take us through, that would be awesome.
00:05:43.620 We heard about the vaccines early in the year.
00:05:46.380 So I think it must have been February,
00:05:49.420 because being a small community,
00:05:52.560 the vaccines were available to our patients.
00:05:57.040 We have a lot of seniors here,
00:05:58.820 but they were also provided to all the staff.
00:06:02.780 So they made them available very quickly to us.
00:06:05.460 So I knew from the beginning that I was not going to take this vaccine,
00:06:08.520 and the vaccine was not mandatory.
00:06:11.360 So I remember when we had a person from the hospital going around
00:06:15.440 to meet with everybody and put them on the list for the vaccination clinic,
00:06:19.780 and I said no.
00:06:21.140 And I remember she was saying,
00:06:22.400 yeah, that's okay, it's your choice.
00:06:23.860 And that was great.
00:06:27.060 But just backing up a little bit,
00:06:28.740 when I moved to this area and I got this job in the summer last year,
00:06:34.340 so 2020,
00:06:35.740 I remember at that point I just felt deep down
00:06:39.840 that I may not be able to get this job
00:06:42.220 if they mandate vaccination already in the contract, right?
00:06:46.840 So I already had that thought that what's going to happen?
00:06:49.500 And I remember there was a request for some other vaccinations
00:06:54.340 for the employment purposes.
00:06:57.480 So that was fine.
00:06:59.600 And I did not have all of them.
00:07:02.580 I don't take the flu shots.
00:07:03.760 So they did not really comment about that.
00:07:06.040 But I remember that was the first thought that came to my mind
00:07:08.280 that I may not be able to get this vaccine, right?
00:07:11.380 I mean, may not be able to get that job if I don't,
00:07:14.680 if they put something in the contract, which wasn't.
00:07:16.680 So that was great.
00:07:18.120 And then what happened later on,
00:07:20.020 they started to promote the vaccine.
00:07:24.040 So there were information put in our weekly communique,
00:07:29.400 which is information sent out to all of us.
00:07:34.740 So they were promoting the vaccine
00:07:36.440 and providing resources for us to have,
00:07:39.500 like how good is this vaccine?
00:07:41.160 And if you have any questions, this is where you go.
00:07:43.160 So this was a very gentle approach
00:07:46.280 until there was a more forceful approach
00:07:49.880 when the policy came out with the Directive 6
00:07:52.680 and the hospital was then standing strong
00:07:55.800 that this is going to be mandated.
00:07:58.420 So it's going to be, it was a Directive 6,
00:08:02.380 but then it created a mandatory vaccination for our hospital.
00:08:07.760 And then we started to be given dates, right?
00:08:09.860 So then the first, most important date was October 31st.
00:08:14.920 So by October 31st, if we were not vaccinated
00:08:18.360 without this first shot,
00:08:20.160 and then we would not be able to continue.
00:08:24.840 And initially, we were people who were not vaccinated
00:08:30.440 were required to take testing,
00:08:34.420 but their names were not revealed to the management.
00:08:37.500 So we were just going through Occupational Health and Safety Office
00:08:42.020 and we were being tested weekly.
00:08:45.300 And every week we were being given more information
00:08:49.680 what's going to happen next.
00:08:51.400 They gave you an opportunity to submit a religious exemption,
00:08:55.900 did they not?
00:08:56.640 Well, when the policy came out,
00:08:58.700 one of the, so the first requirement was that you needed to have,
00:09:02.220 you needed to be fully vaccinated.
00:09:03.900 Then the second possibility was medical exemption.
00:09:08.980 And the third was exemption based on the Ontario Human Rights Code.
00:09:14.160 Right.
00:09:14.360 And it was very vague how it was written.
00:09:16.680 So I wasn't quite sure.
00:09:18.200 So when I finally revealed my situation and spoke with my manager,
00:09:23.540 she was very, very good.
00:09:24.960 And she provided me with some information.
00:09:27.840 So at that point,
00:09:29.180 I really didn't think this was going to be a problem.
00:09:31.340 I thought, well, the hospital is doing the right thing.
00:09:34.260 They have this policy.
00:09:35.800 Most people are vaccinated.
00:09:38.320 So they're not going to have a problem.
00:09:40.440 And if people have medical exemptions,
00:09:43.360 if they have need for that,
00:09:44.660 and if they have need for religious exemption,
00:09:47.080 that's going to be fine.
00:09:48.780 So I wrote them a very short letter initially,
00:09:52.900 really did not think,
00:09:53.900 I did not think much that it was going to be important for me to reveal all
00:09:59.100 the,
00:10:00.000 all my thoughts and to receive this exemption.
00:10:04.520 So I,
00:10:05.420 it was a very short letter.
00:10:06.320 I sent a letter and I got a reply from my manager that this went to COO of
00:10:12.240 the hospital as he's going to be acting as a human resource person.
00:10:16.620 And I'm going to hear from him.
00:10:18.700 So I was called in to a meeting and in the meeting,
00:10:21.920 they were giving me a projection of this.
00:10:24.800 They said that,
00:10:25.520 no,
00:10:25.780 I need to be vaccinated.
00:10:27.160 This is,
00:10:28.100 this is not enough.
00:10:28.920 And I was asking for exemption,
00:10:32.280 religious exemption based on my Catholic religion.
00:10:35.460 Right.
00:10:35.740 So at a Catholic hospital,
00:10:37.620 at a Catholic hospital.
00:10:38.760 And they had arguments.
00:10:40.340 They had obviously arguments against it.
00:10:44.880 So,
00:10:45.540 and the biggest argument was that Pope Francis was in a way promoting it.
00:10:51.280 Right.
00:10:51.540 And saying that it was safe for us to take it.
00:10:53.480 So this was the biggest argument.
00:10:55.160 And the first letter I sent,
00:10:56.680 I did submit a comment from our,
00:10:59.180 our Bishop,
00:11:00.140 our local Bush Bishop.
00:11:02.320 And it is really protection of conscience.
00:11:04.760 It's our individual decision.
00:11:06.440 And again,
00:11:09.320 that was not respected.
00:11:11.460 So to take it further,
00:11:12.920 I,
00:11:13.300 I put an appeal and that was a four page letter at that point,
00:11:17.140 instead of a half a page letter.
00:11:18.800 And I explained things in details and,
00:11:22.800 and it was well-written.
00:11:24.580 I had some help with that letter.
00:11:26.500 So I thought with that letter,
00:11:28.740 it's going to be fine.
00:11:29.620 I submitted a certificate from Bishop Schneider.
00:11:32.860 And I thought,
00:11:35.680 well,
00:11:35.900 they wanted some evidence.
00:11:38.220 So now I'm providing some evidence.
00:11:40.760 So they should respect it.
00:11:42.740 And again,
00:11:43.600 that was denied very quickly.
00:11:45.500 So there's a couple of items here that we need to unpack.
00:11:48.840 One,
00:11:49.880 who is the COO who's making these decisions?
00:11:53.560 So that's Mr.
00:11:54.740 Greg McLeod.
00:11:55.920 Is he the one who's bringing up or who's bringing up the Pope Francis angle on,
00:12:00.480 on all of this?
00:12:01.160 That's that's yes.
00:12:02.980 That's him.
00:12:03.800 It's a small hospital.
00:12:04.820 So people are wearing several hats,
00:12:07.580 right?
00:12:07.900 And those positions.
00:12:09.080 So he one making decisions.
00:12:10.580 And obviously he's,
00:12:11.520 he's actions from the CEO.
00:12:14.680 It's absolutely unbelievable that people think to arbitrate.
00:12:18.560 What is your Catholic faith?
00:12:21.220 We know that there is great consternation in the Catholic church about this.
00:12:25.600 The Pope might be promoting it,
00:12:27.180 but the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith has come out with a document,
00:12:31.620 yes,
00:12:31.920 saying that it is morally licit.
00:12:34.560 They believe that's being contended with by many,
00:12:37.720 many,
00:12:38.000 especially Bishop Schneider,
00:12:39.240 but also in the same letter from the Vatican,
00:12:42.000 which is the official letter from the Vatican,
00:12:43.620 they say that it should not be mandated.
00:12:46.960 So here is,
00:12:48.100 here is someone who is fighting with you over your Catholicism,
00:12:51.780 denying,
00:12:52.480 you know,
00:12:53.540 your,
00:12:54.000 your faith and saying that this is what the Pope has said when they have
00:12:58.080 absolutely no clue that the Vatican itself has said that they are not to be
00:13:01.880 mandated.
00:13:03.200 Nonetheless,
00:13:03.780 Greg McLeod should be hearing from people because he has chosen to take it
00:13:08.180 upon himself to arbitrate your faith.
00:13:10.880 Also wanted to get into this letter from Bishop Schneider.
00:13:14.220 Bishop Schneider has probably most of,
00:13:16.500 you know,
00:13:17.180 is been very vocal in terms of opposing this vaccine for its abortion tainted
00:13:22.840 nature.
00:13:23.440 We know that the vaccine has employed the use of aborted fetal cell lines that
00:13:30.200 basically took from aborted babies,
00:13:33.180 a cell line.
00:13:34.120 We also know that that has to be extracted from organs.
00:13:36.680 The children who are aborted have to be over around three months of age,
00:13:40.400 at least in order to have organs already three months gestation.
00:13:45.480 And then those have to be extracted in a way that doesn't allow for miscarriage
00:13:48.880 or anything like that.
00:13:49.980 So it's a horrific thing that's gone on.
00:13:52.980 It's deplorable from anyone's perspective.
00:13:55.340 And then the argument comes whether it should be accepted or not.
00:13:58.840 You appealed to Bishop Schneider because you're part of his association of the faithful.
00:14:05.080 And therefore he writes in as your bishop or your own bishop,
00:14:09.680 as you explained,
00:14:10.780 is also supportive of freedom of conscience on the issue.
00:14:14.800 And yet here's a Catholic hospital denying you that.
00:14:17.820 It's really unbelievable.
00:14:20.860 Where are you right now in terms of your job with the hospital,
00:14:26.420 in terms of your ability to collect unemployment insurance or anything like that?
00:14:31.260 It's unpaid administrative leave,
00:14:33.540 which has been extended till the end of the year.
00:14:36.020 So 31st of December.
00:14:37.280 I don't know where things are going to be past December 31st.
00:14:43.560 I have been contacted by my union reps.
00:14:46.200 So I know the grievances have been done through the union,
00:14:51.980 through ONN.
00:14:53.260 And they did a group grievance for all the seven nurses
00:14:58.160 who are in the same situation as I am.
00:15:00.740 Actually not seven,
00:15:01.740 because some of them are RP and some are RN.
00:15:04.360 So I think there's like majority is RNs.
00:15:07.960 So that would be ONN,
00:15:08.900 Ontario Nurses Association.
00:15:10.960 And they have also done a personal individual grievance for me
00:15:16.100 because of that religious exemption being denied.
00:15:20.240 So I know that's done.
00:15:22.640 ONN was supporting me.
00:15:24.340 In terms of unemployment,
00:15:25.580 I haven't applied for.
00:15:27.280 I don't know if I'm even,
00:15:29.320 if I would even qualify,
00:15:31.120 maybe,
00:15:31.480 but I have been actually doing some private assignments.
00:15:36.400 So I am working.
00:15:39.220 I'm doing some volunteer work and I'm working.
00:15:41.240 So I haven't looked into unemployment.
00:15:43.360 Yeah.
00:15:43.480 You're working privately,
00:15:44.560 totally outside the hospital.
00:15:45.820 It's interesting because so many of the people in your situation
00:15:49.800 are faced with a similar thing.
00:15:51.080 They're unable to apply for unemployment insurance
00:15:54.160 because officially you're still employed.
00:15:55.620 still employed,
00:15:57.680 but employed and given a suspension without pay.
00:16:03.900 So it is unbelievable.
00:16:05.720 It's some,
00:16:06.280 in some ways,
00:16:06.900 in that way,
00:16:07.340 at least it's worse than being fired.
00:16:09.460 And yet this is going on everywhere.
00:16:11.540 For months now,
00:16:12.700 you've been denied pay.
00:16:14.460 Thanks be to God,
00:16:15.400 you have some private work that you can do.
00:16:18.640 But this is a,
00:16:20.080 this is a real trial for so many people in your same situation.
00:16:24.940 What are your thoughts in terms of what you did?
00:16:28.640 Would you do it again?
00:16:30.240 You know,
00:16:30.860 if you knew the consequences and what's your message to nurses and other
00:16:35.580 healthcare professionals who are facing the same thing?
00:16:38.040 Absolutely.
00:16:38.620 I would do it again.
00:16:40.020 There's no other way.
00:16:41.680 You have to,
00:16:42.980 one has to be true to themselves,
00:16:44.840 right?
00:16:45.080 So I,
00:16:45.720 I knew from the very beginning that I was not going to,
00:16:49.000 to take these,
00:16:50.260 these vaccines.
00:16:51.700 Well,
00:16:51.760 not vaccines,
00:16:52.480 not those injections.
00:16:53.960 And I've been watching it very closely and I have,
00:16:57.620 I have made an informed decision when it comes to medical treatment,
00:17:01.940 because it is a medical treatment,
00:17:03.440 but obviously the priority,
00:17:06.540 like the most of all,
00:17:07.980 it was the religious exemption,
00:17:10.920 the religious argument that was the strongest for me.
00:17:14.400 We'll see what happens.
00:17:16.100 I mean,
00:17:16.320 I'm,
00:17:16.680 I'm sad that in a hospital setting,
00:17:20.260 in a medical setting,
00:17:21.180 we are not providing people with this,
00:17:23.860 this choice.
00:17:25.300 We have been always preaching it,
00:17:26.860 right?
00:17:27.020 Like freedom of choice,
00:17:28.740 patient's decision.
00:17:29.780 We've been advocating for that.
00:17:31.360 We've been respecting economy.
00:17:33.040 And here we are completely denying this to healthcare workers who are healthy.
00:17:40.960 Like we are healthy people provide,
00:17:43.260 like we've been working through this pandemic,
00:17:45.160 right?
00:17:45.660 And I don't even know any,
00:17:47.840 any coworkers here or in the previous town I've worked in that have been
00:17:53.340 actually sick with COVID and they have any complications with COVID.
00:17:56.480 So we've been definitely strong.
00:17:58.220 We've been holding strong and unable to keep going,
00:18:01.720 right?
00:18:02.280 So no,
00:18:02.620 I would definitely do it again,
00:18:04.260 John Henry.
00:18:05.100 And I,
00:18:06.380 I think people need to,
00:18:07.760 like,
00:18:08.000 I feel for those who have been pressured and who've been actually going to get
00:18:12.260 these jobs and crime while getting them because they felt they had no
00:18:16.540 choice,
00:18:17.240 right?
00:18:17.600 They,
00:18:17.920 they wanted to keep their job and they had no choice.
00:18:20.860 So they had to take something that was against their will.
00:18:24.480 And we have that legally in Canada.
00:18:26.340 It's informed consent.
00:18:27.260 You can't be cajoled into something.
00:18:28.760 So it's actually illegal for healthcare workers to administer such things.
00:18:33.040 If they're being,
00:18:34.100 you know,
00:18:34.560 the so-called consent has come under duress,
00:18:36.780 which is no consent at all.
00:18:38.740 It's an unbelievable situation.
00:18:40.460 Agnes,
00:18:40.740 I want to,
00:18:41.120 I want to thank you for standing strong.
00:18:43.060 I think your story is going to resonate with many people and,
00:18:46.000 and God willing,
00:18:46.720 change some hearts and minds.
00:18:47.760 I'm going to encourage people to,
00:18:49.980 reach out to your administrators.
00:18:53.700 This Greg McLeod,
00:18:54.680 the CEO of St.
00:18:56.260 Francis Hospital in Berries Bay,
00:18:57.580 Ontario needs to hear your voice,
00:19:00.460 needs to hear those.
00:19:01.920 You're going to find a contact information for him in the comment section
00:19:06.300 below this video and at my blog post on this at lifesitenews.com.
00:19:10.240 Encourage you all to do that.
00:19:11.440 Agnes,
00:19:11.800 thank you again so much and God bless you.
00:19:13.940 Thank you.
00:19:14.740 God bless you too.
00:19:15.880 And God bless you all.
00:19:16.820 We'll see you next time on the John Henry Weston show.
00:19:19.980 We have been warning everyone who would listen and attempting to build up
00:19:25.300 alternative platforms to continue to reach you.
00:19:29.140 We have established ourselves on all sorts of platforms.
00:19:32.100 I'm going to explain in a minute,
00:19:33.260 but the most important thing to do is come direct to lifesitenews.com because
00:19:38.560 there we will always be,
00:19:40.680 but we've also established ourselves on platforms like Parler and MeWe,
00:19:45.000 and our videos can be found on Rumble as well.
00:19:48.220 We would love to see each of you on those platforms too,
00:19:51.740 as they are not censoring or suppressing the truth that we are sharing every single day.
00:19:57.240 More than these alternative social media platforms,
00:20:00.280 we highly encourage you to subscribe to our email newsletter.
00:20:03.600 We have really built up a large list of loyal readers on our email marketing platform,
00:20:09.220 and we have prepared several backup plans for,
00:20:13.240 well,
00:20:14.000 I want to say if,
00:20:14.880 but it's really when we are removed from our current platform as well.
00:20:19.780 Additionally,
00:20:20.640 I really encourage you,
00:20:22.020 as I said before,
00:20:22.920 to make it a regular habit to go directly to lifesitenews.com.
00:20:27.140 Make it your homepage.
00:20:29.200 While all of these different platforms are an excellent way to curate your news,
00:20:34.260 going directly to our website means that you will never encounter any censorship
00:20:38.820 or sudden loss of LifeSite News reporting.
00:20:41.820 Here's the thing.
00:20:43.260 We will never stop sharing the truth.
00:20:46.580 We founded this organization with the mission to be the life,
00:20:50.520 family,
00:20:50.840 and culture source for men and women who seek to know the truth.
00:20:54.780 We have established a track record of honest reports,
00:20:59.020 and this will never stop,
00:21:00.700 even with censorship happening around the globe.
00:21:04.660 Again,
00:21:05.420 I'm encouraging you to join us on Parler,
00:21:08.400 MeWe,
00:21:08.840 Rumble,
00:21:09.320 and on our email list.
00:21:11.060 You can find all the direct links in the description of this video.
00:21:15.880 May God bless you and keep you,
00:21:17.640 and we are so thankful that you've chosen to follow and support LifeSite News.
00:21:22.380 I'm John Henry Weston,
00:21:23.680 co-founder and editor-in-chief of LifeSite News.