Pope Francis mandates COVID vaccine for papal reporters
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Summary
In the wake of a bit of Vatican backpedaling after world media reported that Vatican City State was insisting on vaccination for Vatican employees, otherwise they d lose their jobs, Pope Francis is now requiring reporters who want to join him on the papal plane during his trip to Iraq this March get the abortion-tainted COVID vaccine. In other Vatican news: Pope Francis has retired one of the last Orthodox-leaning heads of the Curia, Cardinal Robert Serra; Catholic laity in Australia have heroically defended the honour of their cathedral against profanation, and a world-famous nun has finally been given the green light to open her convent after four years of trying to find a bishop who would accept her.
Transcript
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In the wake of a bit of Vatican backpedaling after world media reported that Vatican City
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State was insisting on vaccination for Vatican employees, otherwise they'd lose their jobs,
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Pope Francis is actually now requiring reporters who want to join him on the papal plane during
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his trip to Iraq this March get the abortion-tainted COVID vaccine.
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In other Vatican news, Pope Francis has retired one of the last Orthodox-leaning heads of
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But there's some amazing news to report to, as Catholic laity in Australia have heroically
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defended the honour of their cathedral against profanation, and a world-famous traditional
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nun has finally been given the green light to open her convent after four years of trying
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Let's begin, as we always do, with the sign of the cross.
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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
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LifeSite's Michael Haynes reports this week that in a communique sent out from the Holy
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Sea press office, that's the Vatican's press office, two journalists looking to join the
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Pope on his trip to Iraq, which goes from March 5th to 8th, mandatory vaccination was
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Section 3 of the document contained prescriptions and health advice, which include requirements
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for masking and social distancing, PPE and so on.
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However, beyond this, the Vatican decreed that in order for journalists to present themselves
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for the journey, and I quote, it is necessary to have undergone the vaccination against COVID-19
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Should a journalist be unable to receive the vaccine in his home country, he is ordered to
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contact the Vatican and request a vaccination, and both doses of the vaccine would then be administered
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Vaccine certificates are required as proof of the injection.
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Furthermore, the vaccine mandate seems to extend not just to journalists who accompany the Pope on the
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flight, but also to those who, quote, participate in the apostolic journey, end quote, regardless
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of at what stage or how closely they join the Pope.
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Well, the Vatican City State had issued a decree in early February calling the reception of the
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experimental vaccine a duty in maintaining public health, and essentially threatened Vatican
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employees with the loss of their job if they refused the vaccine.
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As LifeCite's Jean Smits reported, quote, the text also implies that workers who refuse the vaccine
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without proven reasons of health, and who are in a position to pose a risk to other citizens,
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residents, and workers of the community may not receive another task and payment.
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In other words, they would lose their job and income.
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Now, after the news caused a strong backlash, the governor of the Vatican City State, Cardinal
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Giuseppe Bertolo, was forced to issue a response to his own directive.
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He said that those who simply refused the experimental vaccine would be allowed to find alternative
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solutions for the performance of work by the person concerned.
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But our reporter who followed up on this, John Smits, she described the new note as damage
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And commenting on the note despite, well, the actual situation, despite the note, is that
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the original decree, she said, did not provide for anything of the sort of an exception like
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It only said that alternative tasks would be found for workers who, and I quote, for reasons,
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or proven reasons of health, end quote, could not receive the jab.
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So Francis himself, of course, has compared taking the COVID vaccines to a moral duty.
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He said, and I quote, I believe that ethically everyone should take the vaccine, end quote.
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And you remember that along with Pope Benedict XVI, Francis was one of the first to receive
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the vaccine when the injections began in the Vatican in January.
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In related news, Pope Francis has retired, one of the last remaining Orthodox cardinals
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While allowing left-leaning cardinals to remain in office for years after the required resignation
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letter upon turning 75, the Pope insisted on retiring Cardinal Robert Serra without even
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naming a successor, which is normally customary.
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Now, at LifeSite, you'll find a full write-up of the Cardinal's amazing history in our coverage
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Cardinal Serra has defended the traditional Catholic practices, such as receiving Holy Communion,
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kneeling and on the tongue, and celebrating Mass, the priest facing the tabernacle with the
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Cardinal Serra has warned that the Church is facing a grave risk of schism over morality.
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He's told priests that they cannot shy away from hard teachings of the Church on abortion
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In his 2017 book, The Power of Silence, which I really urge you all to read, Cardinal Serra
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wrote that he opposes priests and bishops within the Church who no longer believe in the Bible
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and who depart from the Catholic teaching and sacred tradition.
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bishops that scatter the sheep that Jesus has entrusted to them will be judged mercilessly
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But you know, there's something of a silver lining in Cardinal Serra's departure.
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A tweet from May 3rd, he pinned to the top of his Twitter page as he was retired.
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And that tweet remains there still, if you go check it out.
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Hopefully, by the time you see this, it'll still be there.
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And it says that basically, his position is that the faithful may not be denied communion
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Thank you for your service to the Church and to Christ, Cardinal Serra.
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Nearly 200 Catholic faithful in Sydney, Australia,
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knelt in front of their cathedral praying prayers of reparation and singing hymns
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as an LGBT exhibit was being held right in front of the cathedral on the city-owned property,
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Seeing their faith and determination is awesome.
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And what a great witness also to those who might have even attended that festival.
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And finally, I've got some incredible news to share with you.
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I'm going to have Mother Miriam on this show again soon to invite women to join her in her
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