What did the Vatican really say?
By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Jul 25, 2005
If you read the Catholic News Service article, you'd probably conclude that the Vatican said parents should have their children vaccinated, even if the vaccines were developed from fetal tissues. So you wouldn't need to worry much more about the issue.
If you read the Catholic World News article, you'd probably conclude that the vatican said parents should not have their children vaccinated if the vaccines were developed from fetal tissues. And even if there are times when such vaccinations are morally justifiable-- when it's the only available way to guard against a serious disease-- there is still a heavy obligation to lobby for change in a fundamentally immoral situation. So you do still need to worry about it.
Which story is more accurate?
Read the actual text sent by the Vatican-- we linked to it in the original CWN story-- and see for yourself.
Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.
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