Pope Francis says he is in line to take Covid-19 vaccine
The pontiff made the remarks throughout an interview with Italy’s Canale 5 channel, set to air on Sunday night.
“It is an ethical duty to take the vaccine, here in the Vatican we will start next week, I am also in line to take it,” he stated, according to a news anchor for the channel in a sneak peek of the interview, which was launched Saturday.
The complete interview, which occurred in the Santa Marta house in the Vatican, will air on Sunday at 2.40 p.m. ET (8.40 p.m. regional time), according to a news release.
“I was amazed, because the US population, which is so disciplined in democracy… But it is a reality, even in more mature realities there is always something wrong, something about people taking a path against the community, against democracy, against the common good.
“I thank God that this broke out and we could see it well, due to the fact that this can be fixed, right?” Francis said in a preview clip seen by CNN, adding the violence “should be condemned.”
Vatican says vaccine is ‘morally acceptable’
Some groups had suggested the coronavirus vaccines were made using cells from aborted fetuses. The cells are actually engineered and grown in labs from tissue acquired many decades ago, and are not made directly from aborted fetuses.
“It is ethically appropriate to get Covid-19 vaccines that have actually utilized cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research study and production procedure,” the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said in a note approved by Francis.
The statement was issued and signed by the head of the Congregation in response to several requests for guidelines regarding the use of the vaccine.
Jobber Wiki author Frank Long contributed to this report.