A Fair and Just Vaccines Approach as Step Towards Healing the World

Vatican COVID-19 Commission and Pontifical Academy for Life, december 29th, 2020

Vatican COVID-19 Commission and Pontifical Academy for Life Calls for Fair and Just Vaccines Approach as Step Towards Healing the World

Vatican lays out principles and values for vaccine adoption, providing a clear moral roadmap for world leaders and everyday citizens

The Vatican COVID-19 Commission and Pontifical Academy for Life issue 20-point joint paper confirming moral responsibility of taking COVID-19 vaccines, building off guidance from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued 21 December.

The paper states there is a moral responsibility to accept the vaccine, not just for individual personal health but to protect the health of all. The Vatican Commission and Pontifical Academy of Life reminds world leaders that vaccines were developed as a public good and must be provided to all fairly and equitably, prioritizing those most in need.

It calls on world leaders to resist the temptation to participate in “vaccine nationalism”, urging nation states and companies to cooperate – not compete – with each other.

Cardinal Turkson, head of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD), who leads the Commission said, “we are grateful to the scientific community for developing the vaccine in record time; it is now up to us to ensure it becomes available for all, especially the most vulnerable. It is a matter of Justice. We need to show once and for all that we are one human family.”

“The interconnectedness that binds humanity has been revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Academy of Life. “Together with the Commission, we are working with many partners to reveal lessons the human family can learn and to develop an ethics of risk and solidarity to protect the most vulnerable of society.”

“We are at a turning point in the COVID-19 pandemic and have an opportunity to start to define the world we want to see post-pandemic,” says Mons. Bruno-Marie Duffe, Secretary of the DPIHD. “The way in which vaccines are deployed – where, to whom, and for how much – is the first step for global leaders to take in committing to fairness and justice as the principles for building a better post- COVID world,” stresses Father Augusto Zampini, Adjunct Secretary of DPIHD.

About the Vatican Commission on COVID-19

● The Vatican’s COVID-19 Commission was established by Pope Francis in March 2020 to respond to the global devastation caused by the pandemic. As we respond and move through recovery, we must ensure the cures for the immediate crises are stepping-stones to a more just, inclusive and integrated set of systems, responding to global crises as a global family.
● Housed within the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD) and led by Cardinal Peter Turkson, the Commission is a new model of working for the Vatican that places high priority on inter-dicasterial collaboration and deep engagement with external partners and local Church to inform global policy and practice toward a new model of global development that better serves the most vulnerable among people and planet.
● The work of the Commission is coordinated by a Directorate reporting directly to the Holy Father and includes the DPIHD’s Prefect, Cardinal Peter Turkson, Secretary, Msgr. Bruno-Marie Duffé, and Adjunct Secretary, Fr. Augusto Zampini