Welcome to Monday. The inequality of the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine across the globe has grave implications that will inevitably prolong the pandemic, say Catholic sisters and humanitarian officials. The opposition to Pope Francis, writes NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters, is rooted in the opposition to Vatican II. And NCR tips its hat to the work of Catholic News Service, which has covered every significant event in the life of church or country for the past 100 years.
Catholic sisters and humanitarian officials are alarmed by inequalities in the worldwide rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, saying they pose further threats to the already-struggling Global South.
"Wealthier nations have bought up enough doses to vaccinate their entire populations nearly three times over by the end of 2021," an alliance of groups calling for a "People's Vaccine" said in December. "Rich nations representing just 14 per cent of the world's population have bought up 53 per cent of all the most promising vaccines so far."
Two months later, the implications of a non-equitable global vaccine rollout response remain grave.
"A global immunity gap puts everyone at risk," U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters Jan. 28 in New York. "If the virus continues to circulate in the Global South, it will inevitably mutate," significantly prolonging the pandemic.
"This is what happens to the supply chain when the U.S. and Europe are swooping in and buying the vaccine," said Mercy Sr. Marilyn Lacey, executive director of the humanitarian organization Mercy Beyond Borders.
You can read more of the story here.
More background:
At the end of January, Pope Francis delivered an address to participants in a meeting of the National Catechetical Office of the Italian Bishops conference. This address warrants attention from all the local churches, says NCR columnist Michael Sean Winters, because it shows why the opposition to Francis is rooted in the desire to "put the Vatican II toothpaste back into a pre-conciliar tube."
In the address, the pope presented a deep understanding of catechesis.
"Thanks to the narration of catechesis, Sacred Scripture becomes the 'environment' in which we feel part of the same salvation history, encountering the first witnesses of faith," Francis said. "Catechesis is taking others by the hand and accompanying them in this history."
Winters then contrasts that address with an essay by Cardinal Raymond Burke posted at the EWTN online library, in which he writes that "the question regarding the objective state of Catholic politicians who knowingly and willingly hold opinions contrary to the natural moral law would hardly seem to change from place to place."
"In Burke's world, it is easy to tell the sheep from the goats, there is no grey, no ambiguity, and no sense of the mysterious workings of grace that, sometimes, take a lifetime to come to fruition," Winters writes. "Who needs pastors? Just distribute the catechism, which is apparently self-explanatory. Burke is not a Protestant preaching 'Scripture alone,' but a Catholic preaching 'Catechism alone.' Francis could not be more different."
You can read more of Winters' column here.
More background:
- Pope Francis recently urged those charged with passing on the principles of the Catholic faith to consider the teachings of the Second Vatican Council as sacrosanct.
More headlines
- In every industry, there are the die-hard professionals: the ones you can count on to do the job day-in, day-out, with a minimum of fuss or any clamor for recognition, NCR writes in an editorial. The work of Catholic News Service, which has covered every significant event in the life of church or country for the past 100 years, remains a real service, in the truest sense of the word.
- Mostly Black and Latinx students at a New Jersey Catholic prep school met up online for a frank discussion with Jewish students from a neighboring school, exchanging perspectives on racism and anti-Semitism.
- ICYMI: In the face of pressure and threats, sister supporters of the nun who has accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal of rape are among 83 witnesses testifying in the ongoing trial in Kottayam, Kerala state, in India.
- ICYMI: Both the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate have now passed bills that would abolish the death penalty in the state. Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has stated his support, making it highly likely that Virginia will become the first Southern state to outlaw capital punishment.
Final thoughts
Today is the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking. At Global Sisters Report, read a column by Imelda Poole, a sister of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on sisters working to combat human trafficking across European borders. You can also find a listing of events to commemorate Feb. 8, which is also the Feast of St. Josephine Bakhita. And see all of Global Sisters Report's amazing coverage of sisters who work in anti-trafficking.
Until Tuesday,
Stephanie Yeagle
NCR Managing Editor
[email protected]
Twitter: @ncrSLY
