Br. Columba Thomas, OP, MD, on Conscience, Virtue, and Moral Concerns about COVID Vaccines

"Conscience claims enjoy great prominence in the modern era. For example, in 2020 the Little Sisters of the Poor sought and attained legal exemptions from the Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate for employers. For Catholics especially, access to such conscience-based exemptions is vital to their ability to freely practice their faith. Recently, many Catholics have found their consciences rattled by another mandate: the COVID vaccines. Their concerns stem from the fact that all currently approved vaccines in the United States were developed or tested using abortion-derived cell lines. However, in obeying one's conscience, it is vital to make sure that it has been well-formed. How can Catholics ensure that they are being good stewards of their conscience? And how can they think through their moral concerns about the COVID vaccines?

"The challenges and controversies surrounding claims of conscience long predate our times. When Thomas Aquinas considers the erring conscience, he affirms that we are bound to follow it - but there is an important catch: if conscience errs because of ignorance that is willful or negligent, we do sin by following our conscience (STh I-II, 19.5-6). If we fail to do our part in forming and informing our conscience, then we may face unfortunate dilemmas: it can become a sin either to follow our conscience, or not to follow it.

"To champion conscience for its own sake, without appreciating what forms and informs it, is to err on a fundamental level. Any consideration of conscience must be aided by the virtues, those firm dispositions of the soul that enable us to act well in every circumstance - no matter how complex or challenging. The virtues dispose us both to desire the good and to choose the best means of attaining the good.."

In a recent commentary, Brother Columba Thomas, OP, MD, reflected on some of the factors related to making an appropriate choice re: COVID vaccines, including concerns re: material cooperation in the evil of past abortions by receiving the vaccine, promotion of the common good by taking steps to limit the spread of disease,  layers of political controversy, and the desire to protect conscience rights. He also reflected on the importance of conscience and virtue working well together to make a "truly virtuosic action amid society's increasingly complex challenge"

To access Br. Columba's complete essay, please visit:

Public Discourse: Conscience, Virtue, and Moral Concerns about COVID Vaccines (16 MAR 22)