CHARLESTON — Bishop Mark Brennan of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston sent a letter to West Virginia legislators following the Senate’s passage of Senate Bill 460, saying the Catholic Church teaches that Catholics may receive vaccines and vaccinate their children with a clear conscience.
“This bill purports to create an exemption from vaccination requirements, permitting religious and philosophical exemptions to mandatory vaccination requirements in all schools,” Brennan wrote. “But the effect of the bill, as written, actually has the opposite effect — forcing parochial schools to accept another religion’s teachings on vaccination of children and therefore restricts religious freedom by limiting free exercise.”
There are 24 Catholic schools across West Virginia operating under the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.
Senate Bill 460 sought to add vaccine exemptions for religious and philosophical reasons in public and private schools. Brennan, often recognized as a theologically progressive figure within the Catholic Church, opposed the bill, arguing it would infringe on mandates the Church requires for schoolchildren in the Mountain State.
The issue remains highly controversial among traditional Catholics, some of whom oppose certain vaccines that were developed using cell lines originating from aborted fetal tissue. Brennan suggested that opposing vaccine mandates runs contrary to Catholic teaching, causing friction between him and several traditional Catholic lawmakers.
The House of Delegates ultimately rejected the bill by a vote of 56-42, effectively killing the measure for the session.
