Maryland Catholic priest: vaccine mandates go against Jesus' teachings

A Towson, MD, Catholic priest spoke out against vaccine mandates while delivering his homily last weekend, saying “nobody” can dictate what enters someone’s body. Fr. Edward Meeks, who is the pastor at Christ the King Catholic Church in Towson, gave an almost 20 minute homily Nov. 21 — explaining his interpretation of the day’s chosen Bible readings — citing several verses from the Corinthians chapter indicating that vaccine mandates go against Jesus’ teachings.

“When we say Jesus is our Lord and King, what we are saying is that we owe our allegiance and our loyalty first and foremost to him and his kingdom,” Meeks said. The priest then rhetorically asked the parishioners how that allegiance might play out in every day life, continuing to cite the Corinthians verses that repeat “our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit.”

“No earthly king or president or public health official or billionaire technocratic gets to dictate what we must put into our bodies, into these temples of the Holy Spirit,” the priest said. “That’s between us and God. Do you hear what I’m saying?”

“I do not and have not advised anyone whether they should or should not get the vaccine,” he said in the statement. “I have always held that is a matter of individual conscience, a principle that is held in very high regard by the Catholic Church.”

It is unclear what Meeks’ vaccination status is.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/baltimore-county/bs-md-co-priest-vaccine-homily-20211130-px4uu2sw3zf5rmmc2oo6u7ygtq-story.html