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Vaccination Hopes and Worries, Marking Human Rights Day

Not surprisingly, vaccines are the dominant topic again this week, with FDA approval of one COVID vaccine and imminent approval of a second in the United States and the start of vaccinations worldwide. The focus has been both on the priority ethics of who comes first (and by implication who may be last) and on high levels of hesitancy and resistance. Some (but of course by no means all) of the support and doubts are linked to religious teachings. Richard Seifman and Katherine Marshall published a piece for Impaktor that explores some pro and con religious teachings and stresses that strategic religious engagement in understanding and addressing hesitancy can play critical roles in the immediate future.
 
Events marking Human Rights Day (December 10) highlighted issues of religious freedom in relation to COVID-19 public health restrictions, especially in the United States where a Supreme Court ruling upholding religious objections (both Orthodox Jewish and Catholic) to restrictions sparked furor from both non-religious and religious groups. The spotlight has also shone on the Orthodox churches in Greece and the Balkans; leaders are divided and facing the reality of infections within communities.
 
As the COVID-19 months pass and future prospects for “normal” life remain uncertain, a range of analyses of loneliness and spiritual isolation highlight the pain many feel in homes and in places like prisons. As the winter months set in, concerns about humanitarian crises mount, including among faith-inspired organizations such as Catholic Relief Services (CRS).
 
Statements from Pope Francis distinguish between “to prepare the future” rather than “to prepare ourselves for the future,” with the former his call. Economist Stefano Zamagni, president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, calls this a typical expression demonstrating Pope Francis’s “frame of mind” and philosophical background of historical realism, “eliminating the tyranny of determinism,” or “history repeating itself,” from society. 

Finally, a heartening account from Mumbai, India, focuses on efforts by Kari Ahmed Ansari, a Muslim cleric, to mobilize support for those suffering in the slums; some 180 of Ansari’s colleagues from more than 500 mosques teach best practices for avoiding the spread of the virus and dispel myths, many of them imparted by religious leaders or homespun beliefs.
 
This will be our last weekly highlight until the new year. We wish everyone a safe and joyous holiday season!