Views: 5
- Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, tested positive for Covid
- Parolin’s deputy, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, is asymptomatic with the virus
- There was no immediate comment on their last contact with Pope Francis
The Pope’s right-hand man in the Vatican and his deputy have both tested positive for Covid.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who serves as the Vatican’s secretary of state and the pope’s No. 2, has ‘very light’ symptoms.
Parolin’s deputy, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, is asymptomatic, Vatican officials said.
The Pope’s right-hand man in the Vatican Cardinal Pietro Parolin (pictured) and his deputy have both tested positive for Covid
Parolin’s deputy, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra (pictured with the Pope), is asymptomatic, Vatican officials said
There was no immediate comment on their last contact with Pope Francis.
It wasn’t clear if Francis has received a booster shot, which has been administered to his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
These are the first cases of Covid confirmed so high up in the Vatican hierarchy since the pandemic began.
The Pope has been very vocal in his support for Covid vaccines, despite some opposition within the Catholic Church.
He said last week that inoculation against the virus was a ‘moral obligation’ and denounced how people had been swayed by ‘baseless information’ to refuse jabs.
Francis, 85, had previously termed vaccination as ‘an act of love’ and that refusing to get jabbed was ‘suicidal,’ but last week he went a step further, saying that individuals had a responsibility to care for themselves.
It wasn’t clear if Francis has received a booster shot, which has been administered to his predecessor (pictured on Sunday)
‘This translates into respect for the health of those around us. Health care is a moral obligation,’ he asserted.
‘Vaccines are not a magical means of healing, yet surely they represent, in addition to other treatments that need to be developed, the most reasonable solution for the prevention of the disease,’ Francis said.
Some Catholics, including some conservative U.S. bishops and cardinals, have claimed vaccines based on research that used cells derived from aborted fetuses were immoral, and have refused to get the jabs.
The Vatican’s doctrine office, however, has said it is ‘morally acceptable’ for Catholics to receive COVID-19 vaccines based on research that used cells derived from aborted fetuses.
Francis and Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI have been double vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech shots.
Story by Dail Mail