We have had several funerals recently associated with our parishes that you should know about. Following the funeral for Fr. Lambert’s sister Madeleine, our former Building & Grounds Keeper at St. Martha, Pat Coleman, lost his wife Deborah Coleman, and we celebrated her funeral here a week ago. Deacon Jim Kearney’s wife Chrissy lost her father, George O’Brien, and they celebrated his funeral this Thursday in Plymouth. And this Saturday (3/6) we celebrate the funeral for John Bellanti, St. Mary parishioner and Firefighter in Norwood. His illness was work related, so the funeral appropriately includes all the rituals for a public servant who died in the line of duty.
May Debbie, George, and John be welcomed into our Father’s house, where Jesus has prepared a place for them, and may the Holy Spirit - the Consoler - console their families and all who love them. Amen.
Thankfully, our parishes have experienced fewer virus-related deaths in recent months, and our nation and the world continue to make progress in learning how to treat and prevent the disease. Gradually we are seeing more progress in vaccinations as well, which will not only save lives but also help us carefully return to more social interaction and allow the rest of us to return to church in person. There continue to be questions raised about the morality of some of the vaccines, so I want to repeat something I said in this column a month ago. We should never support
actively ending the life of a human being at any stage of development, even for the sake of medical breakthroughs. However, the connection between any of the vaccines (in use or in development) with abortions that happened decades ago is so remote that it is not a significant concern for the person receiving the vaccines today. While a few bishops have raised questions,
the vast majority of Catholic teaching authorities, including our Archbishop Cardinal Seán, the
US Conference of Bishops, and the Congregations in Rome, have affirmed the morality of receiving these vaccines, in spite of this connection, for the good of those being vaccinated and for the common good. You can read more on our website in my column
“Vaccine Safety & Morality”, including a link explaining these decisions and teachings. Right now, Cardinal Seán encourages us to accept whichever vaccine we are offered to expedite the protection of as many people as possible. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact me.