Spanish Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera of Valencia made headlines when he described as a “work of the devil” attempts to find a COVID-19 vaccine using cell lines created from fetuses aborted voluntarily decades ago.
While his remarks June 14 at Mass in the Valencia cathedral were stronger than many others have used, the Vatican and bishops around the world have been urging governments and scientists to support the development of vaccines that have no connection to abortion.
A spokesman for the Pontifical Academy for Life said June 15 that the academy is working on a statement specifically regarding the development of vaccines for COVID-19, which he said would follow church teaching as explained in 2008 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the academy’s 2017 note on the importance of vaccines.