The bishop of the dioceses of Teano-Calvi and Alife-Caiazzo, in Campania, southern Italy, has banned priests, deacons, religious and lay people who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 from giving communion.
According to the Catholic Information Agency (ACI), Bishop Giacomo Cirulli issued a provision to that effect on Saturday (8) and, given the controversy that was generated, published an additional clarification on Monday (10).
The second statement argues that the ban “confirms the line of respect and protection of life that at this historic moment calls into question the options of each one: it is placed as an additional useful measure to combat the spread of the virus among the population and to take care of the more fragile”.
The bishop, who also suspended face-to-face pastoral activities, pointed out that the objective is to protect “those who could not enjoy the benefits of vaccination coverage and unfortunately, as shown by the growing cases in hospitals across Italy, suffer the brunt of the disease.” .
According to information from the EFE Agency, Italy reached its record of contagions in the pandemic last Thursday, when the country’s authorities reported 220,000 new cases in 24 hours. A day earlier, the government approved mandatory vaccination for people aged 50 and over.
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