In contrast to the Archdiocese of Chicago, which is requiring priests and all employees to be vaccinated against Covid, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield (Illinois) said that “vaccine participation must be voluntary and cannot be forced, as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under the authority of Pope Francis, indicated last December.”

“While we encourage vaccination, we cannot and will not force vaccination as a condition of employment or the freedom of the faithful to worship in our parishes,” Bishop Paprocki added.