Can "anti-Vaxxers&q uot; explain?

I was born into an Irish catholic family. Educated in a convent school and worked for many years in a convent nursing home. I have never heard even a suggestion that pork should not be eaten by practising catholics.

My grandfather in rural Ireland was a devoutly religious man. He didn’t eat meat on any Friday as he just ate bread and drank water those days. But the other 6 days he had pig meat in some form every day. Fried rashers, boiled bacon, ham sandwiches etc. Probably way too much than was healthy for him.

I meant to add, do not preach to me, what I can eat or not eat.
You know nothing about me at all.

I am a practicing atheist, I have had the AZ vaccine but have not yet become part monkey, though a prehensile tail could be very useful.

The AZ vaccine doesn’t contain ‘monkey DNA’. It is based upon a virus that normally affects chimpanzees.

3nanny6, the Roman Catholic Church most certainly does not ban the eating of pork. Their justification for overturning the Jewish prohibition one certain animals comes from Peter’s dream comes from Acts 10:9-16, and the teaching of Jesus in Mark 7:15.

I have no idea why your family chose to reject the official teaching of the Catholic Church, but your use of the Bible suggests a level of literalism more common to fundamentalist Protestant groups.

I am not getting involved in the religious issue but I do think in terms of those against the vaccine we need to remember that people are not behaving as they would usually do. People have been traumatised by the last year and I think it has impacted on people in different ways. I am currently watching a friend who I have known for 40 years almost drowning in conspiracy theories, covid, trump you name it. A year ago he was a committed environmentalist, limited interest in politics but voted green. From that to trump in a few months. We need to think of ways to address this and think about why people are falling down the rabbit holes of the internet.

Another catholic completely perplexed by the idea that pork is forbidden to catholics

This is not a religious thread, so I will not expiate further on diverging practices, but I fully agree with everything Marydoll and every other catholic who has responded to your post has said.

I have had my vaccine and I'm not bothered a jot whether it contains, pork, alcohol, shellfish, nanochips or fairy dust. All I care about is that it protects me from COVID. Nor do I think, in any of those cases, I would have breached any religious taboo.

??? alcohol & fairy dust in mine please ?

Blossoming

The AZ vaccine doesn’t contain ‘monkey DNA’. It is based upon a virus that normally affects chimpanzees.

True, but I was trying keep it simple and illustrate what a true anti vaxxer might believe bearing in mind that most of us and I'd hazard all of them are not bio chemists or the like.

I can't understand why Jewish people might believe the pork myth when the most successful vaccine so far has been run by Israel.

Ro60

??? alcohol & fairy dust in mine please ?

Picturing you having yours drawn from one of those posh glittery gin bottles that M&S sold at Christmas! ?

I am C of E but as a child we always had fish on Fridays, never eating meat. No mention was ever made of the reason why, it was just something we did Reading this thread I realised that in the main, I always think of fish as a Friday meal.

NellG ? I didnt know about the pork / Catholic thing but a quick Google produced loads of info ?
I thought pork wasn't eaten by Certain faiths because of the hot weather (knowledge from DM) Is pork eaten less in warmer Catholic countries? Ireland has a big Catholic population and a big pig farming industry. Surprised, confused, still learning ?

annodomini

I can't understand why Jewish people might believe the pork myth when the most successful vaccine so far has been run by Israel.

Israel and being Jewish are not the same thing.

Ro60 Aren't we all on all counts?

i presume it's mostly nursing and other ancillary staff who are resistant to having the vaccine, rather than medical, ie doctors.
at least i would hope so.
i read something on MN y'day where someone objected to AZ because she traced its development back to some possible work/research that was done in 1973 ? involving something from abortions.
i'd never heard of this before. and the pope is all for the covid vaccines, urges people to have it, and he hasn't made any distinction between them.
i think most of the objections are in the loopy-loo territory.

i have heard experts repeatedly state that all the vaccines are totally synthetic, no animal or plant material at all in any of them.

i think most of the objections are in the loopy-loo territory.

Exactly! That's why logic and rationalism can't explain them.

Franbern

As growstuff has said, a story (totally untrue) was circulated that the vaccines contain pork - therefore Muslim and Jews started to refuse it on that basis. This is being refuted - but seems so much easier for false information to take hold, than corrected ones.

Israel has been at the forefront of the vaccination campaign so Jews should be reassured on this issue at least.

Which is why we need to look at why people have found such comfort for want of a better word in the conspiracy theories of the internet.

I am still sticking to what I have been brought up with.
Aggie : just to answer your post. I wrote in my post that during the Lent period from Ash Wednesday until just after Good Friday that is the Fridays in that time I will not eat meat.
Many years ago when I was younger the family did not eat meat on Fridays but that has changed.
Please read the post carefully I am talking about Lent time only and as well as not eating meat I also give up something I like and try to reflect more on the Bible and it's teachings.
If you other practicing Catholics do not mark Lent period without meat and giving something up then that is your choice I cannot feel anger to you go through Lent as you wish.
Also I am not talking about having the vaccine or not but in our society there is still free choice and as yet no rule has been made to make the vaccine mandatory although I do expect that will be the next move, it seems the rule is do not make your own choice but do as you are told. Is it free will
or being bullied to do what others say you should?

GrannyRose15

Franbern

As growstuff has said, a story (totally untrue) was circulated that the vaccines contain pork - therefore Muslim and Jews started to refuse it on that basis. This is being refuted - but seems so much easier for false information to take hold, than corrected ones.

Israel has been at the forefront of the vaccination campaign so Jews should be reassured on this issue at least.

Israel and Judaism are not the same. There are, in any case, many forms of Judaism. Hasidic communities are often very insular and science education is sometimes non-existent.

welbeck

i have heard experts repeatedly state that all the vaccines are totally synthetic, no animal or plant material at all in any of them.

This.
I also feel that vaccination should be mandatory. Every person who refuses the vaccine puts the rest of us at risk.
As is so often the case these days, the majority suffers for the vocal minority.

There are many reasons why a perfectly sane person should decide not to have a vaccine.

They may be worried that it has not been properly tested because it has been developed so quickly.

They may be worried about side effects.

They may have had a bad experience with a vaccine in the past.

They may be unsure of what it contains.

Telling people that their fears are unfounded I'm afraid just doesn't work. At some point we have to trust the experts and the track record of both experts and politicians throughout this crisis is not good. The rationality of some of the decisions that have been made is questionable and that is why some of the public are wary of trusting the same people who told us we couldn't sit on a park bench when out for a walk and that a scotch egg constituted a substantial meal.

Frankly some of the things we have been hearing over the last year have been ludicrous. Is it any wonder that some people have doubts about the vaccine?

Once the programme has been rolled out and everyone who wants a vaccine has had two shots, there will be a lot more evidence that it is safe. Many of those who were cautious at first will become less so and will go on to have the vaccine.

If you believe the vaccine is safe and effective then you should also believe that in time the evidence that this is so will speak for itself.

On a lighter note. I was brought up a Methodist and we always had fish on Fridays.