Is the Diocese of Wheeling/Charleston Planning to Oppose Parental Rights?

This morning I received an email from Michael Hichborn of the Lepanto Institute describing how the Diocese of Wheeling/Charleston plans to join a lawsuit against the state over a bill giving parents the freedom to choose vaccinations for their children. If true, it's a shocking position! 

Does a Catholic Diocese have more rights over children than their parents? Not according to canon law.

Wouldn't a Catholic expect the Church, which emphasizes the rights and obligations of parents over the physical and spiritual welfare of their children, to support this bill? Who is in the best position to decide what is safe and not safe for a particular child?

But no, it seems the Wheeling Diocese isn't supporting parents' rights, but the right of Catholic schools to demand that parents comply with the state vaccination requirements before their children can be enrolled.

Leaving aside the vaccination issue, the primary concern here relates to undermining parental rights. Who decides what is in the best interests of the children?

My husband was raised in the Wheeling Diocese and attended Catholic schools there through high school. Many relatives still live there and we return on visits so this issue is personal for us. 

The diocese has suffered a lot with scandals in the chancery, especially under Bishop Bransfield. Can parents not hope for relief, respect, and support?

Hichborn's article is a must read for every Catholic parent in West Virginia. And I hope parents explore this issue and make their concerns known to the chancery. I'm printing the article in full highlighting particular issues. I hope many will call the diocese and ask for transparency. If you have friends in West Virginia, please forward this post to them.

Your Catholic Week in Review (The Rights of Parents Edition!)

from Michael Hichborn

An interesting situation popped up last month that I only recently was told about. It seems that the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston is poised to oppose a bill that would allow parents and legal guardians to make prudential decisions regarding childhood vaccinations. Now, I want to make it absolutely clear that what I am about to write about is not to discuss the science of vaccines or weigh the benefits or hazards associated with them. But what caught my attention was the statement from Tim Bishop, director of marketing and communications for the diocese on the bill. In a written statement to the Intelligencer, he wrote: “We have always maintained our constitutional right to order our schools as we see fit in accord with our beliefs.”

This statement, if taken to mean that the schools are to be ordered according to Catholic moral teaching, is a great statement. However, Bishop provided additional information to the Intelligencer regarding these beliefs by illustrating the obligation of students to be fully immunized as a condition of attending a diocesan school. From the Intelligencer:

Bishop provided additional information regarding the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston’s current compliance with West Virginia’s immunization requirements for all students. Local Catholic schools that fall under these compliance guidelines are Central Catholic High School, Corpus Christi School, Our Lady of Peace School, St. Michael Parish School and St. Vincent de Paul Parish School.

All children entering Catholic schools in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston for the first time must show proof of immunizations, according to the West Virginia Immunization Program Guidelines for Pre-Kindergarten programs and New School Enterers. Per state code, first-time students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade must show proof of immunization against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella and hepatitis B unless properly medically exempted.

Returning students at Catholic schools in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston must also show proof of the required immunizations for their respective grade level.

At first glance, this would appear to be a situation in which the diocese is merely complying with state law. However, when taken with Bishop’s initial statement that “We have always maintained our constitutional right to order our schools as we see fit in accord with our beliefs,” it seems that Bishop (and by extension, the Diocese) doesn’t see a conflict between mandated vaccines for children and Catholic teaching – if that is indeed what he meant by “our beliefs.”

The 1917 code of Canon Law had this to say about the duty of parents regarding the physical wellbeing of their children:

Codex of Canon Law, can. 1113: “Parents are under a grave obligation to see to the religious and moral education of their children, as well as to their physical and civic training, as far as they can, and moreover to provide for their temporal well-being.”

Furthermore, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says this about the same subject:

2228 Parents' respect and affection are expressed by the care and attention they devote to bringing up their young children and providing for their physical and spiritual needs.

2252 Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children in the faith, prayer, and all the virtues. They have the duty to provide as far as possible for the physical and spiritual needs of their children.

In other words, it is the primary obligation of parents to see to the well being of their children – not the Church, and not the state. And for the spokesman for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston to suggest that the belief of the Church is that medical interventions are to be imposed on children, regardless of any possible parental objection whether medical or otherwise, is nothing short of religious malpractice.

The Church has always taught that the rearing, education, and physical well-being of children is the duty of parents, above all others. But it seems that the Diocese isn’t merely being cautious about SB 460 - Senate Minority Leader Mike Woelfel said that the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston is prepared to fight the bill in court. Sen. Woelfel said:

“We know there’s going to be a lawsuit over this bill. We know that, among other parties, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston has signaled through its press release that it will go to court to protect its religious freedom, its right of religious expression, and its right to control the enrollment and administration of its schools.”

If this is true, then the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston would be pitting “religious freedom” against parent’s rights, which is a direct contradiction in the interpretation of Catholic teaching. I haven’t been able to find any formal statements from the Diocese about its intentions regarding SB 460 beyond the statement provided by Tim Bishop, so the position of the diocese remains dubious. As it stands, SB 460 in West Virginia has the potential to return the proper, God-given rights of parents to make prudential medical decisions for their children back to parents. When asked if Catholic schools would be compelled to admit unvaccinated students to their schools if SB 460 were to pass into law, Sen. Woelfel responded, “Yes…the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston would be compelled to take unvaccinated students under this.”

Concerned Catholics in West Virginia, who are hoping for the repeal of vaccine mandates in favor of their parental rights, are asking for help. The statement from the diocese suggests that it favors the mandates without explicitly saying so, and the argument made by Sen. Woelfel has not been repudiated or corrected by the diocese even though his accusation that the Diocese intends to fight the bill in court is now a month old.

The proper duty of the bishop is to teach and to clarify what the Church teaches in times of confusion. It’s time for the diocese to clear the air and to affirm the Church’s immutable teachings on the rights and duties of parents regarding the well being of their children, and to explain that there can be no conflict between the parent’s duty to the wellbeing of their children and the “religious freedom” of Catholic schools.

If you have a moment, please call the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. Ask the diocese to firmly express its disposition toward SB 460 and its intentions should the bill move forward. The number for the Diocese is (304) 233-0880.