VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican took action on Thursday to clarify a decree that implied employees could lose their jobs if they refused to receive the COVID-19 vaccination without legitimate health reasons, after criticism on social media.
A February 8 decree by Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, governor of Vatican City, said that receiving the vaccine was “the responsible choice” because of the risk of injuring others.
The 108-acre Vatican City, the smallest state in the world, has several thousand employees, most of whom live in Italy. His vaccination program started last month and Pope Francis, 84, was one of the first to receive the vaccine.
The decree said that those who could not be vaccinated for health reasons could be given another position, presumably where they would have contact with fewer people, but will receive the same salary even if the new position is a demotion.
But the decree said that those who refused to get vaccinated without sufficient reason would be subject to a specific provision in a 2011 law on workers’ rights and duties.
The 2011 law article says that employees who refuse “preventive measures” may be subject to “varying degrees of consequences that can lead to dismissal”.
After news of the decree on Thursday, many Italians turned to Twitter to criticize it, some saying it was against Pope Francis’ general plea for mercy.
On Thursday night, Bertello’s office released a statement saying that “alternative solutions” would be found for those who do not want to get the vaccine.
He stated that the reference to the article of the 2011 law that specifically mentioned the possibility of dismissal should not be seen as “sanctioning or punitive” and that “freedom of individual choice” would be respected.
Pope Francis is a strong advocate of vaccines to stem the spread of coronavirus and the Vatican has made vaccination COVID-19 mandatory for journalists accompanying the pope on his trip to Iraq next month.
There have been less than 30 cases of coronavirus in Vatican City, most of them within the Swiss Guard, who live in a community barracks.
Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Gareth Jones and Jonathan Oatis