On December 20, the Carolina Family Coalition, C-PLAN’s parent organization, hosted a Defending Conscience Rights Against Vaccine Mandates event at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Charlotte. The event was organized to help support Catholic workers stand up for their conscience rights against vaccine mandates, which violate Church teaching. Below is a recap and video of the event. Only the presentations are available (not the Q&A).
Note: If you need to file a religious exemption with your employer, please see our religious exemption page: https://www.prolifecharlotte.org/obtaining-a-religious-exemption/
Alternate link: https://rumble.com/vrd781-defending-conscience-rights-against-mandates-december-20-2021.html
Here are a few takeaways from the event:
Matthew Quinn – Attorney
Mr. Quinn gave an overview* of the legal situation and offered these helpful points:
- Religious exemption due to the vaccines’ link to abortion is the strongest argument for employees
- Be reasonable and sincere; keep focus on objection to abortion link
- Employers don’t want to fire most people – if enough employees resist companies may back down
- Seek help from an attorney
* As a reminder, the remarks are general assessments of the legal situation regarding vaccine mandates. Individuals should consult with an attorney for specific legal guidance for their particular situation.
Tim Hill – Terminated Radio Host
Mr. Hill shared his inspirational story of how his company mandated the vaccine, denied his religious exemption, and terminated his employment when he declined to receive the vaccine. He shared the following advice:
- He was not going to choose his job over God
- God has a plan for everyone, its not up to us to know what it may be
- He remarked that he has a clear conscience and peace in his decision
Fr. Matthew Codd – Pastor, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Charlotte
Fr. Codd reflected upon the suffering workers and families may endure due to resisting vaccine mandates and offered a reflection on the Passion of Christ:
- Do not be afraid of things being taken away from us
- Christ gave everything He loved away – including His Blessed Mother (to St. John)
- Nothing to be feared with poverty as it is close to God and brings about greater freedom
- God is close to those who suffer
Connecting Workers and Friendly Employers
One consensus among attendees was an interest in connecting Catholic workers with companies supporting conscience rights. One such business owner was in attendance and is actually looking for employees. Sustainable Plumbing, a family-owned local plumbing business in Concord, is looking for workers who don’t mind “digging in the dirt” and have an interest in the plumbing industry. They also have contacts with other small businesses in various fields who are also seeking employees. Contact Paige Shue with Sustainable Plumbing to see if this might be a good fit, or if they may have contacts in other fields: paige(at)sustainableplumbing.org
What’s Next?
To help connect Catholic workers and friendly employers, the Carolina Family Coalition is forming a small team to try and develop a local directory that can link companies that support conscience rights and prospective employees. If you happen to be a Catholic employer that supports conscience rights and are in need of employees, or you are just an individual that would like to volunteer on this initiative, please e-mail us at: info(at)carolinafamilycoalition.org
End of the Year Support
We hope to hold more events to help defend the family in 2022 as time and resources allow. To support the Carolina Family Coalition’s mission to defend families against the secular culture, including vaccine mandates, please consider making a one-time or monthly tax-deductible gift (link).
