Vatican announces ‘Green Pass’ requirement for visitors as of October

[Stone]

Vatican announces ‘Green Pass’ requirement for visitors as of October

This ordinance is only the latest development in a series of measures aimed at consistently enforcing vaccine mandates in the city state.

Mon Sep 20, 2021
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — The Vatican announced that a “green pass” will be required to access the city state as of October 1. This will apply to visitors as well as to staff, residents, and citizens. The pass will not be required to attend liturgical services.

The ordinance was issued on Saturday by the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, Card. Giuseppe Bertello, and stipulates that from October 1, access to Vatican City will only be granted to persons holding the Vatican or European “green pass” or any foreign certification proving vaccination, recovery or a negative COVID test result. The ordinance states that this measure applies to all visitors as well as citizens, residents and workers “regardless of their title.”

One notable exception applies for people wishing to attend Masses and other liturgical services, as long as their stay doesn’t extend beyond the duration of the service, and that all other COVID guidelines are respected as explained in the document:

An exception is made for those wishing to participate in liturgical celebrations, only for the time strictly necessary to carry out the service and without prejudice to the current health regulations on social distancing, the use of personal protective equipment, circulation or gathering restrictions, and on the adoption of specific hygiene rules.

In his ordinance, Bertello recalls that during an audience on September 7, Pope Francis stated that “it is necessary to ensure the health and well-being of the working community while respecting the dignity, rights and fundamental freedoms of all its members,” asking the governorate to “issue this ordinance in order to adopt all appropriate measures to prevent, control, and combat the current public health crisis in progress in the Vatican City State …”

The document also states that the Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City has been put in charge of controlling access to the Vatican.

This ordinance is only the latest development in a series of measures aimed at consistently enforcing vaccine mandates in the city state under the leadership of Pope Francis, who is a well-known supporter of essentially universal vaccination.

Back in January, in an interview with Italian television station Canale 5, Pope Francis had opined that “everyone” must take the COVID-19 vaccine: “I believe that, ethically, everyone should take the vaccine.” He later mandated vaccination for all Vatican citizens.
Only last month, the Argentine pontiff released a video urging people to get vaccinated without mentioning the connection of the vaccines to abortion or to thousands of deaths and millions of injuries reported after their use to such official channels as Europe’s EnduraVigilance and the U.S.’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting Service (VAERS).