Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, has called the Mississippi and Texas orders "ill-advised."

Cardinal Joseph Tobin, named today to the influential Congregation for Bishops, has been known as a “Pope Francis bishop”—one who generally follows the pope’s lead in prioritizing social justice issues and dialogue over culture war flashpoints.

“There’s no moral need to turn down a vaccine, including the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is morally acceptable to use,” Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, said in a new video.

Pope Francis has named Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, a member of the Congregation for Bishops, the office that advises the pope on the nomination of bishops around the world.

Statements by some U.S. bishops on the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine for Covid-19 are proving to be a cautionary tale about confusing Catholics on what is morally permissible.

Recent statements from the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the U.S. bishops’ conference say Catholics should not take the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine if other options are available. But some Catholic ethicists and theologians say such messages are unhelpful in the face of this ongoing crisis.