Some opponents of vaccine and mask mandates claim that they are being treated like Jews in Nazi Germany. This appropriation of the Holocaust is wildly offensive and shuts down civil discussion.

Mary Haddad, R.S.M., the C.E.O. and president of the Catholic Health Association, agrees that more must be done now to halt the advance of the Delta variant.

A statement from Colorado’s bishops will likely contribute to vaccine misinformation among Catholics, Sam Sawyer, S.J., writes. And its individualistic and libertarian notion of conscience ignores our obligations to the most vulnerable.

It is no sin to get any of the current Covid vaccines, and a “misinformed conscience” is not a legitimate reason to seek exemptions from a vaccine mandate.

Bishops around the country are reassessing diocesan policies for mask wearing at Mass as the Delta variant propels a new spike in Covid-19 cases, particularly among the unvaccinated.

Here's a look at what we know about the operation and what the pope's doctors will be watching out for.