From The New York Times:
Getting vaccinated against Covid-19 is “an act of love,” Pope Francis says in a public service ad that will start circulating online and on television on Wednesday.
Working with the Ad Council, a nonprofit group, in its first campaign to extend beyond the United States, the pope encourages people around the world to get inoculated.
The ad shows the pope, speaking in Spanish with English subtitles, with church officials from the United States, Mexico, Brazil and other countries describing vaccination as a moral responsibility.
The announcement is the first Ad Council campaign designed for a global audience, and will be distributed in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
The PSA is part of the Ad Council’s COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative to encourage vaccination against the coronavirus.
“COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective and save lives,” the Ad Council stated in an Aug. 17 release.
In the PSA, Pope Francis is heard saying, “Getting the vaccines that are authorized by the respective authorities is an act of love. I pray to God that each one of us can make his or her own small gesture of love, no matter how small, love is always grand.”
The cardinals and archbishops who also make an appearance in the PSA are Archbishop José Horacio Gómez Velasco of Los Angeles; Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes of Mexico City; Cardinal Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa; Cardinal Cláudio Hummes of Sao Paolo; Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez of San Salvador; and Archbishop Héctor Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte of Trujillo.
“To the world’s billion-plus Catholics, the Pope is one of the most trusted messengers and holds unparalleled influence,” said Lisa Sherman, president and CEO of the Ad Council, in the release. “We are extremely grateful to him and the cardinals and archbishops for lending their voices and platforms to help people across the globe feel more confident in the vaccines.”
