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TRANSCRIPT
From checkpoints in movies to real ones using smartphones, Big Brother is loosening his grip in some states while tightening it in another.
Governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced “Excelsior Pass,” a program requiring New Yorkers to show a COVID passport to enter businesses, theaters and arenas.
One of its first test runs occurred last week.
NBC Reporter: “There’s a real sense of excitement outside Madison Square Garden tonight. Hundreds of fans lined up, not just with ticket in hand but also with COVID test results as well — all this to enjoy a Knicks game at a distance.”
New York developed an app in partnership with IBM to “confirm an individual’s vaccination or recent negative COVID test.”
A professor of medical ethics at New York University gives the ostensible reason for such passports.
Professor Arthur Caplan: “As vaccines become available, the best way to control the spread — the best way to control new outbreaks and perhaps even new variants — is to demand proof of vaccination before entry.”
Last March, Cdl. Timothy Dolan of New York City discussed his thoughts on restrictions.
Dolan: “The positive side is we feel spiritually more connected than ever — the unity that we have in our faith, bringing us together, the trust that people are exhibiting in the Lord all through this. This, of course, is a booster shot to the faith.”
But while Dolan spoke metaphorically of booster shots, he has yet to comment on the state’s vaccine passport.
The prelate received the vaccine himself in January.
One priest told Church Militant the name “Excelsior Pass” sounds religious, and probably deliberately so to mock the Faith.
In the liturgical season of Lent, it seems particularly relevant, Father added, as Palm Sunday begins with the blessing of palms while chanting “Hosanna in the highest,” in Latin, “Hosanna in excelsis.”
The governor of Texas recently signed an executive order to end all restrictions in the state, saying businesses and families have the freedom to determine their own destiny.
Governor Cuomo clearly thinks differently.
— Campaign 27425 —
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