{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T12:05:48Z","timestamp":1790165148375,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,20]],"date-time":"2026-09-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789862400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Linacre Q"],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    The proliferation of digital media has transformed the conditions under which Catholics form conscience, particularly regarding public health. This article examines vaccine refusal motivated by misinformation as a distinct moral problem in Catholic bioethics. We argue that social media algorithms, political rhetoric, and the cultivation of informal \u201calternative\u201d authorities create an environment in which the Thomistic duty to pursue truth is systematically obstructed, expanding rather than diminishing moral responsibility. Drawing on the Catechism,\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Veritatis Splendor<\/jats:italic>\n                    , the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's Note on the Morality of Using Some Anti-COVID-19 Vaccines, and the Thomistic account of the intellect ordered toward truth, we evaluate such refusal in light of the Fifth and Eighth Commandments, the principle of solidarity, and the tradition's distinction between vincible and invincible ignorance. We propose a three-category typology of vaccine refusal\u2014principled medical or conscientious objection, mitigated hesitancy, and culpable misinformation-driven denial\u2014to resist sweeping moral judgments while preserving genuine accountability. We conclude with pastoral and clinical recommendations directed at physicians, pastors, families, and Catholic institutions, oriented not toward winning arguments but toward minimizing harm and restoring properly formed conscience.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/00243639261487051","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T04:48:44Z","timestamp":1789966124000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Digital Misinformation and the Crisis of Conscience Formation"],"prefix":"10.1177","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-8836-2760","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jason","family":"Ramos","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"James H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0981-1873","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sean","family":"Cruess","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"James H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7176-1307","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"James","family":"Holt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, James H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s13278-023-01028-5"},{"issue":"6","key":"e_1_3_2_3_1","article-title":"Increasing Access to Abortion","volume":"136","author":"American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists","year":"2020","unstructured":"American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 2020. \u201cIncreasing Access to Abortion.\u201d Obstetrics & Gynecology 136 (6): e107\u2013e115. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1097\/AOG.0000000000004176.","journal-title":"Obstetrics & Gynecology"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_1","author":"Aquinas Thomas.","unstructured":"Aquinas Thomas. n.d. Summa Theologiae. 2nd ed. Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province. 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