The head of the Catholic diocese in Cairns has heavily criticised parishioners spreading coronavirus vaccine myths, labelling them divisive and ignorant.
Bishop James Foley this morning said that people within his church were "campaigning against vaccination on all sorts of ill-founded prejudice".
Among the misinformation Bishop Foley said he had received were claims coronavirus vaccines contained cells from unborn fetuses — erroneous information he said he had no time for.
"In almost 30 years in this position, I've never encountered such divisiveness and, dare I say, ignorance," Bishop Foley said.
"I'm really concluding that I'm wasting my time talking to them and they're wasting their time talking to me."
'Dangerous and soul destroying'
Vaccination rates in the Cairns Local Government Area (LGA) have increased sharply in the past week.
More than 70 per cent of the region's eligible population has now received both doses of a coronavirus vaccine, while 83 per cent has had a single dose.
The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service announced on Monday it had delivered 8,421 vaccines in the previous seven days.
Bishop Foley said he had been unable to change the minds of those who had come to him with, what he described as, "erroneous ideas".
"What worries me too, in these conversations, is that they seem to entail all sorts of other major conspiracy theories," he said.
"It's making people angry; it's polarising and it's just not of God."
Everyone welcome at Mass
Another of the malicious rumours Bishop Foley said was spreading through the Catholic community was that unvaccinated parishioners would not be welcome in churches.
"I've said that those who take the Eucharist to people at home, to aged care, to hospital or help distribute communion at Mass need to be vaccinated because we shouldn't be running any risk of contaminating others," Bishop Foley said.
"That's the sort of thing that's being thrown back at me."
Bishop Foley said a summary, or catechism, of the Fifth Commandment, 'Thou shall not kill,' obliges all Catholics to look after their own health and life.
"And I'd extend that to our own mental health which I think is very tested by this," he said.
