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Students Visit FCCB to Learn About Policy Through the Lens of Faith
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Saint Leo University students Edward Gemma, Jeanine Ramirez and Emilee Beard
On Monday, April 8, three students from Saint Leo University spent the day in Tallahassee touring the state Capitol and the FCCB office. The students were participants in Campus Ministry Day at the Capitol, a program launched two years ago by the FCCB.
The day provides students who are members of their respective Catholic campus ministries with the opportunity to learn about the role of the Church in the public square and how Catholic social teaching is applied to public policy. After an informational session in the morning where they had breakfast with the FCCB staff, students spent the remainder of the day at the Capitol touring the building and sitting in on a committee meeting to watch the legislative process in action.
Danny Burgess, Dept. of Veterans' Affairs, (above left) and Rep. Amber Mariano (above right) visit with Saint Leo students and FCCB staff.
The three students met Danny Burgess, executive director of the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs. Burgess served as state representative for District 38 in which St. Leo University is located until being appointed to his current position by Governor DeSantis in January 2019. The students also visited with Representative Amber Mariano (District 36, Hudson) whom they had previously met when Mariano visited Saint Leo.
The students were urged to share their experience and the knowledge they gained on the work of the FCCB with their campus ministry peers. They were also encouraged to connect with the Florida Catholic Advocacy Network as a means to stay informed on the Church's ongoing engagement in the policy arena and take action on specific policy proposals under consideration. |
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Parental Consent Prior to a Minor's Abortion Advances
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Ingrid Delgado, FCCB associate for social concerns/respect life, testifies before the House Health & Human Services Committee.
HB 1335 (Grall) and SB 1774 (Stargel) would require that a parent or legal guardian provide consent before a minor can undergo an abortion. The bills contain a provision that would allow the minor to petition the court for a waiver in certain circumstances.
HB 1335 was passed by its final committee of reference, Health & Human Services (12-6) and has been placed on the House Special Order Calendar for Wednesday, April 17. During the committee hearing, Ingrid Delgado, FCCB associate for social concerns/respect life, testified in support of the bill. "As a general rule, parental consent is required for medical and surgical interventions for minors including ear piercing and dispensing aspirin at school," said Delgado. "At the very least, comparable parental consent requirements should be made for abortion as well."
The seven Catholic dioceses in Florida all have post abortive healing ministries to serve women who grieve their aborted children and regret their abortion. Those mental and emotional consequences often are exacerbated when it is a decision made by a minor, especially without familial involvement.
Also this week, SB 1774 was passed by its first committee of reference, Health Policy (5-4), and is now in Judiciary.
We thank our FLCAN subscribers who took action and urged their legislators to support these good bills that seek to ensure parental involvement in their child's permanent, life-altering decision. |
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FCCB Proposes Security Funding for Accredited Nonpublic Schools
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It's profoundly important to protect all of Florida's schoolchildren - including those educated in public as well as nonpublic schools. Tragedies have devastated school communities from Newtown, CT to our own Parkland, FL.
Legislative discussions on security have focused almost exclusively on public schools or only a very small sector of nonpublic schools. During the past two fiscal years, the Legislature has provided $2.6 million in funds exclusively to Jewish Day Schools for purposes of hardening their campuses. The FCCB recognizes the need for actively combating the very real and intolerable threat of anti-Semitic violence, and the precedent of protecting security for nonpublic and public schools alike is good and proper.
In its proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, the Senate has allocated $50 million for school hardening grants for public schools, $2 million in security funding for Jewish Day Schools, and $50,000 for accredited nonpublic schools. The FCCB is currently requesting an increase to the allocation to harden the physical security of certain accredited nonpublic schools. These schools will have consulted with local law enforcement or third-party security experts to determine priority efforts to protect children such as installing perimeter fencing, alarm systems, security cameras and ballistic glass.
We are grateful to our FLCAN members who urged their lawmakers on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education to increase the $50,000 line item for hardening the security of accredited nonpublic schools. |
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April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month
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Michael Sheedy, FCCB executive director (back row, second from right) joins Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez (front row, fifth from left), Zackary Gibson, chief child advocate, Executive Office of the Governor (back), and others in the Pinwheels for Prevention Campaign. This national campaign is Florida's statewide coordinated effort to highlight programs and activities that promote healthy child development and prevention of child abuse.
Every April, organizations and communities across the country, including Catholic parishes and schools, participate in National Child Abuse Prevention Month. While dioceses work year-round to prevent abuse, during this month, a special emphasis is placed on the importance of learning how to protect the vulnerable from this evil.
These efforts are part of the ongoing work of the Church in the United States to carry out the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, a comprehensive set of procedures originally established by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in June 2002 for addressing allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy. The Charter also includes guidelines for reconciliation, healing, accountability, and prevention of future acts of abuse. It was revised in 2005, 2011, and 2018. |
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Bill Seeks to Treat Juvenile Offenders as Children, Not Adults
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Florida transfers more children to the adult criminal justice system than any other state. 98% of those minors are transferred by the process of direct file.
Children who commit crimes should be held accountable for their actions in the system designed to work with juveniles - not in the adult system. However, as long as the state of Florida tries children as adults, its application should be limited.
The FCCB indicated support this week for SB 876 (Powell) prior to its passage by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee (5-0). The bill addresses areas of concern regarding the direct file process. SB 876:
- Repeals mandatory direct file (the circumstances in which a state attorney is required to charge a child in adult court);
- Creates a due process hearing for children to petition the court to try them as juveniles after the state has filed intent to try the child in the adult system; and
- Houses minors in juvenile facilities, rather than adult facilities, pending the court's decision in the due process hearing.
SB 876 is scheduled to be heard by the Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice on Tuesday, April 16. |
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FCCB Opposes Measure Piloting Contraception Program
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In a letter to SB 410 sponsor, Senator Lori Berman (District 31, Boynton Beach), FCCB shared its concerns with a proposal requiring the Florida Department of Health to establish a long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) pilot program in Duval, Hillsborough, and Palm Beach counties. FCCB's correspondence cited the following:
- Contraceptive use does not decrease abortion
Proponents of SB 410 may suggest that expanding access to contraception decreases unplanned pregnancies and, by extension, abortion. However, there is no correlation between better access to contraception and lower abortion rates.
- Contraception is harmful to women
LARCs provide no protection against sexually transmitted diseases and LARC usage, particularly among teen girls, is correlated with an increased number of sexual partners. There are also numerous potential risks and adverse side effects.
- Negative effects of widespread contraceptive use on women, children and family life
While many welcomed contraception in the 1960s with its promises of better marriages, fewer unintended pregnancies and fewer abortions, the cultural evidence shows a contrary result.
SB 410 passed its first committee of reference, Senate Heath Policy (8-1), and is scheduled to be heard by the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services on Tuesday, April 16. |
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April 12, 2019
Follow Us On
2019 FLORIDA LEGISLATIVE SESSION
E-Update: Week 6
The 2019 Regular Session of the Florida Legislature began March 5 and is schedule to conclude May 3.
Each Friday during the 60-day session, the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops (FCCB) provides a summary of activity on priority bills and other items of interest at the Capitol.
For the current status of FCCB priority bills, see our legislative bill report.
E-Update: Week 1
E-Update: Week 2
E-Update: Week 3
E-Update: Week 4
E-Update: Week 5
* * *
Text FLCAN to 50457
to receive network notifications via text message. |
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