Florida bishops push back against AG over vaccine mandates
August 18, 2026
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CWN Editor's Note: The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops responded to Attorney General James Uthmeier’s warning that a refusal by Catholic schools to grant religious exemptions to vaccine mandates is “troubling and may disqualify them from state scholarships and vouchers.”
In a letter dated August 7 and released yesterday, the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops’ executive director wrote that “where we differ is on your interpretation and application of Catholic teaching, an interpretation (and right) exclusively vested, by United States and Florida constitutional law, in the bishops of Florida’s dioceses.”
“Respectfully, any insinuation that a government official can dictate to the Catholic Church (or any religion) how to apply her tenets and dogma, violates well-established constitutional religious freedom rights,” executive director Michael Sheedy added. “It is beyond cavil that the bishops, not the state, decide how to interpret and apply Catholic principles and theology.”
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