JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s Catholic Attorney General James Uthmeier is taking on the state’s Catholic schools, and tens of thousands of state-funded private school scholarships could be at stake.
Speaking only with Action News Jax, Uthmeier explained his office fielded concerns raised by Florida parents who said their students’ Catholic schools would not allow for religious exemptions to vaccine requirements next school year.
Uthmeier argued some of those concerns specifically revolved around vaccinations that are produced from cell lines originally derived from aborted fetuses decades ago.
“They’re confused because the Catholic Church has long respected pro-life religious principles and they’ve got very serious objections that appear to be based on legitimate religious grounds for not wanting to take certain vaccines,” said Uthmeier.
In a letter sent to the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, Uthmeier argued state law requires both public and private schools to provide those exemptions, unless a school cites religious grounds justifying its no-exemption policy.
“I kind of wear two hats here. As a government official, I can’t tell an independent religious church what to do. That’s not appropriate,” said Uthmeier. ”But as a Catholic who is well informed and well read, I can certainly see in my private lay capacity that their decisions here are not reflective of Catholic moral theology.”
In a statement, a spokesperson with the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops told Action News Jax, “We are reviewing the letter and will respond to the Attorney General by his requested date of August 7”.
Uthmeier warned the church its schools could be at risk of losing the ability to accept state vouchers if it fails to cite the religious grounds justifying its policy.
Nearly 87,000 students attending more than 230 Catholic schools across the state use those vouchers, including more than 11,000 here in Northeast Florida alone.
“We took money out of the public schools, we put it in your pocket and now we’re going to take that money out of your pocket so that we can bully the largest religious organization in the State of Florida,” said Reverend Dr. Russell Meyer.
Meyer is head pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church here in Jacksonville and also serves as Executive Director of the Florida Council of Churches.
He argued Uthmeier is overstepping his bounds and putting students at risk.
“He is advocating for the outbreak of measles in Catholic schools,” said Meyer. ”That’s what the takeaway is for me.”
But Uthmeier argued the church needs to justify its policy.
“And it seems like the Conference of Bishops here in Florida is not following or is inconsistent with its own teachings,” said Uthmeier.
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