TALLAHASSEE, FL (September 9, 2021) – Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops (FCCB) is pleased to announce that Christie Arnold has joined the staff as Associate for Social Concerns and Respect Life.

Registration is now open for the Congreso Pro Vida. This national conference is being hosted this year by Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of the Archdiocese of Miami on October 29 to 31 at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens. Reserve your ticket at www.congresoprovida.com. The Congreso Pro Vida will be held this year in place of the annual Florida Culture of Life Conference.

Congress is trying to force Americans to pay for abortion. The Hyde Amendment and similar laws have protected taxpayers from funding elective abortion for 45 years. Now, powerful members of Congress want to take away these laws that both Democrats and Republicans have supported for nearly half a century. Billions of taxpayer dollars could be used to pay for abortion.

One of the FCCB's key priorities for the 2021 Legislative Session was increasing access to dual enrollment courses for non-public high school students. On June 24, Governor DeSantis signed into law SB 52 by Senator Ray Rodrigues, R-Fort Myers, providing equitable access to dual enrollment courses for all Florida high school students. The bill and its companion, HB 281 by Representative Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, were strongly supported by the FCCB during the session. Dual enrollment courses allow high school students to take college-level courses while they are still in high school. Usually, these courses are taken on the college or university campus during the normal school day. Under previous law, public school and home school students had free, unencumbered access to dual enrollment courses; however, private school students had very limited access.