More Catholic than the Bishops? James Uthmeier threatens K-12 revenue if schools don’t reverse vax mandate

Attorney General James Uthmeier isn’t just questioning the vaccine requirements of Florida’s Catholic Schools, saying there’s “no legitimate religious reason” for them. He’s also questioning what it means to be Catholic itself.

Uthmeier noted in a letter to the state’s Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops on Friday that the lack of “religious exemptions as prescribed by state law … is troubling and may disqualify them from state scholarships and vouchers.”

The four page letter invoked Florida Statutes 1003.22(3), and its assertion of parental objections on religious grounds. It went on to tweak the leaders of the church.

“[A]s a Catholic, I am confident that the teachings of the Church do not require Catholic schools to compel students to take vaccines derived from the tissue of aborted children against the sincerely-held religious objections of their parents,” he writes, going on to argue that historically, the Church stood against the very thing it now requires, and that the vaccine requirement violates both the laws of the state and the church’s own precedent.

Uthmeier also invoked Pope Leo XIV’s defense of the “inviolable … universal … inalienable” nature of human rights, before acknowledging on page three of his communication the “remote” connection between vaccines and abortion.

But even as the Catholic Church has until August 7 to respond, the AG urged parents to pressure the prelates.

“It’s ironic that Florida’s Catholic schools are among the minority not offering religious exemptions to vaccine mandates as required by Florida law. If you’re a parent at one of these schools, I hope you read my letter to the bishops and start asking tough questions!”

Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo affirmed the AG’s read and critique of the Church: “It’s ironic that a Florida organization that should support people’s relationship with God doesn’t respect the sovereignty of those same people and their ability to define that relationship for themselves. Denial of religious exemptions is all control-based doctrine, no spirituality.”

A representative of the Bishops said a response was being prepared.

“Be assured, Florida’s Catholic schools are operating in accord with the law and Church teaching,” wrote Michelle Taylor on Friday.

School webpages frame vaccine policy as lawful also, such as this verbiage from Orlando’s “Blessed Trinity.“

“Catholic Schools within the Diocese of Orlando require enrolling students to submit a Florida Department of Health Certificate of Immunization as provided for in Florida Statute 1003.22 as a condition precedent to acceptance. Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Orlando do not recognize a religious objection to this immunization.”

The Gov. Ron DeSantis administration, which Uthmeier worked for as a chief of staff and in other capacities before being appointed to his current role, has leaned into a pro-Catholic position more often than not.

Speaking at Ave Maria University, DeSantis urged graduates to put on the “full armor of God.”

He’s used that phrase often through the years.

“You are going to face blowback, you’re going to face attacks, you’re going to face smears, and it’s the faith in God that gives you the strength to stand firm against the lies, against the deceit, against the opposition. It gives you the foundation to know that all the insults, all the nonsense they throw at you ultimately doesn’t matter because you are aiming higher,” the Governor said in 2023.

DeSantis has clashed with the Bishops before, particularly on death penalty issues. They like his position on abortion and school choice, though. And they helped DeSantis and Uthmeier in 2024’s successful push to snuff out a ballot item to enshrine pot legalization in the Florida Constitution.

“Legalizing marijuana makes it more accessible, removes the criminal penalties and stigma attributable to it, and creates the impression that it is safe to use,” they said in October of that year.

Now the penalties and “stigma” Bishops wanted for weed are being applied to vaccinations, in an illustration that state power cuts both ways and an in-group on one issue can be marginalized very quickly.

Revenue that the church relies on is at stake if they don’t bend their knee to the AG, via the potential forfeiture of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO) and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA).

The first two offer a $8,000 a year taxpayer stipend. The latter can be up to $36,000 a year.

Of the nearly 95,000 students in Catholic schools last year, the vast majority are on scholarship, with some estimates being as high as 95%. Nearly 14,000 students received the more lucrative FES-UA.

There is somewhat recent precedent for a Catholic politician to go up against the church. Democrats frequently have clashed with leaders on abortion policies. Vice President JD Vance has squabbled with church leaders on fighting illegal immigration and the church’s policy of helping illegal immigrants settle and whether the Iran conflict is a just war.

It remains to be seen how Uthmeier’s opponent this fall, Democrat Jose Javier Rodriguez, responds to this issue. A request for comment still awaits an answer.