As hurricane season approaches its peak in Florida, Michael Sheedy speaks with Gabe Tischler, Emergency Management Specialist for the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, to hear his real life stories, experience and tips to be prepared for natural disasters or any crisis event. Gabe shares the background of his career in Emergency Management, and how organizations like Catholic Charities and local churches can work together to provide help and resources after a disaster occurs. 

Louis Brown, executive director of Christ Medicus Foundation, joins Michael Sheedy to discuss religious freedom and conscience protection rights within the realm of modern health care. Louis shares the background of Christ Medicus Foundation, the role of conscience and faith in protecting human dignity within the medical industry, and analyzes some of the legislative policies that could threaten freedom of medical conscience. 

While the nation awaits a monumental Supreme Court decision that could overturn Roe v. Wade, the state of Florida is impacted by several recent victories in pro-life policy. 

Join Michael Sheedy, FCCB executive director, and Christie Arnold, associate for respect life & social concerns, as they discuss legislation that bans abortion in Florida after 15-weeks’ gestation, and a circuit court ruling that puts a 24-hour waiting period in effect. Michael and Christie also discuss possible outcomes of the upcoming SCOTUS ruling, and strategies for continuing to build a culture of life. 

 Michael Sheedy discusses the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on health care in Florida with Loraine Brown, Chief Mission Integration Officer with Ascension Florida & Gulf Coast. Loraine shares stories of how healthcare workers and hospital administrators strived to provide the best care possible in the midst of so many difficulties, and the value of a healthcare system based on Catholic principles that recognize the dignity of all people.   

David Spicer, Senior Policy Advisor at USCCB’s Office of Migration Policy & Public Affairs, joins Michael Sheedy to discuss the immigration challenges facing our nation from a lens of Catholic social and moral teaching. 

Michael Sheedy is joined by Ken Kniepmann, associate for health, and Michael Barrett, associate for education, to discuss how transgender ideology is impacting sports, schools and society. Their conversation considers the background of the transgender movement, current implications for our culture, and how Catholics can respond with truth and compassion. 

 Our policy team sits down to discuss an eventful 2022 legislative session and the outcome of bills that were a priority for the FCCB. Christie Arnold analyzes the details of a big pro-life victory for the state. Ken Kniepmann shared the efforts behind a proposal that sought to provide conscience protection for health care workers and entities. Mike Barrett talks about bills impacting both Catholic and public schools in Florida. 

In this latest episode of Catholics Across the Aisle, FCCB Executive Director Michael Sheedy talks with Matt Vallière of the Patients Rights Action Fund (PRAF), a national organization that works to ensure patients receive the best possible end-of-life care and, in doing so, opposes legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia. In this informative episode, Vallière counters the myth that assisted suicide has strong public support. Once the facts are known and the implications of public policies legalizing assisted suicide are realized, public support dramatically drops off. “This is not a right/left issue. This is not a religious/secular issue. This is a human issue,” says Vallière.  Related resources are available on several websites including the FCCB’s. See also praf.org or patientsrightsaction.org, dredf.org and notdeadyet.org.

 Listen to the episode online or on your preferred podcast streaming platform.

In this episode Terry Coonan discusses immigration in FLorida and the United States. He also talks about his role as the Executive Director of Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights. He talks about how he came into this role and what his experience have been like. He shares what made him pursue this line of work and some fascinating experiences he's had during his career.

In this epsidoe we were joined by Gary Tester, the Executive Director at Catholic Charities of Central Florida. Gary talked about his faith jouney, what brought him to this role, and what are some of their key focuses at Catholic Charities of Central Florida.

In this episode Terry Coonan talks about his role as the Executive Director of Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights. He talks about how he came into this role and what his experience have been like. He shares what made him pursue this line of work and some fascinating experiences he's had during his career.

In our latest podcast episode, Michael Sheedy, FCCB executive director, talks with Father Clay Ludwig of the Diocese of Saint Augustine about synodality. On October 10, 2021, Pope Francis launched the Synod on Synodality, beginning a two-year process of journeying together to share our lived experience and become a synodal church. Under the theme “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission,” the Hoy Father is calling the church to listen to — and hear — one another in all facets of church life. Dioceses worldwide will participate by holding listening sessions and consulting with local Catholics and others. The process will culminate in October 2023 with the Synod of Bishops and the adoption of an expected final document that will guide the continuing development of a synodal church going into the future.

In part 3 of this interview,  we reflect on the myths surrounding the death penalty and how the death penalty is not what many think it is. Dale shares first-hand stories of innocent men being sentenced to death and executions gone wrong. To close out the interview, Dale discusses restorative justice and how fighting against the death penalty is a life issue, and not a criminal justice issue. 

In part 2 of this interview, we discuss what is experienced by people incarcerated on death row when their warrant is signed. Dale also shares his thoughts as he tries to minister to these individuals.

In this episode we discuss what is is like to be the Catholic correctional chaplain on Florida's death row. How Dale came to be in this role and a bit more on his personal journey that brought him to this position.

 In this interview, Emily Schumacher-Novak (Assistant Director of Education and Outreach in the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development department of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) joins us to discuss the "A Better Kind of Politics: Civilize it" campaign done by the USCCB. For more information on this campaign, visit their website: https://www.usccb.org/civilizeit 

Welcome to season 2 of our podcast! In this episode we talked with Greg Schleppenbach, Associate Director of Pro-Life Activities for the United States Conference  of Catholic Bishops. We discussed the Hyde Amendment, the Mississippi SCOTUS case, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, Walking with Moms in Need, and how Greg ended up in this position

In this episode, we talk to Monica Farias, Program Director Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Program of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami. She goes into detail about the mission of this program, who exactly they are helping, and how you can help out these children in need.

In this episode, we talk with Shevaun Harris and Erik Dellenback about foster care in the state of Florida. They discuss the need for foster parents in Florida, how to become a foster parent, and what you can expect as a foster parent.

In this episode, we discuss what happened in the 2021 legislative session in Florida. Executive Director Michael Sheedy talks with our three associates: Ingrid Delgado: Assoc. Director for Social Concerns/Respect Life, Ken Kniepmann: Associate for Health, and Mike Barrett: Associate for Education. In these interviews, the associates briefly discuss the topics and bills they monitored this session in their respective areas of work.

In part 2 of this episode, executive director, Michael Sheedy talks with Father Tim Cusick, Academic Dean St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, from the Diocese of St. Augustine about gender ideology. Father Cusick talks about some of the impact this has had on the church, the family, and society.

In part 1 of this episode, executive director, Michael Sheedy talks with Father Tim Cusick, Academic Dean St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, from the Diocese of St. Augustine about gender ideology. Father Cusick talks about some of the impact this has had on the church, the family, and society.

In this episode, we discuss what we are keeping our eyes on in the 2021 legislative session in Florida. Executive Director Michael Sheedy talks with our three associates: Ingrid Delgado: Assoc. Director for Social Concerns/Respect Life, Ken Kniepmann: Associate for Health, and Mike Barrett: Associate for Education. In these interviews, the associates briefly discuss the topics and bills they are monitoring in their respective areas of work. We look forward to keeping you up to date with the work we do throughout this year's session!

In this interview, we sat down with Rita Gagliano, the executive director of the Florida Pregnancy Care Network. Rita shared the mission of these clinics and all of the services they provide to women across the state. She talked about how they have handled the pandemic and what they have done during these times to help their patients. Rita also shared with us some beautiful stories that have taken place at these clinics.

In this episode, we discussed the COVID-19 vaccines. We discussed how the vaccine is safe to take, how there should not be any moral objections to taking it, and how vaccines work.