Join Bishop Felipe Estévez for an exclusive online workshop regarding the church’s stance on the death penalty.

This three-week course begins Monday, March 7, and will be facilitated by George Doyle, an Echo apprentice serving at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Jacksonville. Doyle will feature Bishop Felipe Estévez’s pastoral letter, “Standing Up for the Dignity of all Human Life: A pastoral letter on Capital Punishment in Florida.”

This course will explore the concept of human dignity, the Catholic tradition of respect for the dignity of all, and some practical ways that human dignity can be restored in relationship to capital punishment. Our diocese is located in a state that has the second-highest number of prisoners on death row at 347 (as of Feb. 7, 2021). While this mini-course will be applicable to all geographic areas, the sheer number of Florida prisons, Florida prisoners, and those on death row in Florida inspired Bishop Estévez to write this Pastoral Letter. In the opening paragraphs, he states: “My hope for this pastoral letter is to share with you my understandings of the teachings of our church about the intrinsic value and God-given dignity of every human life from conception to natural death.” God is the author of all life. As Christians, we are called to give action to these words, to respect all who God has chosen to create and to defend their human dignity as children of God.

Participants will need an account profile with the University of Dayton. The Diocese of St. Augustine has a relationship with the university, allowing anyone in the diocese to take any of their FLCFF classes for a 50 percent discount.  For a description of the online mini-course, visit https://vlcff.udayton.edu/calendar/course.php?course=286. To register, visit https://vlcff.udayton.edu/register/ and select DOSA as a partner for the discount.