Tallahassee, FL (March 25, 2025) – The Catholic bishops of Florida honored four awardees at the annual Catholic Days at the Capitol breakfast on Wednesday. This year’s award recipients were core partners working alongside the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops to defeat Amendment 4 in November 2024, which would have rolled back legal protections for the unborn in Florida.

This year's Catholic Days outreach to lawmakers centered on four distinct issues that are being considered during the legislative session, including opposition to assisted suicide and death penalty expansion, as well as support for improving prison infrastructure and a bill provision requiring instruction in human embryology.

The bishops honored four awardees at the breakfast on Wednesday. Paul Renner received the Defensor Dignitatis Award. Drs. Steven Christie, M.D. and Grazie Christie, M.D., were honored with the Distinguished Catholic Leader Award. John Sowinski was presented with the Distinguished Catholic Leader Award.