2020 Respect Life / Culture of Life Person(s) of the Year Award

We in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee are blessed to have many individuals volunteer in Ministries that respect and protect the dignity of Life. Each year during the month of October, the US Catholic Church celebrates Respect Life month. It is a time to reflect on the sacredness of all life and a time to understand we as Catholics and as people of Good Will are called to protect and to help the lives of the marginalized and vulnerable.

Every October for the past 34 years the Catholic Church in Florida celebrates Respect Life Month with a Statewide Conference. During the Conference, each of the seven Catholic Dioceses of Florida recognizes an individual or couple who dedicate their life to ministries that respect, serve and protect the dignity of Life.

It is very difficult to select just one individual or couple because there are so many involved in this Culture of Life; however, this year the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee is please to select Jane and Jim Healy as the Respect Life Couple of the Year.

Jane and Jim are parishioners at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Tallahassee. Jane and Jim are members of the parish Mercy & Justice Core Community. As members, the Healy’s have been involved in ministries of Charity and Justice.

Their Charitable ministries include being involved in the School Supply Ministry, which gathers important supplies for needy children and participated in the Meals for the Sick Ministry. Jane and Jim have been stalwart participants in the Fifth Friday Ministry in which ministry members pay for and serve dinner at the Kearney Center for the Homeless. The Healy’s have also been involved in the Fill the Truck food collection for the Good News Outreach organization.

Along with these works of charity, Jane and Jim’s involvement in Justice Ministries include planning tor the 2017 Parish Symposium on Human Trafficking, a 2018 Symposium on Immigration & Refugees and a 2019 Symposium on the Re-entry of Citizens releasing from incarceration and back into the community. These symposiums are meant to inform and educate people on the struggles of people who are trafficked, of immigrants & refugees and of the ex-offender and to eliminate the root causes of their struggles.

As a result of being involved in the Human Trafficking Symposium, Jane and Jim decided to undergo the necessary steps to become eligible Foster Parents in the event a trafficked child was in need of a home. About a year ago, they were contacted by the Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights. The Center asked if the Healy’s would care for a teenaged girl from Guatemala who did not speak English. The request for care was only to be for a few days. One year later, the girl, named Beverly is still living with Jane & Jim. The Healy’s have enrolled her in school, shepherd her through the court systems and through some health issues. They have opened their home and have shared their lives with this young girl. Respect for Life is not just a ministry theme for the Healy’s, it is how they live their own lives.

So it gives me great pleasure to present the 2020 Respect Life Person(s) of the Year Award to Jane & Jim Healy.