Talking About the Death Penalty, a 10-minute video produced by the bishops of Indiana, is being made available to be shown at Masses throughout the state July 8-9, in connection with the Jubilee Day for Prisoners July 9. "Church teaching on this life issue is not widely understood, much less widely accepted," said Bishop William Higi of the Diocese of Lafayette, IN. "Catholics are counted among the 70 percent-plus of the population supporting capital punishment," he said. The project was funded by a grant from Our Sunday Visitor Foundation.

In response to a request from Catholic bishops, Philippine President Joseph Estrada suspended the death penalty for the remainder of 2000. Estrada’s office said March 24 he agreed to impose a moratorium on executions through December "in deference to the celebration of the Catholic Church’s jubilee year." The statement said Estrada would study the country’s policy on capital punishment again at the beginning of 2001 when the reprieve expires. The moratorium suspends, but does not cancel, all executions slated for 2000.

Archbishop Oscar Romero "would agree that we would be betraying the church if we did not continue working for the poor and for the legitimate struggle to get a more just society," Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles told nearly 30,000 worshippers gathered for a Mass in a city square in San Salvador, El Salvador. The Mass was celebrated in observance of the 20th anniversary of Romero’s murder. "He was a prophet, a martyr and a true pastor of the church, teaching us how to live the good news," Mahony said. "We must not allow the seed that he sowed to become just a memory," Mahony added.

The Trappist community at New Melleray Abbey, in Peosta, IA, announced it is launching a wooden casket business to offset lagging farm profits. For decades, New Melleray derived its livelihood from 2,000 acres of rich Iowa farmland surrounding the abbey, but dwindling profits have forced the monks to turn to another nearby asset: their massive forest. The monks have been making simple caskets for members of their community since the abbey was founded in 1849. Abbot Brendan Freeman said the monks "hope to provide people a reasonably priced casket and a sense of the spirituality of death." He added, "People seem to like the idea of being buried in an honest wooden casket that was handcrafted by monks."

A pattern of "slow and steady" enrollment growth continued in U.S. Catholic schools in the 1999-2000 school year, National Catholic Educational Association officials announced during the annual post-Easter NCEA convention, held this year in Baltimore. Enrollment grew by 4,600 students over the previous year to a total of 2,653,038 students, said the NCEA. The growth occurred despite a net loss of 36 schools, with the closing or consolidation of 73 schools and the opening of 37 new schools. Enrollment grew by some 86,000 students over the past seven years, said the NCEA. The number of U.S. Catholic schools now stands at 8,144 - 6,923 elementary and/or middle schools, and 1,221 secondary schools. The NCEA said that more than 3,700 of those schools have a waiting list for admission. The greatest enrollment increases occurred in the Southeastern, Western, and Plains regions; enrollment declined in the Northeastern, Middle Eastern, and Great Lakes regions, according to the NCEA.